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Red drumRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 10 PM · Red drum
- Now
- 561 PM EST
- Best window
- 9 PM-12 AMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Flooding0.6 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Bowles Bank scores 75+
Checked every morning against the 14-day forecast. Free by push and email.
14-day forecast
Best days to fish
24-hour conditions · rolling from now
Conditions · 1 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
45Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.3 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
72Wind: 6 kt ENEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
66Water temp: 81°F, primeLight: Bright sunSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 1.5 ftSeason & habitat · Red drum
Species seasonality
75Season: PeakHabitat: Poor fitDepth: In rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Atlantic state waters (Nassau through Miami-Dade counties)
Red drum
Retention open- Daily limit
- 1 per day
- Possession
- Not published
- Size
- Slot 18 to 27 in, total length
- Season
- No closed season on file
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Other
- Must stay whole until landed ashore. For-hire captain and crew may not keep a bag limit. Special rules apply in Biscayne National Park. Hook and line or cast net only. No spearing, gigging, bowfishing, snatch hooking, or multiple hooks with natural bait. Open year-round.
From FWC Recreational Regulations: Red Drum (Redfish), read Sep 13
Other species here
- Atlantic croaker Retention open (50 per day)
- Black drum Retention open (5 per day)
- Bluefish Retention open (3 per day)
- Bonefish Catch & release (No retention)
- Cobia Retention open (1 per day)
- Crevalle jack Retention open
- Florida pompano Retention open (6 per day)
- Gag grouper Closed (No retention)
- Gray snapper Retention open (5 per day (10 snapper combined))
- Gray triggerfish Retention open (10 per day)
- Greater amberjack Retention open (1 per day)
- King mackerel Retention open (2 per day)
- Mahi-mahi Retention open (5 per day)
- Permit Retention open (1 per day)
- Red grouper Retention open (3 per day (3 Atlantic grouper and tilefish combined))
- Red snapper Check regulations
- Sailfish Retention open (1 per day (1 billfish combined))
- Sheepshead Retention open (8 per day)
- Snook Retention open (1 per day)
- Southern flounder Closed (No retention)
- Spanish mackerel Retention open (15 per day)
- Spot Retention open (50 per day)
- Spotted seatrout Retention open (3 per day)
- Summer flounder Closed (No retention)
- Tarpon Catch & release (No retention)
- Wahoo Retention open (2 per day)
Source: FWC · synced yesterday
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Red drum is best here
Peak season for Red drum · 16 more weeks at peak
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Bowles Bank
- Depth
- About 15 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Bank · Outer · ExposedBank · flat bottom
- Season
- Peak seasonRed drum
NOAA NCEI DEM, sampled Sep 13 on a 3.4 m grid. Depths are feet below NAVD 88, not chart datum (MLLW), so they can differ from a chart by a few feet. Not for navigation.
About this spot
Fishing Bowles Bank
Bowles Bank is a bar in Biscayne Bay, Florida. Depth is about 15 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bank, outer water and exposed.
Waterlands scores 19 species here; the best right now are king mackerel, common snook and Florida pompano. It is peak season now for king mackerel, common snook, red drum and crevalle jack, and shoulder season for Florida pompano, black drum, red grouper and Spanish mackerel. King mackerel peak from November through March. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through November. Florida pompano peak from December through March.
Tackle & technique
- Red drum
- Redfish feed on shallow grass flats, oyster bars and marsh edges, often in 1 to 4 feet of water, and drop into channels, deep holes and tidal creeks when the water turns very hot or cold. Work a live shrimp under a popping cork or a soft plastic along the grass line on a rising tide, then fish creek mouths and drains as the tide falls. Bull reds over 30 inches school in the surf, passes and jetties in late summer and fall, where cut mullet or a live crab on the bottom is the standard approach.
- King mackerel
- Kings roam from beaches and pier ends out to reefs, wrecks and ledges in 40 to 200 feet, usually feeding in the upper half of the water column. Slow-troll live menhaden, blue runners or cigar minnows on a light wire stinger rig, or pull spoons and ribbonfish past bait schools. Look for clean green water above 68 F with bait and birds on it.
- Common snook
- Snook ambush bait around mangrove shorelines, bridge and dock lights, jetties and the mouths of passes and inlets, generally in 2 to 15 feet of water. Fish moving water, especially the outgoing tide, with a live pilchard, pinfish or shrimp, or a jerkbait or soft plastic swum past the structure. In summer they spawn along beaches and inlets, and in winter they crowd into rivers, canals and deep backcountry creeks where the water stays warmer.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Legare Anchorage73
Channel · 2.2 mi
Top: Crevalle jackPeak season- Crevalle jack 73
- King mackerel 69
- Common snook 68
6 kt ENEH 5:12 PM · 3.0 ftL 11:27 PM · 0.3 ft
- Bache Shoal67
Bar · 1.9 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 67
- Crevalle jack 66
- Red drum 64
6 kt ENEH 5:12 PM · 3.0 ftL 11:27 PM · 0.3 ft
- Sands Cut66
Channel · 1.5 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 66
- Red drum 63
- Crevalle jack 62
6 kt ENEL 1:37 PM · 0.4 ftH 7:02 PM · 1.8 ft
- Lewis Cut63
Bay · 1.6 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 63
- Crevalle jack 60
- Red drum 60
6 kt ENEH 6:32 PM · 2.0 ftL 1:06 AM · 0.4 ft
Scores and forecasts are for planning only and can be wrong. Conditions on the water change fast; check the marine forecast before you go. Regulations change during the season, so confirm limits and closures with FWC before you keep a fish.