Waterlands

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Red drumRetention open

Channel · Florida

Stranahan River

26.10°N · 80.12°W · Channel · Biscayne Bay

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Best score today · 1 PM · Red drum

76/100Great
Now
592 AM EDT
Best window
12-3 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding2.0 ft ▲

Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine

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24-hour conditions

Friday, Sep 25 · 7 AM

Time7A
Score64Good
Tide2.3 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentFlood0.7 kn · toward NNE
Wind3 kn Ngusts 6 · steady
Sea stateModerate2.4 ft · 10 s
Air temp74°Warm
WeatherOvercast97% cloud
Water87°FModel

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Atlantic state waters (Nassau through Miami-Dade counties)

IN EFFECT NOW

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 (2 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 Retention open (5 per day)
  • Spanish mackerel Retention open (15 per day)
  • Spot Retention open (50 per day)
  • Spotted seatrout Retention open (3 per day)
  • Summer flounder Retention open (5 per day)
  • Tarpon Catch & release (No retention)
  • Wahoo Retention open (2 per day)

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Red drum is best here

Shoulder season for Red drum · 1 more week at shoulder

Red drum season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Red drum · 1 more week at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Red drum in Florida

Spot profile

Stranahan River

Depth
10-25 ftSlope
Structure
Channel · Inner · ProtectedChannel · slope
Season
Shoulder 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 Stranahan River

Stranahan River is a channel in Biscayne Bay, Florida. Depth is 10-25 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads channel, inner water and protected.

Waterlands scores 18 species here; the best right now are common snook, Atlantic tarpon and red drum. It is peak season now for common snook and crevalle jack, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, red drum, gray snapper and spotted seatrout. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through November. Atlantic tarpon peak from March through June. Red drum peak from October through February.

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.
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.
Atlantic tarpon
Tarpon roll along beaches, in passes and channels, and under bridges from late spring through fall, and in South Florida some fish stay through winter in warm canals and backcountry rivers. Live crabs, mullet or pinfish drifted through a pass on the outgoing tide, or a fly or soft plastic cast ahead of a rolling string of fish, are the main approaches. Use a long heavy leader, bow to the jumps, and keep big fish in the water for release.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • New River Sound

    Channel · 1.1 mi

    62
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 62
    • Red drum 61
    • Atlantic tarpon 61

    2 kt NEH 2:36 AM · 2.4 ftL 9:38 AM · 1.0 ft

  • Whiskey Creek

    Channel · 2.5 mi

    58
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 58
    • Red drum 57
    • Atlantic tarpon 55

    2 kt NEH 2:45 AM · 2.2 ftL 9:36 AM · 1.0 ft

  • Mooney Point

    Cape · 1.3 mi

    57
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 57
    • Red drum 55
    • Crevalle jack 53

    2 kt NEH 2:36 AM · 2.4 ftL 9:38 AM · 1.0 ft

  • Hillsboro Bay

    Bay · 11 mi

    52
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 52
    • Crevalle jack 50
    • Red drum 50

    3 kt NL 9:08 AM · 1.0 ftH 3:23 PM · 2.5 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.