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Red drumRetention openBay · Florida
Goodland Bay
25.93°N · 81.64°W · Bay · Coastal waters from Chokoloskee to Bonita Beach FL out 20 NM
Species here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Spanish mackerel77
- King mackerel73
- Red drum73
- Common snook72
- Florida pompano70
- Spotted seatrout62
- Gray snapper61
- Gray triggerfish60
- Red snapper59
- Black drum58
- Red grouper58
- Sheepshead54
- Wahoo51
- Atlantic croaker35
- Atlantic tarpon35
- Cobia35
- Crevalle jack35
- Mahi-mahi35
- Permit35
- Sailfish35
- Yellowfin tuna35
- Gag grouper20
- Greater amberjack20
- Southern flounder20
Best score today · 6 AM · Red drum
- Now
- 7310 AM EST
- Best window
- 3-8 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing1.6 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Goodland Bay 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
Tuesday, Nov 10 · 9 AM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
89Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.8 knWind & pressure
ECMWF
53Wind: 9 kt NPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
65Water temp: 80°F, primeLight: MorningSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 2.6 ftSeason & habitat · Red drum
Species seasonality
90Season: PeakHabitat: Usable structureDepth: In range
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier 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. 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
- Black drum Retention open (5 per day)
- Bluefish Retention open (10 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 (1 per day)
- Greater amberjack Closed (No retention)
- King mackerel Retention open (3 per day)
- Mahi-mahi Retention open (10 per day)
- Permit Retention open (2 per day)
- Red grouper Retention open (2 per day (4 Gulf grouper combined))
- Red snapper Retention open (2 per day (10 snapper combined))
- 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
- 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 · 4 more weeks at peak
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Goodland Bay
- Depth
- Up to 6 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · 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 Goodland Bay
Goodland Bay is a bay in Coastal waters from Chokoloskee to Bonita Beach FL out 20 NM, Florida. Depth is up to 6 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 24 species here; the best right now are Spanish mackerel, king mackerel and red drum. It is peak season now for Spanish mackerel, red drum, Florida pompano and spotted seatrout, and shoulder season for king mackerel, common snook, gray snapper and gray triggerfish. Spanish mackerel peak from April through May and from October through November. King mackerel peak in May and in October. Red drum peak from September through November.
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.
- Spanish mackerel
- Spanish mackerel school along beaches and around inlets, jetties, piers and bridge-tunnel structures, and along tide rips in 5 to 40 feet of water once the water climbs above about 68 degrees F. Troll small spoons or cast metal jigs and retrieve fast, or look for birds diving on bait and cast into the school. FWC calls for a 30 to 60 pound monofilament leader because their teeth cut light line.
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Coon Key Pass80
Channel · 1.2 mi
Top: Spanish mackerelPeak season- Spanish mackerel 80
- Common snook 75
- King mackerel 73
9 kt ENEL 1:05 PM · 0.4 ftH 7:52 PM · 3.1 ft
- Big Marco River77
Bay · 1.6 mi
Top: Spanish mackerelPeak season- Spanish mackerel 77
- King mackerel 73
- Common snook 72
9 kt ENEL 1:40 PM · 0.3 ftH 8:40 PM · 2.0 ft
- Sugar Bay76
Bay · 1.2 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 76
- Spanish mackerel 75
- Common snook 72
9 kt ENEL 1:05 PM · 0.4 ftH 7:52 PM · 3.1 ft
- Blue Hill Creek76
Bay · 1.6 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 76
- Spanish mackerel 75
- King mackerel 72
9 kt ENEL 1:05 PM · 0.4 ftH 7:52 PM · 3.1 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.