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Red drumRetention openChannel · Florida
Old Town Reach
30.69°N · 81.46°W · Channel · Coastal waters from Fernandina Beach to St. Augustine FL out 20 NM
Species here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Atlantic croaker79
- Spot74
- Atlantic tarpon73
- Crevalle jack71
- Red drum69
- Gray snapper68
- Southern flounder68
- Florida pompano67
- Summer flounder67
- King mackerel65
- Spotted seatrout63
- Black drum62
- Spanish mackerel62
- Black sea bass61
- Weakfish59
- Little tunny56
- Gray triggerfish55
- Red snapper55
- Sheepshead55
- Red grouper54
- Cobia52
- Greater amberjack50
- Mahi-mahi47
- Wahoo41
- Bluefish35
- Sailfish35
- Yellowfin tuna35
- Gag grouper20
Best score today · 3 AM · Red drum
- Now
- 698 AM EDT
- Best window
- 8 AM-12 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing5.6 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Old Town Reach 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 · 8 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
69Tide: EbbingCurrent: 0.3 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
64Wind: 7 kt NNEPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
84Water temp: 84°F, primeLight: DawnSolunar: Between periodsSeason & habitat · Red drum
Species seasonality
90Season: PeakHabitat: Usable structureDepth: 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. Volusia County waters south of Lytle Avenue/South Causeway in New Smyrna Beach, including Mosquito Lagoon, are in the Indian River Lagoon region, where red drum is catch-and-release only. 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)
Source: FWC · synced yesterday
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Red drum is best here
Peak season for Red drum · 9 more weeks at peak
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Old Town Reach
- Depth
- 4-40 ftSlope
- Structure
- Channel · Inner · ProtectedChannel · slope
- 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 Old Town Reach
Old Town Reach is a channel in Coastal waters from Fernandina Beach to St. Augustine FL out 20 NM, Florida. Depth is 4-40 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads channel, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 28 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, spot and Atlantic tarpon. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, spot, Atlantic tarpon and crevalle jack, and shoulder season for Florida pompano, black drum, Spanish mackerel and black sea bass. Atlantic croaker peak from August through October. Spot peak from September through October. Atlantic tarpon peak from July through September.
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.
- Atlantic croaker
- Croaker feed on mud and sand bottom along channel edges, oyster bars, piers and deeper holes in bays and sounds, mostly in 5 to 30 feet of water. A two-hook bottom rig with small hooks and shrimp, bloodworm or squid catches them from piers, the surf and small boats. Fish the hours around high tide and into the evening.
- Spot
- Spot school over mud and sand in bays, tidal creeks and channels and around piers and bridges, generally in less than 25 feet of water. Fish a two-hook bottom rig with small hooks and bits of bloodworm or shrimp, and move until you find a school. In fall the biggest fish run out of the sounds past piers and inlets, and the bite can go all day.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Seaboard Reach79
Channel · 0.4 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 79
- Spot 74
- Atlantic tarpon 73
7 kt NNEL 12:42 PM · 1.2 ftH 7:17 PM · 6.7 ft
- Saint Marys Entrance79
Channel · 2.6 mi
Top: Crevalle jackPeak season- Crevalle jack 79
- Atlantic tarpon 79
- Atlantic croaker 78
7 kt NNEL 12:39 PM · 1.1 ftH 6:41 PM · 6.4 ft
- City Front Reach78
Channel · 1.1 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 78
- Spot 73
- Atlantic tarpon 72
7 kt NNEL 12:42 PM · 1.2 ftH 7:17 PM · 6.7 ft
- Rayonier Reach78
Channel · 1.7 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 78
- Spot 73
- Atlantic tarpon 72
7 kt NNEL 12:42 PM · 1.2 ftH 7:17 PM · 6.7 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.