UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN
Red drumRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 5 PM · Red drum
- Now
- 7312 PM CDT
- Best window
- 3-8 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing0.7 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Bunker Cove 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
Saturday, Sep 26 · 7 PM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
45Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.2 knWind & pressure
ECMWF
97Wind: 6 kt NWPressure: FallingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
81Water temp: 86°F, warmLight: DuskSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.7 ftSeason & habitat · Red drum
Species seasonality
100Season: PeakHabitat: Prime 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 Retention open (2 per day (4 Gulf grouper combined))
- Gray snapper Retention open (5 per day (10 snapper combined))
- Gray triggerfish Retention open (1 per day)
- Greater amberjack Retention open (1 per day)
- 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 Retention open (5 per day)
- Spanish mackerel Retention open (15 per day)
- Spot Retention open
- 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 today
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Red drum is best here
Peak season for Red drum · 10 more weeks at peak
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Bunker Cove
- Depth
- 2-4 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 Bunker Cove
Bunker Cove is a bay in Eastern Choctawhatchee Bay, Florida. Depth is 2-4 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 19 species here; the best right now are red drum, Atlantic croaker and permit. It is peak season now for red drum, Atlantic croaker and gray snapper, and shoulder season for permit, Atlantic tarpon, crevalle jack and southern flounder. Red drum peak from September through November. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. Permit peak from April through June.
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.
- Permit
- Permit cruise flat edges and channels in 2 to 6 feet of water in the Keys and Biscayne Bay, and school over wrecks and reefs in 30 to 120 feet, especially during the spring spawn. A live or artificial crab is the standard bait, cast ahead of a tailing fish on the flats or dropped to a school on a wreck. They spook easily in shallow water, so good light and a long, quiet cast are needed.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Mallet Bayou73
Bay · 5.0 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 73
- Atlantic croaker 71
- Permit 67
5 kt ENEL 8:20 PM · 0.4 ftH 7:53 AM · 0.9 ft
- Duck Lake71
Bay · 1.7 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 71
- Red drum 69
- Gray snapper 68
5 kt ENEL 8:20 PM · 0.4 ftH 7:53 AM · 0.9 ft
- Jolly Bay71
Bay · 3.0 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 71
- Gray snapper 68
- Red drum 68
5 kt ENEL 8:20 PM · 0.4 ftH 7:53 AM · 0.9 ft
- Wheeler Point66
Cape · 4.4 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 66
- Gray snapper 64
- Red drum 64
5 kt ENEL 8:20 PM · 0.4 ftH 7:53 AM · 0.9 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.