Waterlands

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Red drumCatch & release

Bay · Florida

Browns Bay

29.00°N · 80.89°W · Bay · Flagler Beach to Volusia-Brevard County Line 0-20 nm

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 7 AM · Red drum

79/100Great
Now
635 AM EDT
Best window
5 AM-12 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Flooding1.8 ft ▲

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

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14-day forecast

Best days to fish

Best: Thu · 81

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 5 AM · now

Time5ANOW
Score63Good
Tide1.8 ft ▲Flooding
Current0.1 knmodeled · toward N
Wind3 kn NWgusts 5 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.5 ft · 7 s
Air temp74°Warm
WeatherOvercast95% cloud
Water82°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Atlantic state waters (Nassau through Miami-Dade counties)

IN EFFECT NOW

Red drum

Catch & release
Daily limit
No retention
Possession
Not published
Size
Not published
Season
No closed season on file
Annual quota
Not published
Other
Hook and line or cast net only. No spearing, gigging, bowfishing, snatch hooking, or multiple hooks with natural bait. Catch-and-release only in the Indian River Lagoon region.

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 (2 per day)
  • Summer flounder Retention open (5 per day)
  • Tarpon Catch & release (No retention)
  • Wahoo Retention open (2 per day)
Always check with FWC ↗Fishing license ↗

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

Red drum season by week of the year. Peak season for Red drum · 9 more weeks at peak.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Red drum in Florida →

Spot profile

Browns Bay

Depth
Up to 3 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 Browns Bay

Browns Bay is a bay in Flagler Beach to Volusia-Brevard County Line 0-20 nm, Florida. Depth is up to 3 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, 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 weakfish, black drum, red snapper and Florida pompano. 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

View all on map →
  • Little Snapper Cut

    Channel · 0.3 mi

    79
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 79
    • Atlantic tarpon 75
    • Spot 74

    3 kt NWH 6:54 AM · 2.3 ftL 1:09 PM · 0.3 ft

  • Big Snapper Cut

    Channel · 0.4 mi

    79
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 79
    • Atlantic tarpon 75
    • Spot 74

    3 kt NWH 6:54 AM · 2.3 ftL 1:09 PM · 0.3 ft

  • Indian River North

    Channel · 2.1 mi

    79
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 79
    • Common snook 75
    • Atlantic tarpon 75

    3 kt NWH 8:09 AM · 0.9 ftL 2:38 PM · 0.1 ft

  • Snake Creek

    Bay · 0.3 mi

    75
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 75
    • Red drum 72
    • Spot 72

    3 kt NWH 6:54 AM · 2.3 ftL 1:09 PM · 0.3 ft

Open in the tide map

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.