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Red drumRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 9 AM · Red drum
- Now
- 575 PM CDT
- Best window
- 9 PM-12 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Low0.5 ft
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Alligator Point 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 · 5 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
36Tide: Low slackCurrent: 0.6 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
69Wind: 5 kt SWPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
78Water temp: 87°F, warmLight: DuskSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.5 ftSeason & habitat · Red drum
Species seasonality
75Season: PeakHabitat: Poor fitDepth: In rangeRegulations: Retention open
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 · 9 more weeks at peak
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Alligator Point
- Depth
- 1-15 ftSlope
- Structure
- Point · Inner · ProtectedPoint · 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 Alligator Point
Alligator Point is a cape in St. Andrews Bay Waterways, Florida. Depth is 1-15 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads point, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 19 species here; the best right now are gray snapper, red drum and Atlantic tarpon. It is peak season now for gray snapper, red drum and Atlantic croaker, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, Spanish mackerel, permit and crevalle jack. Gray snapper peak from June through September. Red drum peak from September through November. Atlantic tarpon peak from May through July.
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.
- Gray snapper
- Mangrove snapper hold tight to mangrove roots, bridge pilings, jetties and reef ledges, from a few feet deep inshore to 150 feet offshore. Chum to pull them out of cover, then freeline or lightly weight a live shrimp or pilchard on fluorocarbon leader, since they shy away from heavy line in clear water. The bite improves at dusk and after dark.
- 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
- Grand Lagoon Channel70
Channel · 1.9 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 70
- Atlantic croaker 68
- Atlantic tarpon 68
5 kt SWL 5:49 PM · 0.5 ftH 8:30 AM · 1.7 ft
- Saint Andrew Bay66
Bay · 1.9 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 66
- Gray snapper 66
- Red drum 66
5 kt SWL 6:05 PM · 0.5 ftH 8:42 AM · 1.7 ft
- Grand Lagoon62
Bay · 1.3 mi
Top: Gray snapperPeak season- Gray snapper 62
- Red drum 61
- Atlantic croaker 60
5 kt SWH 7:38 AM · 1.6 ftL 5:28 PM · 0.6 ft
- Davis Point55
Cape · 2.4 mi
Top: Gray snapperPeak season- Gray snapper 55
- Atlantic croaker 54
- Red drum 54
3 kt SSWH 8:29 AM · 1.6 ftL 5:27 PM · 0.6 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.