Waterlands

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Red drumRetention open

Bay · Florida

Wild Goose Lagoon

29.98°N · 85.49°W · Bay · St. Andrews Bay Waterways

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Best score today · 7 PM · Red drum

77/100Great
Now
742 PM CST
Best window
6 PM-12 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Ebbing0.4 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions

Tuesday, Nov 3 · 12 AM

Time12A
Score73Great
Tide1.1 ft ▲Flooding
Current0.3 knmodeled · toward NW
Wind10 kn ENEgusts 19 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.9 ft · 4 s
Air temp70°Warm
WeatherClear9% cloud
Water74°FBias corrected

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)

IN EFFECT NOW

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 Closed (No retention)
  • 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

Red drum season by week of the year. Peak season for Red drum · 4 more weeks at peak.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Red drum in Florida →

Spot profile

Wild Goose Lagoon

Depth
Under 1 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 Wild Goose Lagoon

Wild Goose Lagoon is a bay in St. Andrews Bay Waterways, Florida. Depth is under 1 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, spotted seatrout and Spanish mackerel. It is peak season now for red drum, spotted seatrout, Spanish mackerel and Florida pompano, and shoulder season for king mackerel, black drum, gray triggerfish and red grouper. Red drum peak from September through November. Spotted seatrout peak from March through May and from October through November. Spanish mackerel peak from April through May and from October 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.
Spotted seatrout
Trout hold over grass beds and sandy potholes in 2 to 8 feet of water most of the year and slide into channels, deep creek bends and canals during cold snaps. A live shrimp under a slip or popping cork, a paddle tail on a light jighead, or a topwater walked at first light covers most situations. Keep the drag light because their mouths tear easily.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Saint Andrew Sound

    Bay · 3.2 mi

    70
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 70
    • Spanish mackerel 68
    • Spotted seatrout 67

    11 kt EL 4:27 PM · 0.3 ftH 5:41 AM · 1.6 ft

  • Saint Andrew Point

    Cape · 1.9 mi

    66
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 66
    • Spanish mackerel 63
    • Spotted seatrout 63

    11 kt EL 4:27 PM · 0.3 ftH 5:41 AM · 1.6 ft

  • Strange Point

    Cape · 3.3 mi

    66
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 66
    • Spanish mackerel 63
    • Spotted seatrout 63

    11 kt EL 4:27 PM · 0.3 ftH 5:41 AM · 1.6 ft

  • Nesser Flat

    Bay · 3.5 mi

    63
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 63
    • Spanish mackerel 60
    • Spotted seatrout 60

    11 kt EL 2:27 PM · 0.3 ftH 5:41 AM · 1.6 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.