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Red drumRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all65
- Red drum65
- Atlantic croaker61
- Common snook57
- Gray snapper56
- Permit54
- Atlantic tarpon53
- Crevalle jack53
- Black drum51
- Southern flounder50
- Gag grouper49
- Gray triggerfish47
- Red grouper47
- Red snapper47
- Spanish mackerel46
- Spotted seatrout46
- Cobia43
- Greater amberjack41
- King mackerel40
- Florida pompano37
- Sheepshead34
Best score today · 7 PM · Red drum
- Now
- 651 PM EDT
- Best window
- 6-11 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing0.6 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Hells Half Acre 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 · 6 PM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
83Tide: EbbingCurrent: 0.3 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
82Wind: 6 kt WNWPressure: FallingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
75Water temp: 88°F, warmLight: DuskSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.7 ftSeason & habitat · Red drum
Species seasonality
100Season: PeakHabitat: Prime structureDepth: Out of 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
Hells Half Acre
- Depth
- Up to 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 Hells Half Acre
Hells Half Acre is a bay in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is up to 1 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are red drum, Atlantic croaker and common snook. It is peak season now for red drum, Atlantic croaker, common snook and gray snapper, and shoulder season for permit, Atlantic tarpon, crevalle jack and black drum. Red drum peak from September through November. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October.
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.
- Common snook
- Snook ambush bait around mangrove shorelines, bridge and dock lights, jetties and the mouths of passes and inlets, generally in 2 to 15 feet of water. Fish moving water, especially the outgoing tide, with a live pilchard, pinfish or shrimp, or a jerkbait or soft plastic swum past the structure. In summer they spawn along beaches and inlets, and in winter they crowd into rivers, canals and deep backcountry creeks where the water stays warmer.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Southeast Head66
Cape · 0.9 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 66
- Common snook 58
- Atlantic croaker 56
9 kt ENEL 2:12 PM · 0.6 ftH 5:50 AM · 2.3 ft
- Clambar Bay66
Bay · 1.5 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 66
- Atlantic croaker 61
- Common snook 58
9 kt ENEL 2:12 PM · 0.6 ftH 5:50 AM · 2.3 ft
- Bishop Harbor63
Bay · 0.6 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 63
- Common snook 63
- Gray snapper 62
9 kt ENEL 2:12 PM · 0.6 ftH 5:50 AM · 2.3 ft
- Piney Point58
Cape · 2.0 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 58
- Red drum 58
- Atlantic croaker 57
9 kt ENEL 2:12 PM · 0.6 ftH 5:50 AM · 2.3 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.