UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN
Red drumRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all66
- Red drum66
- Common snook58
- Atlantic croaker56
- Gray snapper56
- Permit54
- Atlantic tarpon53
- Black drum52
- Southern flounder50
- Gag grouper49
- Crevalle jack47
- Gray triggerfish47
- Red grouper47
- Red snapper47
- Spanish mackerel47
- Spotted seatrout46
- Greater amberjack42
- King mackerel41
- Cobia38
- Florida pompano38
- Sheepshead34
Best score today · 9 AM · Red drum
- Now
- 661 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 Southeast Head 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 · 1 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
52Tide: EbbingCurrent: SlackWind & pressure
ECMWF
72Wind: 9 kt ENEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
64Water temp: 87°F, warmLight: Partly cloudySolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.9 ftSeason & habitat · Red drum
Species seasonality
100Season: PeakHabitat: Prime structureDepth: 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 · 10 more weeks at peak
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Southeast Head
- Depth
- 2-4 ftNearest water
- Structure
- Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · 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 Southeast Head
Southeast Head is a cape in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth in the nearest water is 2-4 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are red drum, common snook and Atlantic croaker. It is peak season now for red drum, common snook, Atlantic croaker and gray snapper, and shoulder season for permit, Atlantic tarpon, black drum and southern flounder. Red drum peak from September through November. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Atlantic croaker 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Clambar Bay66
Bay · 1.1 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
- Hells Half Acre65
Bay · 0.9 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 65
- Atlantic croaker 61
- Common snook 57
9 kt ENEL 2:12 PM · 0.6 ftH 5:50 AM · 2.3 ft
- Bishop Harbor63
Bay · 0.3 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
- Sea Breeze Point60
Cape · 2.4 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 60
- Atlantic croaker 59
- Gray snapper 59
9 kt ENEL 2:42 PM · 0.6 ftH 5:42 AM · 2.4 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.