Waterlands

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Red drumCatch & release

Bay · Florida

Pepper Flats

28.59°N · 80.61°W · Bay · Volusia-Brevard County Line to Sebastian Inlet 0-20 nm

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Best score today · 6 PM · Red drum

79/100Great
Now
749 AM EDT
Best window
2 PM-12 AMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing2.2 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: Wed · 82

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 9 AM · now

Time9ANOW
Score74Great
Tide2.2 ft ▼Ebbing
Current0.2 knmodeled · toward SE
Wind1 kn Ngusts 6 · building
Sea stateLight chop0.6 ft · 7 s
Air temp78°Warm
WeatherMostly cloudy73% cloud
Water83°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

Pepper Flats

Depth
2-7 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Flat · Outer · Semi-exposedFlat · 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 Pepper Flats

Pepper Flats is a bay in Volusia-Brevard County Line to Sebastian Inlet 0-20 nm, Florida. Depth is 2-7 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads flat, outer water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 29 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, red drum and spot. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, red drum, spot and Atlantic tarpon, and shoulder season for black drum, Spanish mackerel, weakfish and black sea bass. Atlantic croaker peak from August through October. Red drum peak from August through November. Spot peak 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.
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 →
  • Jack Davis Cut

    Channel · 1.3 mi

    80
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 80
    • Common snook 75
    • Spot 75

    1 kt NL 11:57 AM · 0.9 ftH 6:07 PM · 4.1 ft

  • Barge Channel

    Channel · 1.8 mi

    80
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 80
    • Common snook 75
    • Spot 75

    1 kt NL 11:57 AM · 0.9 ftH 6:07 PM · 4.1 ft

  • Bluebill Creek

    Bay · 0.6 mi

    76
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 76
    • Southern flounder 74
    • Spot 74

    1 kt NL 11:57 AM · 0.9 ftH 6:07 PM · 4.1 ft

  • Pintail Creek

    Bay · 0.8 mi

    76
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 76
    • Red drum 74
    • Southern flounder 74

    1 kt NL 11:57 AM · 0.9 ftH 6:07 PM · 4.1 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.