How to Catch Redfish in Florida

Look for redfish shallow — on grass flats, along oyster bars and mangrove edges, on a moving tide. In water barely deep enough to cover them they feed head-down with their tails out of the water, and a tailing fish is one you can cast to individually instead of searching blind.

The rules are where most guides to this fishery go wrong, and one of the errors is significant.

The Indian River Lagoon is catch-and-release only

Most pages will tell you the Florida slot is 18 to 27 inches and you may keep one. That is true statewide — and it is wrong for the Indian River Lagoon, which FWC manages as catch and release only for red drum. Nothing may be kept there, of any size.

That is one of the most heavily fished estuaries in Florida, and it is the single thing worth knowing before you plan a trip around keeping a fish.

The rules, and the part about boats

There is also a vessel limit that is separate from your personal bag, and it differs by region:

So four anglers in a boat in Tampa Bay are limited to two redfish between them, not four. And note that the operator and crew of a vessel for hire may not harvest or possess red drum at all — charter crews are release-only by rule.

Checked against FWC on 29 August 2026. Redfish rules in Florida have changed materially in recent years, particularly after red tide events, and there are nine regions with their own entries. Open the FWC red drum page before you fish. That link is the authority, not this one.

The rules worked, which is worth saying

The 18–27 inch slot, the one-fish bag and a spring closed season were introduced in 1989, when the fishery was in trouble. Stocks have since rebounded and now exceed FWC's management goal of 40% escapement across most of Florida.

That is a rare piece of good news in fisheries management, and it is the reason the slot is worth respecting rather than resenting: it is the thing that produced the fishery you are going out to enjoy.

Where to find them

Shallow grass flats. The classic. Look for tails, wakes, or nervous bait. Fish move with the tide onto the flat to feed and off it as the water drops.

Oyster bars and mangrove edges. Redfish root along structure with their crushing plates. A moving tide pushing food past an oyster edge is the setup.

Docks and creek mouths. Ambush points, especially on falling water.

Autumn passes and beaches. Big adults school up to spawn. These are the bull reds — almost all of them are over the slot and going back.

Tackle

The envelope is close enough to snook that one setup covers both: soft plastics on a jig head, gold spoons, topwater at first light, or live shrimp and cut bait on a circle hook. Our saltwater lure guide covers pre-rigged soft plastics that arrive on a hook.

Circle hooks earn their place here. Between the one-fish bag, everything over 27 inches going back, and an entire zone that is release-only, most redfish you touch are releases — and a circle hook takes the corner of the mouth instead of the gut.

Redfish live against oyster and their crushing plates chew leader. Run heavy fluorocarbon and check it with your fingers after every fish; if it feels rough, retie.

Handling the ones that go back

Support the fish horizontally, keep it in the water where you can, and get it swimming before you let go. That matters most for the big autumn fish — those are the breeders the slot exists to protect, and they are the ones most likely to have been fought hard in warm water.

Related

• How to catch snook in Florida — the same water, different rules
• Red drum — identification, range and diet
• Rigs & setups — what goes on the line, in order

Sources

• Red Drum (Redfish) — Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission — slot, bag, nine regions, vessel limits by region, Indian River Lagoon catch-and-release, vessel-for-hire crew rule
• FWC approves changes for redfish in state waters following final rule hearing — FWC
• Saltwater Recreational Fishing Regulations — FWC