Sciaenops ocellatus: Red Drum ID, Size, Eating, Rules

• Tail spot: The most distinguishing mark on the red drum is one or more ringed black spots (eyespots) on the upper part of the tail base; a very small number of individuals have no spot at all.
• Body color: Color ranges from a deep blackish, coppery color to nearly silver; the most common color is reddish-bronze.
• Chin barbels: The lower jaw has no barbels — the key trait separating it from the similar-looking black drum.
• Scales: Scales are relatively large; the back is copper-bronze, fading to a lighter belly.

The black drum has multiple pairs of chin barbels and no spot on the tail; the red drum has no chin barbels and one or more black spots on the tail base. See the Black Drum page for its full mark list.

The sheepshead has five or six distinct dark vertical bars on each side, most distinct in young fish, and incisor-like teeth; the red drum has uniform coloring with no vertical bars. See the Sheepshead page for its full mark list.

Found in estuaries, river mouths, bays, sandbars, mud flats, seagrass beds, oyster reefs, surf zones, and shallow continental-shelf waters — a brackish/nearshore saltwater species. Distributed in North America along the Atlantic coast from Massachusetts to the Florida Keys, and along the Gulf Coast to Tuxpan, Mexico.

Lay the fish flat on its side in even light and photograph the whole body first, then the details below. Spread the tail fin so its shape (forked, rounded or square) is clear. Get a close, sharp frame of the head: mouth, jaw length and any barbels. Photograph the gill cover and cheek straight on so the ear flap and scale rows are visible. Shoot the side of the body before the fish dries; spots and stripes fade fast out of water. The app reads the photo and names the likely species; use the marks on this page to confirm it.

Size and daily limits for this species differ by state and by water, and some waters are catch-and-release only. Check the current regulations for where you are fishing before keeping any fish; if you are unsure of the species, release it.

Sciaenops ocellatus is the scientific name of the red drum, also called redfish, channel bass, puppy drum, spottail bass or simply red (Wikipedia). Fish of 27 inches or more are called bull reds.

The world record is just over 94 lb (43 kg), caught on Hatteras Island in 1984 (Wikipedia). FishBase gives a maximum length of 155 cm and weight of 45 kg, and a common length of 100 cm. Estimates of age vary: FishBase and the Florida Museum say at least 50 years, and Wikipedia says red drum can live to 60.

They mature at about 3 to 5 years, at around 28 inches for males and 33 for females (Wikipedia). Spawning runs from mid-August to mid-October by Wikipedia's account, or to mid-November near tidal inlets by the Florida Museum's; a batch averages about 1.5 million eggs. The red drum is the state saltwater fish of North Carolina (since 1971) and Texas (since 2011).

Red drum is eaten widely, but where it comes from matters. Commercial sale of red drum from US federal waters has been banned since Executive Order 13449 in October 2007, so restaurant redfish is usually farm-raised (Wikipedia). FishBase lists its price category as high.

Mercury rises with size. In a 2021 article for the Coastal Conservation Association, Dr. Kesley Banks explains that larger red drum accumulate mercury above acceptable limits, while fish within the legal slot are generally below the advisory limits unless an advisory has been set for that water. The same article gives the reference levels: 1.0 ppm (wet weight) used by the FDA for commercial fish, and 0.3 ppm recommended by the EPA for recreational fish. CCA's advice is to keep slot-size fish for the table and release the big ones.

Before eating red drum you caught, check your state health department's consumption advisory for that water, especially for children and anyone pregnant.

No. The freshwater drum (Aplodinotus grunniens) is a relative of the red drum and is native across much of North America, from Hudson Bay south to Guatemala. It is the only drum in North America that lives its whole life in fresh water (US Fish and Wildlife Service). See the freshwater drum page for how to identify it.

Red drum are one of the most popular recreational gamefish on the US Atlantic coast and in the Gulf of Mexico (Florida Museum). The harder part is often keeping one legally, because slot limits like Florida's allow only mid-sized fish to be kept.

Florida's rules, as listed by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (checked 25 September 2026):

• Slot: not less than 18 inches and not more than 27 inches total length
• Bag: 1 fish per person per day in every open region; vessel limits of 4 in the Panhandle, Big Bend and Northeast and 2 elsewhere
• Indian River Lagoon: catch-and-release only
• Gear: hook and line or cast net only; no spearing, gigging, bowfishing or snatch hooking, and no multiple hooks with natural bait
• Landing: fish must stay whole until landed ashore

Other states set their own limits, so check your state's current regulations before you keep one.