14 Places To Find Winter Redfish In NW Florida; How To Catch Them

Red drum can be hard to find when waters turn chilly. Here's what to do.

November 12, 2024 By Frank Sargeant

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Redfish—aka red drum or channel bass—are found from the Laguna Madre on the Texas Coast all the way to the shores of Virginia in great numbers, and in recent seasons with warming waters they’ve been caught as far north as Massachusetts.

But they can be surprisingly hard to find when coastal waters turn chilly and they leave their familiar shallow water haunts—where they’re a favorite sight-fishing target for thousands of anglers—and settle into winter quarters. They all but disappear, even in the usually temperate waters of Florida.

Where Do They Go?

Reds generally don’t make long coastal migrations to escape cold, as do some near-shore species like king and Spanish mackerel. Instead, they tend to move around within a given estuary—fish spawned in Pensacola Bay usually stay in that watershed at least until they become adults at around 28” long, and ditto for those at Choctawhatchee Bay, Apalachicola Bay and elsewhere.

red drum under water — The Z-Man MulletronZ is a through-line bait that scores well on big reds winter and summer.

Reds in the Florida slot limit, 18-27” long, draw the most interest, so we’ll concentrate on them.

Inshore reds appear to be happiest—that is they feed normally and settle into preferred waters with ideal habitat, between about 60 and 88 F. Hotter or colder sends them looking for more comfortable waters.

In winter, severe cold (the Florida version, below 50 degrees) will move nearly all reds off the flats and into potholes, powerplant warm-water outflows, residential canals, boat basins and anywhere else there’s an insulating blanket of warm water.

red drum caught at boat — A shallow draft boat is a plus in being able to get into winter redfish holes, particularly on the often extra-low tides of winter.

Many Florida rivers start with or are fed by springs with ground water that stays close to 70 degrees even during extended cold snaps. Reds can survive in completely fresh waters—several Texas lakes are stocked with reds that live their entire lives in fresh water and do just fine, though they can’t spawn successfully in fresh water. So reds can readily migrate well up these freshwater rivers.

Additionally, black water rivers soak up the sun’s heat better than the clear water on the flats. Last but not least, there are no bottle-nosed dolphin up the rivers waiting to eat cold-slowed redfish. So, pretty much every major Florida river flowing into the Gulf draws them, as do several flowing into the Atlantic. Here are some places to look along the northwest coast, where the fish camps and guides could particularly use some business this winter after the ravages of the hurricane season:

Northwest Florida Winter Locations for Redfish Action

fishing saltwater flats — Clear water on the flats may hold winter reds on sunny winter afternoons as the fish try to warm up, but otherwise, they’re usually in deeper water or in springfed rivers and creeks.

Pensacola Bay: Escambia River, Blackwater River, Yellow River
Choctawhatchee Bay: Rocky Creek, Alaqua Creek, Choctawhatchee River, Mitchell River
Grand Lagoon: Econfina River, Mill Bayou, Bayou George
St. Joe Bay: Industrial Canal, ICW
Apalachicola Bay: Apalachicola River, St. Marks River, East River
Ochlockonee Bay: Ochlockonee River
Apalachee Bay: Wakulla River, Stony Bayou, Aucilla River
Big Bend: Econfina River, Fenholloway River, Spring Warrior River and countless small creeks, many un-named—reds pretty much everywhere
Keaton Beach: Salt Creek, Blue Creek & Fish Creek
Deadman Bay: Steinhatchee River
Suwannee Sound: Suwannee River—multiple entries, all good; Little Trout Creek, Erickson Creek, Preacher Hole
Cedar Key: King Creek, Tripod Creek and numerous unnamed creeks southeast of town
Waccasassa Bay: Wekiva River, Bullfrog Creek
Turtle Creek Bay: Turtle Creek, Richard Creek, Trout Creek

Locating Redfish in Holes, Rivers and Creeks

Reds travel in schools and stack up together as they move into winter refuges. So, keep an eye out for deep, rocky potholes in the flats as you move towards the creeks and rivers.

Anywhere that’s deeper than the surrounding waters might be a winter redfish hangout. In the main river flowage, it usually takes a hole 8 feet or deeper to hold fish for any length of time, but for fish that move into the feeder creeks, they may settle into a 100-foot long hole that’s only 4 feet deep where the rest of the water is 2 feet deep.

Sharp bends, rocky holes and spring outflows are all likely spots to find fish stacked up. Keep an eye on your water temperature gauge and fish anywhere you see water that’s several degrees warmer than the main flow.

redfish on jerk bait — Reds hit a variety of lures, including slow sinkers like the Berkley Juke jerkbait.

The key is to keep moving and make lots of exploratory casts until you get bit, then drop the Power-Pole or anchor and go to work on them. If you have scanning sonar, you can sometimes scope out these fish before you cast.

In the smaller creeks, making noise is sure to flush the fish so the quieter you can approach, the better—a trolling motor on low, a push pole, or approach via kayak or SUP is the best bet. Where possible, get out of the boat and ease up to the hole on foot. (Don’t forget waders—the water is chilly and the bottoms usually loaded with sharp oyster shell or limerock.)

kayak red fish — A kayak can be a real advantage for probing small deep creeks where reds hide out in winter. (Photo courtesy of Hobie)

How to Catch Redfish in the Backwaters

Most rivers and creeks in northwest Florida are blackwater flowages, so visibility is limited. This means that live and cut bait have a significant advantage, along with scented artificials like Berkely’s GULP ALIVE crabs or shrimp or Fish Bites Fightin’ Shrimp among others.

Live shrimp is the obvious winter choice for reds, and a tail-hooked shrimp on a 2/0 Kahle hook is usually all it takes to get hooked up if you get around ‘em. Add a few split shot to put it on the bottom, or if you’re in an area with decent tidal flow, fish it a couple feet under a popping cork and let the current send your bait exploring along docks, seawalls and mangrove shorelines.

A 2-inch slab of fresh-cut pinfish, ladyfish or mullet is sometimes even better than live shrimp, and stays on the hook much better when there are bait-stealers around.

red fish in a net — A rubberized net assists in release of fish over or under the slot limit.

One Old Florida trick lost to the modern age still works, which is to cut fresh shrimp tail into quarter-inch slivers and put these “sweeteners” on the hook of a 1/8 to ¼ ounce jig with a 3-inch soft plastic shrimp or boot tail. The jig allows you to cover a lot more area than with live bait only, and the scent assures the fish can find it in the low-vis water.

Artificials work pretty well once you locate the fish. Slow-movers like the Z-Man PrawnstarZ, DOA Shrimp, LIVETARGET Shrimp and Savage Gear Manic Shrimp all score—ease them along with the flow, just off bottom, or around docks, bridges, oyster bars and blowdowns until you feel the tap-tap, then set the hook.

redfish on lure — The LiveTarget Shrimp is a favorite for fishing a moving tide around redfish terrain.

Tackle for Winter Redfish

Your standard flats gear does the job for backwater reds, where it’s rare for a fish to exceed 28 inches. A 7-foot medium action fast tip spinning rod, 2500 reel and 15-pound-test braid, with a length of 20-pound-test mono or fluorocarbon leader tied in with a double uniknot is all it takes.

10redfishrelease — Releasing fish outside the slot assures more reds for tomorrow and the year after.

Redfish for the Table

Anglers release most reds and they survive handling well. But for those destined for the table, proper care will bring out the best flavor.

Kill them quickly and humanely by cutting the throat latch and letting them bleed out overboard—this does the job in seconds, and makes a big difference in the taste. Then, get them on ice, and cover them completely with the ice as well. Even though the air may feel cold in winter, it’s not cold enough to preserve premium flavor—lots of ice is a must. Reds are very good baked or grilled “in the shell” with the skin on and stuffed with sliced lemons or oranges, but when served it’s essential to lift off the layer of dark fishy-tasting meat along the lateral line with a spatula before digging in.