Red drum, one of Florida's most popular sport fish, is also one of the state's most widespread estuarine inhabitants. Red drum are prodigious spawners that may produce tens of millions of eggs each year. Their relative hardiness and prolific nature make them ideal candidates for rearing in hatcheries. Stringent fishing restrictions have been instrumental in restoring populations of this fast-growing fish, which frequents practically all of the state's estuaries.

Tail and red bass, red drum are marine fish that are easily identified by the "eyespot" on the tail. Their common name aptly describes both their reddish hue and the peculiar "drumming" sound they make during spawning or when taken from the water. This drumming is produced by special muscles rubbing against the inflated air bladder, like fingers rubbing on a balloon.

Red drum are reddish-brown on the back, fading to white below. Juveniles have a copper or bronze tint. While most red drum have one distinctive black spot at the base of the tail, some have several spots. In 1997, a fish with hundreds of spots, one on each scale, was identified as a red drum by fish biologists. The body is elongated and thick, with a gently arched back and sloping head. The large scales on the upper body are rough, while those on the breast area are smooth. Red drum have two dorsal fins; the front fin has sharp spines and the back dorsal fin has soft rays resembling a flat-top haircut. The tail of an adult is broad and either flat at the end or slightly concave. The long pectoral, or side, fins are the color of rust.

The colors of the red drum vary according to where the fish lives. Red drum in the Gulf of Mexico are a lighter red than those that reside in muddy bays. Occupants of white, sandy bottoms have light, muted tones. When a fish is taken from the water, it may turn a darker red. As they reach sexual maturity and prepare to spawn, the colors also become a much deeper red or bronze.

Red drum in Florida may live 25 to 35 years. Reds on the Atlantic Coast are generally larger than those on the Gulf Coast. Although the largest red drum ever caught weighed more than 94 pounds, the Florida record is 51 pounds, 8 ounces, for a fish taken at Sebastian Inlet in 1983. The largest red caught in Florida with fly fishing tackle was landed in 1982 off Englewood and weighed 21 pounds, 10 ounces.

Red drum is being restored to several areas of the state. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission recently topped the one million mark in hatchery-raised red drum released into Tampa Bay. Biscayne Bay has also been successfully restocked. Currently, anglers can keep one red drum per person per day and only if it is between 18 and 27 inches in length. Red drum generally remain in the same geographic area in which they were spawned for the first three to four years of their life. As they reach sexual maturity, they will leave the estuarine area and join in offshore aggregation of spawning fish. Protecting the quality of estuarine areas is vital to their growth during the first critical years of life.