Redfish Fishing at Sebastian Inlet

Redfish at Sebastian Inlet

Redfish — red drum — are the fish that made shallow-water fishing in Florida what it is. Blunt-nosed, copper-coloured, with the black spot near the tail, they root along the bottom for crabs and shrimp and will eat a bait sitting still on the sand.

That last part is why Captain Richard Ladrew puts first-time anglers on redfish so often. A snook demands a fast, correct reaction. A redfish gives you time. It eats, it turns, it pulls hard and steadily, and it very rarely breaks you off. For a child or an adult who has never held a rod, it is close to the perfect first saltwater fish.

There is one thing every visitor should know before booking, and Captain Richard would rather you hear it now than on the dock: in the Indian River Lagoon, redfish are catch-and-release only. Every one goes back. Fishing for them is excellent; keeping them is not on the table.

Where Captain Richard Finds Them

Redfish work the shallow edges. Captain Richard looks for them along the mangrove shorelines, on the sand and grass flats, around the spoil islands and under docks where they sit out the middle of the day.

In cooler months they school, and a school of redfish on a clear winter flat is one of the better sights in this lagoon. The water clears up when the temperature drops, which makes them easier to find and considerably harder to sneak up on — which is where local knowledge starts to matter.

Best Time of Year

Redfish hold in the Indian River Lagoon all twelve months, but they are at their best from October through March. Cooler water clears the lagoon, the fish group up, and they feed through the middle of the day rather than only at the edges of it. Summer redfishing is still good, it simply happens earlier and later in the day.

How Captain Richard Fishes for Redfish

• Live or cut bait on the bottom is the highest-percentage approach: shrimp, cut mullet, or a live finger mullet fished on a light jighead or a simple knocker rig.
• On artificials, a gold spoon, a soft plastic shrimp worked slowly, or a paddletail bumped along the bottom all take fish. Redfish feed with their heads down, so anything you throw usually wants to be near the bottom.
• Captain Richard uses lighter leader for redfish than for snook — they are less structure-oriented and more line-shy, particularly in clear winter water.

Rules and Regulations

Current status: Catch and release only in this region

• In the Indian River Lagoon region, red drum are catch-and-release only. This region runs from Lytle Avenue / South Causeway in New Smyrna Beach south to the Martin–Palm Beach county line, which puts Sebastian Inlet squarely inside it.
• There is no slot and no bag limit here, because no harvest is permitted. Every redfish goes back in the water.
• Captain Richard Ladrew is contracted by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to run research trips, and handles released fish accordingly — wet hands, minimal air time, and back in the water quickly.

Regulations checked September 2026. Size limits, bag limits and seasons change — the current rules are always on the FWC saltwater regulations site. Captain Richard Ladrew fishes to current regulations and will tell you on the day what you can keep. On a Zookeeper Charters trip you are covered under his licence, so there is nothing for you to buy.

Trips That Target Redfish

• Half Day Inshore Fishing — Half Day, $600
• Full Day Inshore / Nearshore — Full Day, $975
• Kids Fishing Adventure — 3 Hour, $495