Red drum size and bag limits by state
The East Coast red drum rulebook, north to south. Managed under the ASMFC interstate plan, state-run. Core fishery: Chesapeake Bay to Florida. Rules on file here for 9 states, New York to Florida.
- NYNew York
- Size
- No size limit; fish greater than 27" total length may not be possessed
- Bag
- No limit for fish less than 27"
- Season
- Open all year
- NJNew Jersey
- Size
- 18" to less than 27"
- Bag
- 1 fish
- Season
- No closed season
- DEDelaware
- Size
- 20"–27" (slot)
- Bag
- 5
- Season
- All year
- MDMaryland
- Size
- 18"–26" (slot)
- Bag
- 3 per day
- Season
- Open year-round
- VAVirginia
- Size
- 18"–26" (slot)
- Bag
- 3 per person
- Season
- No closed season listed
- NCNorth Carolina
- Size
- 18"–27" total length (slot)
- Bag
- 1 fish per person per day
- Season
- No closed season listed on DMF size/bag page
- SCSouth Carolina
- Size
- 18"–25" total length (slot)
- Bag
- 1 per person per day, not to exceed 2 per boat per day (state waters)
- Season
- Open year-round (no gig harvest Dec 1–Feb 28)
- GAGeorgia
- Size
- 14"–23" total length (slot)
- Bag
- 5 per person per day
- Season
- Open all year
- FLFlorida (Atlantic)
- Size
- 18"–27" total length (slot)
- Bag
- Northeast Region: 1 per person per day, 4 per vessel
- Season
- Northeast Region: open year-round
Status is derived from each row's season dates on Oct 13, 2026. Rules change in season, and the agency page controls. A state missing from this list is one we have not verified yet. It may still have a rule.
The trap on this fish
Most Atlantic states manage red drum with a slot, a minimum and a maximum. The upper limit protects big spawning bulls, and anglers used to minimum-only rules are the ones who get caught out. Not every state is a slot: New York sets no minimum, only a 27-inch maximum, and parts of Florida are catch-and-release only. Read your state's row.
Federal waters
Harvest and possession of red drum are prohibited in Atlantic federal waters (the EEZ). The recreational fishery is a state-waters fishery. NOAA Fisheries · red drum ↗
From the news desk
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