Coppery-bronze to reddish body, blunt nose, one or more black spots at the tail base. Galveston 'rat reds' (16-20") to slot fish 20-28" are the everyday catch; bull reds of 30-45"+ show at the jetties and passes in fall.
⚖ Texas limits · 2026-27 license year 3/day · 20–28″ slot · one oversize per license year with a Red Drum Tag (+1 Bonus tag) · verify at TPWD →
On the water
WhenYear-round. Prime is fall (Sept-Nov): the bull red 'run' stacks big fish at the jetties, San Luis Pass, and surf on moving tides. Slot reds feed shallow on warming spring/summer mornings. Best on moving water around dawn/dusk; tailing fish on calm flood-tide flats.WhereGalveston Bay/West Bay flats and marsh drains, oyster reefs, back-lake shorelines, the North/South Jetty, the Texas City Dike, Seawolf Park, San Luis Pass, and the surf guts along Galveston Island beachfront.HowSight-cast or blind-cast the flats (wade or drift) with soft plastics under a popping cork; fish cut/live bait on bottom at the jetties, dike and passes with a fish-finder rig; work the surf guts on moving tide for bulls. Popping corks call schooling reds in stained water.BehaviorAggressive, opportunistic bottom-oriented predators that root crabs, shrimp and baitfish out of mud and grass. Schooling and current-loving, they stack where tide funnels bait through cuts, guts and along rock.The fightStrong, dogged runs and hard head-shakes; bulls are a heavy, sustained bulldog fight in current.
Baits that work
Live/cut mullet and menhaden (bulls love a fresh mullet chunk)
Live shrimp under popping cork
Blue crab halves/quarters (top bull-red bait)
Fresh dead shrimp on bottom
Gold/copper weedless spoon
Soft plastics (paddletail/shrimp imitation) on jighead or cork
Topwater walkers at dawn on the flats
Tackle
Rod & reelSlot reds: 7-7.5' medium/medium-heavy spinning or baitcaster, 3000-4000 reel. Bull reds: 8-10' medium-heavy surf/conventional or heavy spinning 5000-6000.LineSlot: 10-20 lb braid or 12 lb mono. Bulls: 30-50 lb braid or 20-30 lb mono.LeaderSlot: 20-30 lb fluorocarbon. Bulls: 40-60 lb mono/fluoro (abrasion from rock/oysters).Terminal1/4-3/8 oz jigheads; 3/0-6/0 circle hooks; 1-4 oz egg/pyramid sinkers for current and surf.RigPopping cork over a jighead or shrimp; Carolina/fish-finder rig for bottom bait; free-line around structure.
The bait clock
☀ DawnLive shrimp under popping cork
Reds prowl bay shorelines and grass edges at first light; the cork's pop draws strikes in low light.
☼ MiddayCut mullet or half blue crab on bottom
Midday jetty and channel reds hunt by scent; a soaked natural bait outfishes lures under high sun.
☾ DuskGold spoon or topwater over flats
Falling light pushes reds shallow to crash bait; flash and surface commotion trigger reaction bites.
★ NightFresh cut mullet or whole crab on fish-finder rig
Bull reds feed by smell on night tides at the jetties and surf guts; scent trumps sight after dark.
[{'months': [9, 10, 11], 'note': 'Fall bull red run at jetties/surf: cut mullet and blue crab on heavy bottom rigs.'}, {'months': [6, 7, 8], 'note': 'Summer slot reds take live croaker and finger mullet along jetty rocks.'}]
Reds feed around the clock in Galveston; tide movement matters more than the clock except for night bull reds.
Reds are copper with one or more tail spots and no chin barbels. Black drum are gray-silver with a cluster of chin whiskers; juveniles carry vertical bars. The two carry different slots — check each species' limits line.
Handling & releaseVery hardy and release well. Oversized bulls (>28") must be released unless kept on a Red Drum/Bonus tag - support the belly, minimize air time, don't lip-gill big fish, revive by moving water over gills. Use circle hooks to reduce gut-hooking.On the tableSlot-size reds have firm, mild, slightly sweet fillets; excellent 'on the half shell' (grilled scales-on). Larger bull reds get coarse and strong; smaller slot fish eat best.As baitNot a legal bait fish (gamefish). Their forage - mullet and menhaden - are the classic reds baits.
The bar to beat
Texas state record
59.5 lb · 54.25″ — Artie Longron
Gulf of Mexico, TX, 2000
Galveston Bay best
22.3 lb · 40.5″ — Brian Adams
Bolivar Roads (Galveston Bay), 2024
World record
94.13 lb — David Deuel
Avon, North Carolina, 1984
Records as compiled in the IronJetty guide (Aug 2026) — verify current marks with TPWD records / IGFA. TX state record has stood since 2000. The Galveston Bay figure is a TPWD Water Body Records entry (2024), not necessarily the biggest ever from the bay. Deuel's world-record red beat the prior mark by 10+ lb.
