“Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly.” – Langston Hughes I Love reading #langstonhughes in college. Always great things to say! Red drum have also been called redfish, spottail, red bass, and channel bass. The life span of a red drum can exceed 40 years. Red drum inhabit inshore and offshore waters along the Atlantic coast from Massachusetts to Key West and throughout the Gulf of Mexico. The majority of the red drum life cycle is spent in nearshore waters and estuaries. Since estuaries are such vital nursery grounds for red drum, we must realize that deterioration of water quality or loss of suitable habitat can have drastic effects on the number of young fish that survive into adulthood. Since red drum are not normally long distance travelers, they don’t stray far from the areas in which they were born. In Florida waters, on average red drum can grow to 40 inches, 40 pounds on the Gulf of Mexico coast; 45 inches, 52 pounds on the Atlantic coast. Red drum begin spawning in the fall when daylight hours decrease and water temperature begins to cool. Commercial harvesting of red drum is prohibited throughout the gulf coast states with the exception of Mississippi, which has a very limited inshore fishery. #reddrum #exploremore #reels #weekendvibes #trending #viral #silly #bikini