“If redfish keep biting like this, they can have the stripers!”

That’s a phrase I’ve heard more than once from Chesapeake Bay fishermen this year.  I’ve been catching a few smallish reds around the Kent Island shoreline since May, but things have really opened up in the last week or so. Where are they and why are they here?  I’ll tell you where later, but first let’s talk about why.  Simply put, conservation measures are allowing red drum to expand their range. Successful fishing for slot-size red drum (fish between 18- and 27-inches long) is completely dependent on the success of spawning over the past three years.  There is quite a bit of variation in a redfish’s rate of growth.  At one year old, redfish will range from 10- to 17-inches long, averaging 14 inches.  At two years old, they will range from 18- to 24-inches long.  At three years old, they will range from 20- to 28-inches long, weighing four to nine pounds.  If the reds you’re catching are in the slot, chances are they’re from the 2010 or 2011 spawning class.  By all accounts, those were good years.  Here’s the rest of the story: Read More!