facing mouths used for bottom feeding.
             Red drum live in shallow, grassy flats and bays for the first three years of their life. The bays offer protection from predators and plenty of food. During sudden cold spells, when the water temperature drops drastically, red drum may be found in rivers and creeks. Juveniles live both in the bays and nearshore, moving between the areas seasonally for spawning. As the red drum matures, it move offshore for the rest of its life. (McCarty 1990)
             Red drum reach sexual maturity at three or four years of age, at approximately thirty inches. Spawning occurs offshore but near inlets of bays and flats. This occurs from late summer through fall. The eggs must float through the inlets into the bays, or else the newly hatched red drum will not make it. This is the single most important step in the spawning process. After twenty-four hours, the eggs hatch and the larvae must move into shallow water with a grassy bottom.(Murdy 1997) If the eggs do not make it to the shallow grass flats, the red drum larvae will most probably be eaten by another fish or a bird.
             Newly hatched red drum feed on zooplankton. When the reach about thirty millimeters, they are considered fingerlings. Fingerlings and juveniles diet consists of a mixture of small crabs, shrimp and crustaceans. Worms and mollusks are other common parts of a red drum's diet. As the fish grows, its diet expands to larger organisms. (Dailey 1992) Through their entire life, starting as fingerlings, red drum are bottom feeders. With their bottom facing mouths, they act as a vacuum along the bottom of the bays. Often red drum are found on flats of only three to four inches of water. When the red drum are feeding in this shallow water, their tails stick out of the water. This is often referred to as "tailing". (Matlock 1984)
             In the 1970's, the red drum declined in numbers greatly. Ma
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