There are a few over-slot reds in the Bay -they're remnants of a stocking program some years ago that didn't succeed. There are also new slot-sized reds beginning to show in the extreme south end of the Bay - and there have been threads posted in the fishing reports section within the past year.
In my opinion the slot sized fish are the results of the deterioration of the bottom along the northern portions of Florida Bay.... and a few reds are moving up into areas that are more friendly... Years and years ago (until just after WWII) there was a resident population of reds in Biscayne Bay, the southern portion... All of that ended when the canals for flood control began draining and diverting the freshwater flow into the Bay, changing the mix of salt and freshwater... Reds simply left the area when that occurred. The first stocking program for reds that I saw was in the late seventies with very small fish (and the only ones ever recovered were all the way up in Ft. Pierce..). The second program in the eighties used bigger fish - and a few of them may still be around...
Interesting subject...
