Male red drum begin maturing at one year old while females mature at age four to five in North Carolina and two to three farther south. Red drum are prolific spawners with large females capable of producing nearly two million eggs in a single season. Eggs spawned in the ocean are carried by currents into estuaries where they hatch. Young of the year appear in the estuary from August through September and newly hatched larval red drum are carried further by water currents toward fresher, shallower water. Juvenile drum in these areas feed on zoo plankton and invertebrates such as small crabs and shrimp.
Adults primarily feed on fish, crabs, and shrimp.
The red drum fishery is not important in Chesapeake Bay area. Commercial landings of red drum baywide have been reported since the 1880s. The landing have varied widely, ranging from 4,400 lb in 1973 to 1.7 million lb in 1945. Landings in the Mid-Atlantic have declined since the 1930s. A modest recreational fishery exists, with most fish taken by surf casting from seaside beaches and some by bait fishing along the bay side of the lower Eastern Shore.