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16,362-acre South Banana River Lagoon section with quality-assured NOAA BlueTopo and 2022 Indian River Lagoon topobathymetric contours, exact-polygon FWC fish evidence, mapped seagrass, charted wrecks and verified public access. The water tops out around 30 ft. The depth chart is built from real agency bathymetry referenced to NAVD88; directly measured coverage remains distinguished from source interpolation. The channels, holes and drop-offs come from the source data, not a distance-from-shore model. Every species below gets its seasonal read from the same numbers driving the chart.
South Banana River Lagoon maps at 16,396 acres behind 127 miles of shoreline, broken up by 62 islands. The 7.1 development index tells the story — a convoluted bank whose fishable edge far outruns the acreage. Every acre of it sits shallower than ~15 ft: one big littoral zone, cover and forage throughout. End to end it runs roughly 15.2 mi, about 4.1 mi across. Its nearest charted neighbour, Indian River, is 9 mi to the southeast.
The spring pattern is a shallow one: spotted seatrout in 2 to 10 ft. Midsummer fish sit out in 4 to 15 ft before dropping to 5 to 20 ft for winter. The spot to know is 2025 continuous seagrass edge, a seagrass edge in about 2 ft of water that rates prime for spotted seatrout in spring. Plan around early morning in the warm months. Summer baits: a popping cork + shrimp or a 1/4 oz jighead + paddletail (deep grass edge) gets it done.
| Season | Depth | Best window | Start at | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 2 to 10 ft | dawn & dusk | 2025 continuous seagrass edge (2 ft) | Topwater walker, Suspending twitchbait |
| Summer | 4 to 15 ft | dawn | 2025 continuous seagrass edge (4 ft) | Popping cork + shrimp, 1/4 oz jighead + paddletail (deep grass edge) |
| Fall | 3 to 12 ft | dawn | 2025 continuous seagrass edge (4 ft) | Popping cork rig, Soft plastic jerkbait |
| Winter | 5 to 20 ft | midday & dusk | Surveyed channel edge (16 ft) | Suspending twitchbait (long pauses), Scented plastic crawled on bottom |
When the water first warms, sheepshead slide up into 5 to 25 ft. There's no big seasonal slide here — summer means 3 to 15 ft, winter 10 to 30 ft. If you only fish one area, make it NOAA charted wreck: a wreck around 7 ft that scores prime in spring. In summer the feeding windows fall in early morning. Keep a small jig + crab piece rigged through the warm months.
| Season | Depth | Best window | Start at | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 5 to 25 ft | midday & dawn | NOAA charted wreck (7 ft) | 1/4 oz jighead + fiddler, Sheepshead jig + shrimp piece |
| Summer | 3 to 15 ft | dawn | Dangerous NOAA charted wreck (3 ft) | Small jig + crab piece |
| Fall | 5 to 20 ft | midday | NOAA charted wreck (7 ft) | Jighead + shrimp, Small crab jig |
| Winter | 10 to 30 ft | midday | NOAA charted wreck (7 ft) | Heavier jig + crab (deep pilings) |
Come spring, look for red drum (redfish) tight to the bank in 1 to 8 ft. Expect a summer slide to 2 to 12 ft, then a winter hold in 3 to 15 ft. Start at 2025 continuous seagrass edge. It's a seagrass edge holding about 1 ft of water and rates prime come spring. Prime time lands in early morning and the evening. A weedless gold spoon or a paddletail swimbait is the honest summer answer here.
| Season | Depth | Best window | Start at | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 1 to 8 ft | dawn & dusk | 2025 continuous seagrass edge (1 ft) | Gold weedless spoon, Paddletail on 1/4 oz jighead |
| Summer | 2 to 12 ft | dawn & dusk | 2025 continuous seagrass edge (2 ft) | Weedless gold spoon, Paddletail swimbait |
| Fall | 3 to 20 ft | dawn & midday | Gravel shoal (2 ft) | 1/2 oz spoon (schools), Big paddletail |
| Winter | 3 to 15 ft | midday & dawn | Shallow feeding flat (16 ft) | Scented soft plastic on 1/8 oz head, Slow-rolled paddletail |
Early season black drum use the shallows, holding in 4 to 25 ft. Even in summer they hold at 3 to 18 ft; winter keeps them in 7 to 30 ft. The chart's best answer is Shallow feeding flat — feeding flat, 16 ft, prime for summer. Best bite is early morning and the evening. Tie on a shrimp imitation dragged slowly or a small crab jig and you're in the game.
| Season | Depth | Best window | Start at | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 4 to 25 ft | midday & dusk | open water | Crab-tipped bottom jig, Shrimp on a jighead |
| Summer | 3 to 18 ft | dawn & dusk | Shallow feeding flat (16 ft) | Shrimp imitation dragged slowly, Small crab jig |
| Fall | 4 to 22 ft | dawn | open water | Crab-tipped jig, Scented shrimp jig |
| Winter | 7 to 30 ft | midday | open water | Heavy bottom jig + crab |
Spring snook on South Banana River Lagoon hold shallow, usually 2 to 12 ft. By summer they slide out to 3 to 15 ft, and by winter most fish are in 4 to 15 ft. The chart's best answer is 2025 continuous seagrass edge — seagrass edge, 2 ft, prime for spring. Prime time lands in early morning and the evening. The summer box starts with a flair hawk jig (passes, night) or a big swimbait in the current.
| Season | Depth | Best window | Start at | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 2 to 12 ft | dawn & dusk | 2025 continuous seagrass edge (2 ft) | Paddletail on 1/4 oz head, Suspending twitchbait |
| Summer | 3 to 15 ft | dawn & dusk | 2025 continuous seagrass edge (4 ft) | Flair hawk jig (passes, night), Big swimbait in the current |
| Fall | 2 to 12 ft | dawn & dusk | 2025 continuous seagrass edge (2 ft) | Big paddletail (mullet run), Topwater walker |
| Winter | 4 to 15 ft | midday | open water | Slow-rolled paddletail, Scented jerkbait crawled in canals |
The spring pattern is a shallow one: gray snapper (mangrove snapper) in 3 to 22 ft. Midsummer fish sit out in 4 to 30 ft before dropping to 5 to 30 ft for winter. The spot to know is NOAA charted wreck, a wreck in about 7 ft of water that rates prime for gray snapper (mangrove snapper) in fall. Plan around early morning and the evening in the warm months. Summer baits: a small bucktail or a paddletail gets it done.
| Season | Depth | Best window | Start at | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 3 to 22 ft | dawn & dusk | 2025 continuous seagrass edge (4 ft) | Small paddletail, Jighead + shrimp imitation |
| Summer | 4 to 30 ft | dawn & dusk | NOAA charted wreck (7 ft) | Small bucktail, Paddletail |
| Fall | 4 to 30 ft | dawn & dusk | NOAA charted wreck (7 ft) | Small vertical jig, Jighead + paddletail |
| Winter | 5 to 30 ft | midday | NOAA charted wreck (7 ft) | Small jig worked slowly |
South Banana River Lagoon also holds permit (3 to 30 ft in summer). Pick any of them on the map above for rated spots and bait picks.
Count 27 structure marks on this chart. The deepest, Shallow feeding flat, sits near 16 ft.
Access data: Florida FWC — Boat Ramp Inventory. Confirm conditions and fees locally before you launch.
Season dates, license requirements, and size and bag limits for Florida waters are set by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (saltwater) — and special regulations can apply to South Banana River Lagoon specifically, so confirm the current rules before you fish.
Check the official Florida fishing regulations →
South Banana River Lagoon is about 30 ft (9 m) deep at its deepest point. The depth chart is built from real agency bathymetry referenced to NAVD88; directly measured coverage remains distinguished from source interpolation. The contours reflect measured and quality-assessed source depths.
Anglers target spotted seatrout, sheepshead, red drum (redfish), black drum, snook, gray snapper (mangrove snapper), permit on South Banana River Lagoon.
2025 continuous seagrass edge is the top-rated area: a seagrass edge in about 2 ft of water that rates prime for spotted seatrout in spring. Every other rated spot, per species and season, is on the map above.
For spotted seatrout, the summer bite is best in early morning. Each species page section below lists the seasonal windows, and the map shows a live NOW badge when you're inside one.
Fishing on South Banana River Lagoon is regulated by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (saltwater). Check the official Florida regulations for current license requirements, season dates, and size and bag limits — special regulations can apply to this specific water.
Indian River 9 mi · Lake Washington 10 mi · Central Banana River Lagoon 10 mi · Lake Winder 13 mi · Lake Poinsett 14 mi · Cocoa Indian River Lagoon 15 mi · Sawgrass Lake 15 mi · North Banana River Lagoon 19 mi · Titusville Indian River Lagoon 24 mi · Fox Lake 28 mi · Sebastian Inlet 29 mi · South Lake 29 mi
See how South Banana River Lagoon stacks up: best red drum (redfish) lakes in Florida · best spotted seatrout lakes in Florida · best sheepshead lakes in Florida · best snook lakes in Florida
Browse all Florida fishing maps or see every water on DepthScout. Bathymetry credit: NOAA BlueTopo (NAVD88; 84% measured, 16% source-interpolated). How we build these maps. Fish here with a sonar unit that logs? Send us your depth data and we'll improve this chart, credited to you. For fishing guidance only, never navigation.