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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 pier: a dock line around 5 ft that scores prime in summer. 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 | NOAA charted pier (5 ft) | Small jig + crab piece |
| Fall | 5 to 20 ft | midday | NOAA charted pier (5 ft) | Jighead + shrimp, Small crab jig |
| Winter | 10 to 30 ft | midday | NOAA charted pile (11 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 NOAA charted underwater rock. It's a rock pile 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 | NOAA charted underwater rock (1 ft) | Gold weedless spoon, Paddletail on 1/4 oz jighead |
| Summer | 2 to 12 ft | dawn & dusk | NOAA charted underwater rock (2 ft) | Weedless gold spoon, Paddletail swimbait |
| Fall | 3 to 20 ft | dawn & midday | NOAA charted bridge (1 ft) | 1/2 oz spoon (schools), Big paddletail |
| Winter | 3 to 15 ft | midday & dawn | Surveyed channel edge (12 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 NOAA charted bridge — causeway / bottleneck, 1 ft, prime for spring. 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.
Depth note: when a documented seasonal range extends below this chart, the table shows the deepest mapped working water, not a verified holding depth.
| Season | Depth | Best window | Start at | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 4 to 25 ft | midday & dusk | NOAA charted bridge (1 ft) | Crab-tipped bottom jig, Shrimp on a jighead |
| Summer | 3 to 18 ft | dawn & dusk | NOAA charted pier (5 ft) | Shrimp imitation dragged slowly, Small crab jig |
| Fall | 4 to 22 ft | dawn | NOAA charted bridge (1 ft) | Crab-tipped jig, Scented shrimp jig |
| Winter | 7 to 30 ft chart-limited; documented 8 to 35 ft | midday | NOAA charted bridge (1 ft) | 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 NOAA charted pier — dock line, 2 ft, prime for fall. 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 | NOAA charted pier (2 ft) | Paddletail on 1/4 oz head, Suspending twitchbait |
| Summer | 3 to 15 ft | dawn & dusk | NOAA charted pier (5 ft) | Flair hawk jig (passes, night), Big swimbait in the current |
| Fall | 2 to 12 ft | dawn & dusk | NOAA charted pier (2 ft) | Big paddletail (mullet run), Topwater walker |
| Winter | 4 to 15 ft | midday | NOAA charted pier (5 ft) | 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 pier, a dock line in about 5 ft of water that rates prime for gray snapper (mangrove snapper) in summer. Plan around early morning and the evening in the warm months. Summer baits: a small bucktail or a paddletail gets it done.
Depth note: when a documented seasonal range extends below this chart, the table shows the deepest mapped working water, not a verified holding depth.
| Season | Depth | Best window | Start at | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 3 to 22 ft | dawn & dusk | NOAA charted pier (5 ft) | Small paddletail, Jighead + shrimp imitation |
| Summer | 4 to 30 ft | dawn & dusk | NOAA charted pier (5 ft) | Small bucktail, Paddletail |
| Fall | 4 to 30 ft chart-limited; documented 5 to 35 ft | dawn & dusk | NOAA charted wreck (7 ft) | Small vertical jig, Jighead + paddletail |
| Winter | 5 to 30 ft chart-limited; documented 8 to 45 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 145 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.
NOAA charted pier is the top-rated area: a dock line in about 5 ft of water that rates prime for gray snapper (mangrove snapper) in summer. 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. 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.