Article by Capt. Mark Sampson
Red drum (AKA; redfish, channel bass, puppy drum) are not a fish that most local anglers tangle with. And that's not so much because they aren't available, but because they're more of a specialty fish that rarely show up in the kind of huge numbers that makes it easy for any old "Joe fisherman" to go out and intentionally or even accidentally catch. A fair number of the smaller “puppy drum” are taken in the back bays and inlet area each season but when it comes to the big fish, most are taken by surf anglers who pretty much have the knowledge to deploy the right bait and tackle at just the right time when the fish are moving past our coast. Landing a big red in the surf is certainly a great accomplishment and testimony to the skills of anyone who enjoys fishing from the beach.
Local surf anglers know that late September and October is the time when migrating drum give them the best shot of hooking one of these big "bulls" from the beach. But as they move down the coast the drum can also be found from the shoreline and out five or more miles, so the joy of doing battle with these fish isn't necessarily reserved strictly to surf casters. Right now anyone who has a boat that's capable of taking them even just a mile or two offshore can have a chance to tangle with these coveted game fish.
Before going much farther I'd better point out that most, if not all of these nearshore drum run 40-50 inches in length. While that makes for a nice big fish, anglers need to know that it's too big to show the gang back home anything but a photo of. Red drum have a "slot-limit" which allows only fish that are between 18 and 27 inches in length to be kept. So keep in mind that this is strictly a catch-and-release fishery. Anglers who can't handle such a thought had better avoid the temptation and steer clear of these fish altogether!
This nearshore drum fishery is not one that's widely recognized or even publicized by those who know about it, but for at least a few weeks each fall it allows anglers a fun and somewhat unique fishing opportunity. I sort of stumbled into these fish accidentally while bottom and shark fishing over the years in areas such as Little Gull Shoal, McCabes, and the south end of Great Gull Shoal. Usually what happens is the big fish hit our bottom rigs intended for trout and croaker or they snap-up one of our deep shark baits. Since these fish usually run 30-50 pounds it's easier to get them to the boat when they take the tackle intended for sharks, but even when they hit our light bottom tackle (two-hook rig baited with squid) we're fortunate to land most of those that we hooked.
Just because they're caught in one place today doesn't mean they'll be in the same spot tomorrow, so nearshore anglers will not likely encounter the big reds every time, or even most of the time that they go fishing, therefore, catching one is an accomplishment that usually requires persistence and dedication on a part of the angler. When deciding where to fish I usually look for places where my fish finder shows a good presence of baitfish and a lot of trout and croaker on the bottom. Pulling into such areas the machine will sometimes "mark" big fish close to the bottom but there's no way to tell for certain if they are drum or sharks unless the fish show up in a definite "school" which is not a characteristic of sharks.
When a likely spot is found I usually prefer to anchor the boat and allow the moving fish to come to us. In most cases we simply go about our business of bottom and shark fishing and figure that if the drum pass by we'll get our shots on whatever lines they chose to take. But if drum are the primary target then single (circle) hook bottom rigs baited with clam, crab, or larger strips of squid or cut fish are used. Such baits must be checked frequently as this time of the year they are easily stolen off the hook by snapper blues and other small fish.
The areas these fish might be found could range in depths anywhere from 25-feet on top of a shoal to 70-feet in the middle of a slew. Unless the drum is caught on the shallow side of that spectrum, anglers should be prepared for the fact that the fish might not be able to swim back to the bottom after it's been released. This is caused by a change in pressure on the fish's swim bladder which allows the internal gases to expand and act like a life jacket for the fish.
All the drum needs to do is swim down a few feet so the gases can re-compress, but particularly if the fish was taken on light line, the struggle often saps so much energy from the fish that it has trouble getting down. Anglers who have a "venting" tool can use it to vent the gas and allow the drum to descend, but those who don't have such a tool can make a "lowering device" by tying a tiny hook and a pound or more of weight to the end of a long cord - I use the sash-weight and line that anchors my wreck-marking buoy. The hook is put through a thin sliver of flesh on one of the drum's lips and the fish and weight is lowered 30 or more feet down. Then, by snatching on the cord the small hook will pull free and the fish will be at a depth where it can maintain.
Since any drum caught must be released as quickly as possible, anglers should keep their photo sessions short and if a lowering device is to be used it should be made up ahead of time. I know this all sounds like a lot to go through just to release a fish, but when you figure that these big drum are the mature breeders of the species, it only stands to reason that they should be given every chance possible to survive their encounter with what will surely be a very happy angler! §
