Black Drum Are On Fire

The black drum are on fire in our area right now on the flats, along the Klinker Islands, Haulover Canal, and around any of the bridge pilings.

After getting our taxes filed and getting a bite to eat at Victorio's, Karen and I decided to get out for a little bit and wet a line.

I normally prefer using artificial baits but because of the reports I received from the bait shops and local guides, I decided to give bait fishing a shot today and I'm glad I did.

This afternoon we managed to catch and release three nice black drum  all over the slot outside of Haulover Canal in only a couple of hours.    Karen got two nice fish over 24":and I got one about 29"  using fresh dead frozen shrimp.   .

Some of the other fishermen along the banks of Haulover this afternoon were also catching nice size drum mainly with shrimp and pieces of fresh blue crab for bait.

You had to get there early today to snag a spot .   When we first drove up, all the "good" spots along both sides of the canal were taken, but as we were ready to move to another location, Karen said she thought a guy on the other side of the canal was getting ready to leave..  

Karen and I lucked out and got the spot on the north side of the canal just as a guy was driving off in his truck..

It was at a natural coquina rock formation that already had holes for our fishing rods.  Perfect for bait fishing.

I was using 30 pound Power Pro and a 30 pound fluorocarbon leader with a sliding sinker rig and Karen was using the same rig with 20 pound mono as the main line on a Penn combo that I picked up for her at Bass Pro for her upcoming birthday.

We both didn't have to wait long before we had hits and finally hookups.

I didn't have my cell phone charger with me and my battery was almost gone but I managed to get a couple of pics anyway before it died.

I've got some work to do tomorrow morning but I'm hoping to get out later in the afternoon to give it another shot while the bite is still hot.

Till next time

Tight Lines.