June is a great month for everything inshore in NC. Since the powers to be have us closed down on multiple species, (speckled trout, flounder, striper) let’s take a look at the Red Drum’s ugly cousin, the Black Drum.
When you think of Black Drum, structure is usually the first thing that comes to mind, but what is structure? What really defines structure in the inshore world? We all know Black Drum like to hold on bridges, but there is so much more that people drive right on by heading to those well-known areas. I like to use the modern technology we have at our disposal and look for Black Drum in other lesser-known areas. I look for deepwater oyster rocks, concrete piles dumped long ago and for old stump beds in some of our coastal rivers. All these locations will hold Black Brum. Docks are always good also. Trial and error can help eliminate unproductive spots. Black Drum are not homebodies either, keep that in mind. They like to roam and after 10-15 minutes they are either not there or simply not feeding.
Usually, if we are Black Drum fishing, we use shrimp. Fresh shrimp works good, but so does that nasty black shrimp you forgot in the cooler last week. I like to use can corn and peas also, but that’s a story for another time. For the Carolina rigs we use 30-40# braid on 3000 series Shimanos, 30-40# flurocrabon leader, egg weight based on depth and current and 4/0 VMC O’shaugnessy Live Bait hooks with the black nickel finish. I like to keep my leader as short as possible, 6-10”. That helps with the soft Black Drum pick up and little nudge they like to do when I have inexperienced anglers on the boat. Black Drum are great table fare but I urge everyone to release fish 10 pounds and above. Black drum get wormy as part of their natural life cycle. The worms are harmless but as the fish increase in size, the chances of that larger fish having worms is much higher. I prefer 2-8 pound Black Drum for the table.
Please be courteous and safe out there!
CAPTAIN ALLEN JERNIGAN
Breadman Ventures Guide Service
910-467-1482