Black drum provide rod bending action this spring

For The Record - Capt. Chuck Uzzle

It is always the intent of any fisherman to do battle with a mighty fish, a

giant of epic proportions that will live forever in memories for years to come.

For most folks who do not regularly inhabit offshore waters your choices of

really big fish to catch are rather small. The occasional redfish of 35 to 40

inches are often the biggest boys in the neighborhood next to alligator gar or

maybe a big catfish. You can add another name to the list of heavyweights that

make a name for themselves during this time of year, black drum.

Under normal everyday conditions black drum inhabit our surrounding waters in

respectable numbers most of the year. Generally the drum that are found on the

north end of Sabine Lake and in the Sabine River are usually anywhere from 12

to 20 inches long. During the past several seasons while fishing the Sabine

river and Intracoastal canal I have had several of these big black drum

over 40 pounds caught by clients while fishing live shad. Let me say this, “ A

drum that size is a real deal workout any way you look at it”.

These huge fish are normally found closer to the jetties and out in the gulf,

but at times when we have no freshwater coming down the rivers and the saltwater

backs up daily it is not surprising to see these giant fish all over the place.

On a run out to the jetties I stopped to watch a fisherman do battle with one of

these huge fish. Slow powerful runs kept the rod bent nearly in two as the great

fish worked the drag system over for more than 20 minutes. My clients and I were

amused by the fight and gave out encouraging words and congratulations as the

fish finally was brought to the boat. Perhaps the best description of what

happens when you hook one of these giants is to compare them to hooking a

runaway golf cart, they won’t outrun you but you just can’t stop them either

when they decide to pull.

Big black drum can be caught on a variety of baits, shad, mullet, or shrimp are

good options but the best bet for these huge fish is crab. Big black drum are

suckers for a piece of crab fished on or near the bottom. Popular rigging for

this method consists of hooking a 1/4 of a whole crab onto a 3/0 or 4/0 live

bait hook that is tied to a 1/2 ounce weighted Carolina rig with 18 to 24 inches

of leader. Some fishermen really beef up their tackle by using 20 to 25 pound

test monofilament and big heavy rods, use your own discretion and just remember

what they say about chasing a bear with a switch.

Some of the more humorous battles I have witnessed where black drum were

involved happened down on the Causeway reef in the middle of a fleet of boats

chasing trout. It never fails when you start fishing a little deeper water

somebody on the boat will hook up with one of these brutes and the rodeo begins.

Trying to coax a big fish in and around other boats without hanging up on other

lines or breaking off on oyster is a challenge to say the least. The only way

this scene gets any crazier is when you hook up with a jack crevalle in the same

area, the jacks pull just as hard only they run a little farther away which

means you involve more boats and more people. As long as you are a spectator

it’s awful funny, when you are the poor guy trying to make sense out of the

whole thing when one of these big fish bites it gets somewhat stressful but in a

good way.

Hooking up and landing a fish in the 40 to 50 pound class is real treat for any

fisherman, especially those of the inshore ranks. Big fish like these don’t come

around often and the spring is one of the best times all year to tangle with a

really big fish. As the water warms up in the coming months the big fish will

become a little more scarce and the “slot sized” fish will take their place. The

smaller drum are excellent table fare and should not be discounted as just

another fish, they hold their own along side french fries with the best of them.

Overall the black drum provides many opportunities and should not be discounted

as a lesser fish because they really give you plenty of bang for your buck.