Black Drum & Mixed Bag (05/01/16)

[Mudfish]

I joined a couple of good friends on the water last Sunday. I haven't fished in about a month. Steady 10-15 mph winds, but still a pretty nice day. We were mainly on a Snook recon trip, but prior to the trip I reviewed my picture archives and I saw that we were also catching Black Drum in that area the same time last year. So, we stopped by the bait shop and armed ourselves with some fresh dead shrimp. The fishing started out slow, but when we got to the Black Drum spot we immediately found some fish. My first catch was a nice big slot Black Drum. I usually keep one of these for my Dad, but sadly he passed away last month. So, I proclaimed aloud "This one's for Dad", and released it. A few minutes later I caught an even bigger one, and then another nice slot Black Drum. In addition to the Black Drum, I caught a couple small Sheepsheads, a couple small Mangrove Snappers, and a couple of short Redfish. On the way back to the ramp I caught a keeper Flounder and finally hooked a nice size Snook. It ate a Pearl White Gulp Swimming Mullet on a 1/8 oz 3/0 jig head, and it looked to be around 24". The Snook jumped twice and threw the hook. Glad I had a witness. I wish I could've landed it, but I now know that they are there and I will soon return to sling lures all day.

[JohnYaksJax]

Mudfish.....first of all, I am sorry to hear of the loss of you father and may he RIP....

Nice job of you getting right back to the Black Drum Spot, and nice that you "dedicated" that first one to your Dad.....

Congrats on the nice mixed bag of black drum, sheepies, mangrove snappers, redfish, flounder, and of course the targeted Snook!! You do that fairly regularly too!!
Good job as usual.....take care....John

PS: Thx for the tips and techniques you used....

[MrTopWater]

Nice mess of fish...

Sometimes nothing beats a fresh dead shrimp on the bottom especially for the black drum.

[Mudfish]

Thanks!

John,
I took your advice and bought a Snook Stamp this year. A bunch of the short Snook I caught last year should be in the slot by now. It's a short harvest season for Snook for the Atlantic side.

[reddawg]

Sorry to hear about your loss. Looks like you had a good day on the water. I still need to take you up on your offer one of these days.

[internetpilot]

Sorry to hear about your dad.

That sure is a nice mess of fish! Great job on keeping track of your own fishing history/locations. That's smart fishing!