It’s almost August and one of the legendary fisheries is firing up, the “old drum” fishery mainly centered around their Neuse/Pamlico spawning grounds.
A few years ago, I interviewed Capt. Joe Shute, also legendary, about his experiences fishing for and monitoring the old drum stocks. In the next couple of weeks, I’ll relive that informative interview with Capt. Joe concerning the breeding stock of our state fish…enjoy!
Dr. Bogus: This is a season for the old drum fishery. Before we talk about the old drum catching…you’ve been, not to harp on it, but you’ve been around here for quite a while Capt. Joe.
Capt. Joe Shute: Yes, I have!
Dr. Bogus: You’ve seen a lot of changes.
Capt. Joe Shute: I guess I’m kind of equated with the old drum. I’ve been down here running charters since 1987, so I was probably one of the first of a handful of people with a skiff that fished inside in the early days.
Dr. Bogus: What I wanted to get to before we get to catching those guys, in 1997 we had the Fisheries Reform Act, and we also went into the situation where we started to protect the resources, the red drum resource, which we were getting to the point of killing them all off. So how had that gone, compared with those days when things were really at a low point? How do things look now, not only with the slot drum but also the old drum, because it’s been long enough now that some of those fish are getting older?
Capt. Joe Shute: Right, the old drum fishery is as good as I’ve ever seen it. Both up in the Pamlico Sound, you’re seeing good concentrations of them and especially in the winter months now around Cape Lookout from the shipping channel at Beaufort all the way to the east side of the Cape, we do real well on them there from about November through January and February and some up into April even.
Dr. Bogus: They’re working those menhaden schools out there.
Capt. Joe Shute: Right, you’re catching them anywhere from 15 to 20 feet of water out to 50 to 60 feet of water. You’re hearing of larger numbers of old drum coming from the New River area, and you’re hearing of them down near Wilmington a lot more than they ever have been in the past that I have seen or heard of. And the old drum stocks are really looking real good right now.
Dr. Bogus: Interesting you mentioned the New River, because one of the things that I have noticed over the past few years is that the piers on Topsail Island are catching a lot of those big old drum. And I don’t remember hearing that in years past.
Capt. Joe Shute: I didn’t either, not in the quantities that they are catching now. They’re having some days, pretty heavy days down there now.
Dr. Bogus: I assume they are spawning up in the New River and just working in and out of the New River Inlet.
Capt. Joe Shute: Right, I would imagine that a lot of that is coming from there, either that or they are just filtering down from the Pamlico.
Dr. Bogus: Joe, the old drum fishing is kind of a specialized fishery. What sort of tackle do you recommend if you are using bait or even artificials these days?
Capt. Joe Shute: A lot of people in the last little while started fishing for the old drum using popping corks, which is something fairly new for the old drum in the last few years, and it’s been right effective. They are using some of the DOA 4- to 5-inch Air Head Shad. They’re running them about 24 inches below the popping cork, and they are working the edges and points around there, especially where there are schools of bait fish. It’s been real surprising, it’s been real effective on those old drum, getting them up off the bottom and getting them to come up and take a bite.
Of course, you need some heavy tackle. When I say heavy, a good heavy, medium to heavy action spinning rod, preferably with 20-pound braid or 30-pound braid on your main running line and something that you can get these fish back to the boat fairly quickly, but that’s been coming along real good.
There’s also a big fly fishery up there for them now. Basically, the same rig is used. It’s called a Pop-n-Fly that Gary Dubiel came up with. It’s a popping cork basically with a fly suspended 18 to 20 inches underneath the popping cork. And the same thing in 20 feet of water, you’ll get these big drum to come up around those bait pods and eat that bait 20 inches under the water.
Dr. Bogus: Twenty years ago, you didn’t see people fly fishing for these fish, did they?
Capt. Joe Shute: Noooooooo! And we do a lot of that in the fall. We target them and do real well with fly gear around the Cape in November and December. And conventional fishing, I use a lot of heavy spinning gear, 30-pound class and above spinning gear. I use 50- and 60-pound braid on my reels because I really want to get the fish back.
Your basic rig is the Owen Lupton rig, which is just a very short. The whole rig is only 4 or 5 inches long, and it’s got a fixed 3-ounce egg sinker and a 10/0 circle hook on the bottom of it. And you fish just with your drag tightened down if you’re fishing it with bait.
The fish picks it up, goes to move off with it, the egg sinker pulls the hook to the corner of the mouth and probably 90 percent of your fish are hooked in the corner of the mouth and are real easy to release. And the circle hook is the way to go.
Dr. Bogus: And those circle hooks are run barbless, right? (an Owen Lupton type rig is required gear in North Carolina when fishing bait for old red drum. See http://portal.ncdenr.org/web/mf/red-drum).
Capt. Joe Shute: Yes, a barbless circle hook. All these fish are above the slot and have to be released. And the reason for the heavy gear and the heavy drag is you want to get these fish back to the boat and released with minimal detriment to the fish because the water temperatures in the sound, especially in August and September, are so hot, if you play these fish on light tackle, you’ll end up killing them.
They can’t handle the heat, and I use a huge net to land my fish. And for most of the fish, the party wants to take a picture, so we’ll pull the fish out real quick and get a picture. Most of the fish I never even bring into the boat. I’ll leave them in the net take the circle hook out, let the fish go, and the fish is no worse for the wear. A lot of people get up there and want to take a picture of the fish…they don’t pay attention to what’s going on, they’ll hold a 40-pound fish up, the fish will wiggle and fall and hit its head on the boat. You know that’s not too good! So, the least you can handle these fish, the better off you are.
Next week I’ll finish this interview with Capt. Shute, focusing on tackle and techniques and musing about the winter action.
———————
This week has been a brutal one with the wind blowing 25-plus mph, and the water rough, dirty and weedy with red flag alerts, and the heat and humidity pushing the heat index into triple digits.
Fishing on the piers and in the surf is summer-sluggish, but if you are early, you can find a good bite with reds and specks in the sound and marshes. The inshore drum are slot to around 30 inches, and guess what, there is no shortage of 2-to-5-pound flounder wherever you are fishing. Early is good for topwater anytime you can use mud minnows and finger mullet or live shrimp. On the other hand, the offshore and even nearshore has been problematic, but when you can get there, the wahoo are still hot, with mahi and sails also being caught.
As mentioned, the old drum fisheries are firing up both in the Neuse and New rivers. It looks like another banner year for the old reds. And there are other options, too. Yup, it’s probably time to break out the chicken necks, the handlines and crab nets for the blue crabs.
For those interested, the shark bite, especially at night, is pretty hot. And if you work it right, the Morehead City Port Turning Basin always has some wind shadows to hide from the blustery south westerlies. Just work the structure, the wall, the bridges, the train trestle and the nearby rock jetties. There are 6-to 10-pound sheepshead being caught on crabs and sea urchins. That’s quite a pull!
———————
For the piers, the summer heat hash-bash continues.
Oceanana Pier had a very slow week with only a few bottom dwellers to report, few croakers, mullet, sand perch and a few small blues.
Bogue Inlet Pier had a slow week as well with many of the regular anglers staying home. Of course, there were blues and Spanish, scattered croakers and spots, grays and a few blue crabs. On Monday, there were some nice sheepshead being caught in the still dingy water.
Seaview Pier reported a few blues and Spanish, both red and black drum and a 42-pound king over last weekend.
Surf City Pier reports slow fishing with a few blues, some BIG Spanish early last week before the big blow, red and black drums, mullet and spots.
Jolly Roger Pier reports a good week with an excellent sea mullet bite, with fish being 13 to 14 inches. They also got a few gray trout up to 19 inches.
———————
The Emerald Isle sea turtle update has at least 27 nests as I write this report Monday.
One nest has hatched out already. Sure sounds like a busy year for 2022 turtles here in Emerald Isle.
BOGUS NOTES
1) Check me out at www.Facebook.com/Dr.Bogus.
2) Log onto my website at www.ncoif.com. It’s now better than ever.
3) I’m located at 118 Conch Ct. in “Sea Dunes,” just off Coast Guard Road., Emerald Isle, NC 28594. Mailing address is P.O. Box 5225, Emerald Isle, NC 28594. Don’t forget a gift certificate for your favorite angler for fishing lessons or my totally Bogus Fishing Report subscription. Please stop by at any time and say “Hi” (252-354-4905).
Credit: Source link
