Red Drum Provide Hot Action in Cool Weather
by Mike Marsh

The red drum is designated as North Carolina’s State Saltwater Fish for good reasons. They are abundant, grow to enormous sizes and can be caught anywhere the water is salty. They can also be caught by all popular fishing methods and bite well throughout the late fall and early winter when other game fish disappear.

The biggest runs of larger redfish or “channel bass” show up along the beaches in October and November. But the adult fish also school at the artificial and natural ledges near the beaches where anglers fishing for other species are often surprised when an adult red drum that can top 40 pounds strikes a bait and rips line off the reel so fast the drag system screams.

Surf fishing is probably the most popular method of catching red drum and is certainly a wonderful way to spend a sunny day whether the fish are biting or not. But pier anglers can catch red drum just as well. Anglers fishing from their own boats or fishing with guides can easily catch all of the smaller “puppy” drum, which reach about 27 inches in length before maturity, they want in the Cape Fear region’s backwaters.

In the rivers and creeks, anglers often see red drum feeding in the marshes through the exceptionally clear waters of late fall and early winter. Wearing polarized glasses can help anglers spot the spotted tails of the fish lifting out of the water as the fish feed. Other signs of fish include wakes or muddy water when the fish are startled, dorsal fins easing out of the water, and grass stems moving when redfish brush against them. By December, huge schools of suspended fish can be seen resting motionless above reflective bottoms that warm them.

Using a trolling motor or poling the boat, the angler approaches stealthily, then casts a fly, soft plastic lures or surface lure to the fish. The strike is explosive and the chances of the fish cutting the line and escaping in the thick grass or oyster beds is always a possibility. Seeing the strike and the good odds of the fish getting away are what makes sight casting for redfish one of the most exciting types of inshore saltwater fishing.

Bait fishermen can blind cast live shrimp and mullet on bottom rigs or float rigs to anomalies in the marsh such as oyster beds, docks, creek channels and grass bed edges. With natural baits, the action can be so fast that the angler can catch and release a dozen or more fish in a half-day of fishing. Anyone using natural baits for catching red drum should use circle hooks to prevent the fish from swallowing the hook.

Mike Marsh’s New Book, “Fishing North Carolina,” ($26.60 ppd.) along with “Inshore Angler – Coastal Carolina’s Small Boat Fishing Guide” ($26.20 ppd.) and “Offshore Angler - Carolina’s Mackerel Boat Fishing Guide” ($22.25 ppd.), are available by check or M.O. to Mike Marsh, 1502 Ebb Dr., Wilmington, NC 28409. Visit www.mikemarshoutdoors.com for credit card orders and more hunting and fishing information.