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best bait for puppy drum

Question: 
39K views 51 replies 22 participants last post by  Caught Myself 
#1 ·
im looking to do some puppy drum fishing next weekend for shore and im trying to figuer out what bait i should use. thanks for the help
 
#2 ·
There is no "best bait" imo, there's just favorites and preferences. They'll eat a lot of stuff.

Live small finger mullet and tiny menhaden, if you can cast net them, on a little carolina rig work wonders for me. If live bait isn't an option then I'd go for cut spot or finger mullet, but really any cut bait will catch them. Shrimp works well too, the fresher the better. Caught them on squid and bloodworm as well. They seem to like that squid soaked in peeler crab oil. And they'll also go for gulp on a jighead as well.
 
#4 ·
Bring a cast net and catch yourself some mullet or menhaden. Cut it up and there you have it. Often puppy drum are in close so no reason to cast too far at first.
As ORF Pete said Gulp will also work whether used as a lure or bait. If a tail gets bitten off a Gulp mullet, use the body as "bait".
Puppy drum will also hit lures from spinnerbaits to Mirrolures.
 
#16 · (Edited)
It's just a basic slip shot rig. Google "carolina rig" for pics. Used a lot in freshwater with worms and offset hooks for bass afaik. I don't use an offset hook when using it for puppy drum, just a regular 1/0 to 2/0 J hook. Let it sit out there or use a very slow retrieve to drag the live bait across the bottom. I use this rig specifically with live bait for flounder and pups. If I'm using cut bait I just use a hi/low bottom rig.
 
#9 ·
The real question is are you targeting puppy drum (slot sized fish) or bigger drum?
According to a SCDNR study by Dr Charles Wenner, there may not be a a "best bait", but the drum diet does change significantly depending on the size of the fish.

puppy drum - shrimp, quarter crab or small chunks of cut mullet on a 2/0 circle hook top my list
bigger drum - live pinfish, spot, 5-6 inch menhaden and I bump up to a 3/0 circle hook
 
#19 ·
The thing about circle hooks is you've got to let them do their job. Put the rod down and leave it alone until it;s bowed and the drag is singing. A reds crushers will turn a pinfish or spot into mush, then there's plenty of gap in a 3/0 to catch them in the corner of the mouth.
 
#26 ·
I caught a 42" red on a 1/0 Owner Light Mutu. Not the biggest, but proof that it doesn't take a huge hook.

That being said, I usually catch them when targeting blues, and I use a 3/0 or 5/0 Owner circle hook with cut bait. That's still not a very big hook, relatively speaking.
 
#25 ·
My biggest inshore reds are a pair of 42 inchers, both caught on 2/0 circles. You only need a circle hook with a big enough gap to fit their lip.

That's also why I asked about slotties (15-23" slot size in SC) or over slot. Anymore the only time I bust out the BIG circles is when I'm offshore dropping baits for grouper or inshore fishing live eels for striper. Then I pull out the 8/0 and have fun.
 
#27 · (Edited)
And I've caught 3 pound brown trout on a #24 blue-winged olive. But I wouldn't choose a #24 hook if I was fishing for that size trout with a gob of nightcrawler.

Hook sets are more reliable with bigger hooks. I've caught big drum where the circle hook set around the lower jaw bone. A 3/0 Owner circle might go around the jaw bone of a 50# drum. But it would be tight. That same hook in a 9/0 or 10/0 is going to find home a lot easier.

I can see using smaller hooks if big drum are not your targeted species. And I realize that as a rule SC and FL drum don't run as big as up here or on the OBX so maybe we're talking about a different class of drum. But if I'm out there specifically fishing for drum that if they are not 40" I don't even call them drum and if they are not 45 or so I don't call them big what's the point of using an undersized hook?
 
#28 ·
And I realize that as a rule SC and FL drum don't run as big as up here or on the OBX so maybe we're talking about a different class of drum.
While I recognize that the record setting red was caught in NC, I don't think they are a different class. The Florida record is officially 51 lbs. But as you will surely acknowledge, not every big fish that gets caught gets logged.

I have seen several Florida reds go over 50 pounds, one over 65. I'm just one fisherman, so I'm sure that my experience isn't all that unique. Not for the sake of argument, but just so we're clear - a 50" red isn't all that uncommon down here in the inlets, and hooking them with a 3/0 is not a problem. I catch big reds somewhat frequently - although as you say, not intentionally.

If I were intentionally targeting reds, I may choose to use bigger hooks... But not targeting them, I've certainly not had any issues with the smaller ones. Perhaps that would change if I actually tried to catch them. :D
 
#29 ·
The powerboat guides down here in Chucktown regularly catch drum >40" at the grillage. We get our fair share of 40# fish in October. Those guys use 3/0 to 5/0 circles.

I guide and fish inshore from a kayak with target fish over the slot. We get plenty of 30-36" fish, but not too many >40" fish inshore. They've moved out to join the breeder population.



To each his own. I don't need 9/0 in my tackle box.

Back to the bait question. Cut mullet and crab chunks will put a smile on your face.
 
#30 ·
Drum are mostly bottom feeders and often eat what other fish like Bluefish let fall to the bottom when they get in a feeding frenzy. That being said they're like most other fish and just eat what's available. The spring time bite in our area the bait of choice is usually blue crab either peelers which attract more critters because evrything likes their smell they put off or hard crab, whole crabs for big fish and quarters for Pups.

For the summer bite the choice of bait opens up a little more because of the amount of stuff that's in the water like shrimp, crab cut or whole, live bait and again depending on what's available in the area which to me is the most important thing to remember.

The fall bite it's usually the migratory fish that are the easiest to catch like mullet, spot or whatever.

Pups are a very aggressive eater and will crush a bait then take off so lures and circles work well also.

My $0.02
 
#33 ·
I don't target big drum but a few times a year adn when I do I use an 8/0 circle hook no more no less. With that being said a 3/0 circle is as big as I go the "majority" of the time and many of the pups I catch are on 2/0 circle hooks.

My first big drum was caught on a #2 hook on a spot rig and it was 48".......I didn't even break out my big drum rigs last year and caught 2 citation size fish on 2/0 circle hooks fishing with sandfleas......

If you are going to target big drum go with an 8/0 hook atleast and a big bait whatever your favorite choice but for the pups stick with smaller hooks....JMO
 
#35 ·
Many diffrent type of lures will work Gulp Minnows,etc.But for cut bait you cant beat Peeler Crabs(VA-north),Live Shrimp(NC-south),and pices of Cut Spot, Cut Blue,or any other cut up oily fish.I've caught some nice ones using Crab or Shrimp under a Popping Cork in Back Bay type waters.
 
#45 · (Edited)
Actually I think that the Chesapeake stock of big fish are thought to run larger on average than the Pamlicos. A lot of the big fall fish caught off the northern beaches and piers in the fall are Chessie fish.

Another interesting item is that several really big fish which were caught off the VBI's a few years back and tagged with data collecting tags. The kind that come off and float to the surface after a period of time. It was found that some of those fish spent their summer offshore deep on the edge of the canyons. Theorized that they grew so large by feeding on the vast schools of squid found deep.

There's a lot about drum we don't know.
 
#47 ·
There are some big drum in Chesapeake,no doubt,and the two world records caught in NC were in Nov.. Both on the 7th.. We have an early fall run,mostly Pamlico and local fish,then a fall run in Nov into Dec.. My theory is that the later are Chesapeake fish,and those were the two world records.. But there again,I have seen some big dern Pamlico fish as well.. As you said "there is a lot about drum we don't know".... ;)
 
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