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80 Posts
My pierandsurf account was created in August of 09, that's probably a good estimate of the beginning of my chase for trophy drum. Over the last 7 years, I've trekked from central VA to the Outer Banks in pursuit of this fish once a year for 3-5 days. Work schedules, home life and childcare have always had priority over weather reports, wind predictions, and fishing reports when it comes to getting these trips on the calendar. Typically I shoot for October, one year I even got to participate and judge the NCBBA tourney. But I'm usually lucky to even catch pups. One of my first few years - maybe what led me to create this account, was when I was shark fishing from Nags Head pier during a drum run. I'd never seen anything like it, and that night, I changed my target. Over the years I evolved from a 12' rod with a big ole Baitrunner spinning reel, to a 13' rod and conventional reel, due mostly to what I've learned on this forum. I learned the Off the Ground and Hatteras casts, and put in the practice at my neighborhood soccer field. I went from buying $3 dollar drum rigs to tying my own. Tuesday night it finally paid off for me.
I drove down late Sunday and checked in to my cottage after midnight. Monday I drove up and down ramp 38, found what looked like a hole, and set up shop. I brought fresh shrimp, bloodworms, squid and fresh mullet. I had mullet chunks out on two 13' rods, and tried to catch bait with my shorter spinning rod. My only catch was a skate on a 13' rod that I didn't even know I had hooked until I saw it in the sand. I left around lunch time, went back to the room and ate, then went to the point. I didn't see anyone catching anything so I just considered it recon for later. I hadn't been down to the point in a few years, and planned to come back that night around midnight before 147am high tide. I ended up talking myself out of it, since I'd never casted in the total darkness of the point, in that close proximity to other anglers. I've been on piers over night plenty of times, but they were well lit, and people aren't typically standing there with rods in hand. The last thing I want to do is piss someone off by snagging their line, or hit someone with 8oz of errant lead. I'll wait til Tuesday, get up early and fish hard all day I told myself.
I did. I was on Ramp 23 at about 830a just in time for low tide. My cottage neighbor informed me on Monday that all the structure had washed away from Ramp 38 and recommended 23. If I know anything about reading a beach (jury is still out on that), I found 2 holes and did my best to mark them on some app. Over the next 6hrs, I threw everything I knew in those holes. On my bait rod - I tried 2 different River Rigs that I tied myself (varying in hook size) using 3, 4 and 5 oz sinkers. All were getting washed south. I varied the bait, trying the bloodworms first, then shrimp, then squid and finally the chunks of fresh mullet. Zero bites. In between dealing with that, I tried to keep chunks of mullet out on my two 13' rods. I took 3 reels with me for these rods, and managed to blow up all 3 of them over those 6 hours. Squirrels nests that required 30+ minutes of cutting to get down to a bare spool. Almost used up the spool of 17lb Sufix I brought with me.
Around 130p, I left hungry and dejected. I questioned everything I thought I had learned about surf fishing. Maybe my first trophy fish won't come until I'm older and retired - when I can come down for 2 weeks at a time. I put off lunch and drove back to the point.
Right away, I saw people steadily reeling in blues. Better than skate I thought, and I'm running low on cut bait. I go to the tip of the point and cast out one of the few chunks of mullet I have left. Within a few minutes, I feel that tap tap, I'd so desperately been waiting for this week. Pulled in a 16" bluefish. Got the skunk off my back. Saved the first one, and went back with more chunks of mullet. I caught 5-10 more of them and released the rest. The guy beside me using a spinning combo was pulling up pups. I noticed he was using shrimp on some sort of float rig that I'm unfamiliar with. I go back for shrimp and hook a whole one on my 8/0 circle hook (and drum rig). I did that a few times, and never felt a bite.
The sun started to go down, and I was talking to another guy fishing next to me with a 13' rod and Abu conventional reel. I think he was mostly catching blues too. He said something about going to back to the truck, dropping off his shades and grabbing a coat. That sounded like a good idea. I walked the 100yards back to mine, and suited up in my under armor and beanie. Then I made some calls, checking in with my wife, and father who had wanted to be fishing with me. I told both of them that I was going back to the room to eat dinner and would return after that. After I got off the phone, I realized I was in my cold weather gear, with wet waders and boots still on...to go eat dinner. Oh what the hell, I'll walk back down to the end just to see if anything has changed. That was just before dark, maybe 6 or 630.
I get almost all the way to the tip of the point and I see 2 yearling sized drum being walked up from the wash. Yeah, dinner can wait. I go get my favorite 13' and the reel that caught the blues. I get all the way back to the point and think, this is it. I'm finally in the right place and the right time, with the right gear. This is the best chance I've ever had of landing this trophy fish. Then it occurs to me, I left my tape measure at the truck. Ugh...my luck, I'd land one that was close, but no one else would have one. 100yards back to the truck, and a 100 more back to the point. I cast out in almost darkness, careful not to put too much power into it. I knew a blow up was not only possible, but likely given the day's track record. I get a fresh cut piece of bluefish out and let it hit the bottom. At that moment, it really sinks in. This is my best opportunity I've ever had to catch this fish.
My bait soaks less than 5 mins when it hits. Every other fish I've caught in my life has come with a familiar tap-tap-tap, or knock-knock, or maybe even a thump. This was none of those. The last time I felt this was when I was learning to cast, and was soaking some bait under the Manteo bridge in that channel. A crab boat went by and snagged my line. The same thing happened to my rod this time. It felt like the fish was already swimming 15mph when it grabbed my bait. The first time you feel a 13' rod nearly double over is intimidating. I had the drag set tight enough so that the blues never came close to pulling off line, but this fish was taking line so fast, that I had to alternate thumbs to brake as I frantically searched from my thumb pad. (I still have a mild rug burn on my right thumb typing this 3 days later.) I've caught some rays the size of manhole covers before that were strong, but they don't run, they dive, then stop. This fish peeled off...IDK 50-100 yards like nothing. Over the next 10 or so minutes, I did recover line, and baby it at the same time. All I could think about was all the different ways I could lose this fish. I'm using a new knot to connect my mainline to leader. How good were the palomar knots on my drum rig? What if the 17lb main line snapped? What if someone else crossed me and caused the line to snap. What if my circle hook didn't hook him well enough? A lady to my right hooked up after me, and we both had our fish in the wash about the same time. My fish must have seen where her fish was going, and wanted to opt out. It took off on another run, taking back about half of the line I had just recovered. I fought the fish for 10-15minutes total until I finally beached it. Some strangers helped me by holding my rod, and my phone to photograph it while I tried to remember how to work a measuring tape. I was euphoric. It was 46", a citation even by VA standards! The circle hook came out with ease, and I revived the fish to make sure it could swim away.
Just for the hell of it, I casted out another chunk and caught a 40" within 5 minutes of that bait hitting the water. After that, something must've changed. I release my second fish around 730p. I watched them getting caught all around me, never got another bite. I left around 9pm.
I want to thank this forum for everything I've learned in pursuit of this fish. From the rod and reel selection, to the knots and rigs, the bait to use, the times temps and winds to look for...and also the unwritten rules. I'm still learning them by breaking them (fishing the point at night, keep your headlamp off unless you've got a fish on, and stand so your line is about as close to 12:00 as it can be).
Thank you all, and tight lines,
- Jef
As soon as I figure out how to resize these pics, I'll attach'em here.
I drove down late Sunday and checked in to my cottage after midnight. Monday I drove up and down ramp 38, found what looked like a hole, and set up shop. I brought fresh shrimp, bloodworms, squid and fresh mullet. I had mullet chunks out on two 13' rods, and tried to catch bait with my shorter spinning rod. My only catch was a skate on a 13' rod that I didn't even know I had hooked until I saw it in the sand. I left around lunch time, went back to the room and ate, then went to the point. I didn't see anyone catching anything so I just considered it recon for later. I hadn't been down to the point in a few years, and planned to come back that night around midnight before 147am high tide. I ended up talking myself out of it, since I'd never casted in the total darkness of the point, in that close proximity to other anglers. I've been on piers over night plenty of times, but they were well lit, and people aren't typically standing there with rods in hand. The last thing I want to do is piss someone off by snagging their line, or hit someone with 8oz of errant lead. I'll wait til Tuesday, get up early and fish hard all day I told myself.
I did. I was on Ramp 23 at about 830a just in time for low tide. My cottage neighbor informed me on Monday that all the structure had washed away from Ramp 38 and recommended 23. If I know anything about reading a beach (jury is still out on that), I found 2 holes and did my best to mark them on some app. Over the next 6hrs, I threw everything I knew in those holes. On my bait rod - I tried 2 different River Rigs that I tied myself (varying in hook size) using 3, 4 and 5 oz sinkers. All were getting washed south. I varied the bait, trying the bloodworms first, then shrimp, then squid and finally the chunks of fresh mullet. Zero bites. In between dealing with that, I tried to keep chunks of mullet out on my two 13' rods. I took 3 reels with me for these rods, and managed to blow up all 3 of them over those 6 hours. Squirrels nests that required 30+ minutes of cutting to get down to a bare spool. Almost used up the spool of 17lb Sufix I brought with me.
Around 130p, I left hungry and dejected. I questioned everything I thought I had learned about surf fishing. Maybe my first trophy fish won't come until I'm older and retired - when I can come down for 2 weeks at a time. I put off lunch and drove back to the point.
Right away, I saw people steadily reeling in blues. Better than skate I thought, and I'm running low on cut bait. I go to the tip of the point and cast out one of the few chunks of mullet I have left. Within a few minutes, I feel that tap tap, I'd so desperately been waiting for this week. Pulled in a 16" bluefish. Got the skunk off my back. Saved the first one, and went back with more chunks of mullet. I caught 5-10 more of them and released the rest. The guy beside me using a spinning combo was pulling up pups. I noticed he was using shrimp on some sort of float rig that I'm unfamiliar with. I go back for shrimp and hook a whole one on my 8/0 circle hook (and drum rig). I did that a few times, and never felt a bite.
The sun started to go down, and I was talking to another guy fishing next to me with a 13' rod and Abu conventional reel. I think he was mostly catching blues too. He said something about going to back to the truck, dropping off his shades and grabbing a coat. That sounded like a good idea. I walked the 100yards back to mine, and suited up in my under armor and beanie. Then I made some calls, checking in with my wife, and father who had wanted to be fishing with me. I told both of them that I was going back to the room to eat dinner and would return after that. After I got off the phone, I realized I was in my cold weather gear, with wet waders and boots still on...to go eat dinner. Oh what the hell, I'll walk back down to the end just to see if anything has changed. That was just before dark, maybe 6 or 630.
I get almost all the way to the tip of the point and I see 2 yearling sized drum being walked up from the wash. Yeah, dinner can wait. I go get my favorite 13' and the reel that caught the blues. I get all the way back to the point and think, this is it. I'm finally in the right place and the right time, with the right gear. This is the best chance I've ever had of landing this trophy fish. Then it occurs to me, I left my tape measure at the truck. Ugh...my luck, I'd land one that was close, but no one else would have one. 100yards back to the truck, and a 100 more back to the point. I cast out in almost darkness, careful not to put too much power into it. I knew a blow up was not only possible, but likely given the day's track record. I get a fresh cut piece of bluefish out and let it hit the bottom. At that moment, it really sinks in. This is my best opportunity I've ever had to catch this fish.
My bait soaks less than 5 mins when it hits. Every other fish I've caught in my life has come with a familiar tap-tap-tap, or knock-knock, or maybe even a thump. This was none of those. The last time I felt this was when I was learning to cast, and was soaking some bait under the Manteo bridge in that channel. A crab boat went by and snagged my line. The same thing happened to my rod this time. It felt like the fish was already swimming 15mph when it grabbed my bait. The first time you feel a 13' rod nearly double over is intimidating. I had the drag set tight enough so that the blues never came close to pulling off line, but this fish was taking line so fast, that I had to alternate thumbs to brake as I frantically searched from my thumb pad. (I still have a mild rug burn on my right thumb typing this 3 days later.) I've caught some rays the size of manhole covers before that were strong, but they don't run, they dive, then stop. This fish peeled off...IDK 50-100 yards like nothing. Over the next 10 or so minutes, I did recover line, and baby it at the same time. All I could think about was all the different ways I could lose this fish. I'm using a new knot to connect my mainline to leader. How good were the palomar knots on my drum rig? What if the 17lb main line snapped? What if someone else crossed me and caused the line to snap. What if my circle hook didn't hook him well enough? A lady to my right hooked up after me, and we both had our fish in the wash about the same time. My fish must have seen where her fish was going, and wanted to opt out. It took off on another run, taking back about half of the line I had just recovered. I fought the fish for 10-15minutes total until I finally beached it. Some strangers helped me by holding my rod, and my phone to photograph it while I tried to remember how to work a measuring tape. I was euphoric. It was 46", a citation even by VA standards! The circle hook came out with ease, and I revived the fish to make sure it could swim away.
Just for the hell of it, I casted out another chunk and caught a 40" within 5 minutes of that bait hitting the water. After that, something must've changed. I release my second fish around 730p. I watched them getting caught all around me, never got another bite. I left around 9pm.
I want to thank this forum for everything I've learned in pursuit of this fish. From the rod and reel selection, to the knots and rigs, the bait to use, the times temps and winds to look for...and also the unwritten rules. I'm still learning them by breaking them (fishing the point at night, keep your headlamp off unless you've got a fish on, and stand so your line is about as close to 12:00 as it can be).
Thank you all, and tight lines,
- Jef
As soon as I figure out how to resize these pics, I'll attach'em here.
