first, i liked to thank everyone here for posting all the great info on surf fishing. i've learned so much by just reading (how, where, when, etc..) the threads.
after reading the some of the threads on drum fishing, i wanted to try my luck. i bought a heaver (emblem pro,11' tica dolphin) and went to ocracoke. within the first ten minutes bam! 32 inch. not 5 minutes later bam! 26 inch slot. caught two more during that trip. went to hatteras a month later and caught 3 more. i was hooked. went again to ocracoke and caught just 1 fish for the weekend. 24 inch slot. now here is my problem, i only caught 2 of the drum on a FF rig. the rest were on a standard two hook bottom rig on light tackle set up for smaller fish. the 2 that were caught on the ff rig were by luck, i happened to pick up the rod from the spike and the drum hooked itself.
here is my question, do i loosen the drag so the drum can take the bait if so, how will i know i got a hit? if i don't loosen the drag the drum will take the bait then feel the weight and spit it out. what does the rod tip look like when a drum hits a FF rig and when do you set the hook or do you let him hook himself. on the 2 hook bottom rig my rods were heavily bowed (light tackle) btw, i use a cannonball rig on my heaver (spot head, cut bait, finger mullet)
thanks in advance
after reading the some of the threads on drum fishing, i wanted to try my luck. i bought a heaver (emblem pro,11' tica dolphin) and went to ocracoke. within the first ten minutes bam! 32 inch. not 5 minutes later bam! 26 inch slot. caught two more during that trip. went to hatteras a month later and caught 3 more. i was hooked. went again to ocracoke and caught just 1 fish for the weekend. 24 inch slot. now here is my problem, i only caught 2 of the drum on a FF rig. the rest were on a standard two hook bottom rig on light tackle set up for smaller fish. the 2 that were caught on the ff rig were by luck, i happened to pick up the rod from the spike and the drum hooked itself.
here is my question, do i loosen the drag so the drum can take the bait if so, how will i know i got a hit? if i don't loosen the drag the drum will take the bait then feel the weight and spit it out. what does the rod tip look like when a drum hits a FF rig and when do you set the hook or do you let him hook himself. on the 2 hook bottom rig my rods were heavily bowed (light tackle) btw, i use a cannonball rig on my heaver (spot head, cut bait, finger mullet)
thanks in advance