First big drum!

[SpaceCadet]

Couple of first-light hours at Solomon's again this morning. Within ten mins, I hooked into this beast!

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Comfortably my PB - I've never caught one over 16" before! But despite the great start, it was pretty dismal after that. Covered two or three miles and all my favorite hotspots with nothing but a handful of ambitious lizard fish. Sat over some deep (40ft) water for an hour and pulled up a few nice spot, just to convince myself that fish still lived in the Bay. Hoping the water cools soon and the fish start biting a little better, and for longer than the first hour of sunrise.

[Big Mike]

Congratulations. The power of a red will hook you for life.

[dsaavedra]

Congrats on the catch!! A fish like that makes any trip worthwhile. I caught one the same size a few weeks ago and, like you, it was my PB by a mile. I was amazed at how strong of a fight a redfish that size put up... it had my kayak spinning in circles.

[Fishtank]

That's awesome Karl

[SpaceCadet]

Thanks guys! Yeah I was very impressed with the power of a big red - had me spinning in circles too! It's a shame we only see them for a few weeks out of the year... I could get used to pulling those in.

[scorchy]

Nice catch!

[ski357]

Awesome catch! It seems the slot reds are currently in the area. Certainly a fun time hooking up with one in a kayak.

[Fishtank]

Knowing what I know now about catching reds down here in Charleston, if I were fishing up that way again, I'd give bait a try in key locations. Had a lot of days here with many reds to 31 inches at creek mouths on an outgoing tide where time and again I'd cast an artificial lure and it goes absolutely untouched, I throw a bait like chunk mullet on a Carolina rig or float and the bite is constant.

[SpaceCadet]

Knowing what I know now about catching reds down here in Charleston, if I were fishing up that way again, I'd give bait a try in key locations. Had a lot of days here with many reds to 31 inches at creek mouths on an outgoing tide where time and again I'd cast an artificial lure and it goes absolutely untouched, I throw a bait like chunk mullet on a Carolina rig or float and the bite is constant.

I had thought about doing that but wasn't sure what bait they'd want and/or how to present it, but under a float in particularly would be a nice way to slowly work dock structures. Might give that a try!

[Red_Beard]

I've been thinking about giving crab a try as bait, but with the invasion of lizardfish we've been having I've wondered if it would do any good or just get ripped to shreds.

[ronaultmtd]

Congratulations on your PB redfish...it is a strong fish- not exactly strong like a jack, but pretty close...we get spoiled by our southern Maryland fishery...