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*Disclaimer* - Super long report with lots of pictures for those who like fish way more than my drum ramblings.
This spring marks my 7th season chasing big reds on the ESVA. Its a tough fishery to learn (and fish), but with research, persistence, and patience, its as rewarding as it gets. I've learned a ton over the years and this year it really came together in a big way.
Most years begin something like this.....As the water begins to warm in the lower bay, my mind begins to obsess about the hard THUMP of a bull red, the immediate ensuing drag-peeling run, and the dog fight that follows. It's the most exciting thing I experience as a kayak angler and something I put many things in life on hold for each year (much to the annoyance of my wife
).
This spring seemed like it took forever to get here. We had the warm spell in February and NC surf anglers had a field day with bull reds. That gave me hope for an early bay season, but March and April were unseasonable cold. That slowed things waaay down. After weeks of waiting, as the water temps approached the magical mark and unconfirmed reports of reds trickled into my "fishing network" of friends and social media outlets, Hemmingway (Gary) and I decided to head South. As expected, the first trip felt more like we should be eeling for stripers than targeting reds. As we arrived out to the vast, open, cold water, Hemmingway immediately hooks up! I pedal over and just watch as he handles the first red of the year like its the 15th. Cool, calm, and collected. Unfortunately that red must have been a recon red, as he was the only one there and the only fish caught all day. But that was OK, because now the rumors were true.....it was officially BULL RED SEASON!
YTD Red Total- 0
The wind blew for a week or so before we were able to make our way South again. This time, it was Hemmingway, SlobberBob, myself, and another good friend of mine. Much to our surprise, we found reds on our way to the place we were traveling to. These reds were deep and we had a field day with them. At one point, we had a triple on. We continued to catch on and off throughout the day, as the reds would appear and disappear seemingly at random. I managed three that day with one being a 53" beast. The other guys also caught reds, but that is their story to tell
.
YTD Red Total- 3
Our next trip came a few days later as we were in between fronts. A light 5-10 mph SE wind with THICK fog covered the entire eastern shore. The low cloud cover made it seem like the fishiest of days there ever was...the kind where you just want to throw a topwater all day long. Unfortunately, the reds did not get the memo. After 10+ miles of fishing, I still had not found a single red. A few others managed a scattered red and one Snaggedline member landed a few, but overall it was slow. Juuuuust before going in, I spotted a school of bait and cast into it. I received three short strikes and then hooked up to a small fish. It quickly came unbuttoned and I immediately thought bluefish. On my next cast, that thought was erased when a large 48" bull crushed my swimbait. He was lit up with color and a really cool fish. He saved the day.
YTD Red Total- 4
The next trip had all the makings for banner day. Good water temps, calm winds, and no work the following day. I got a late start because I helped get the kids off to daycare (for those keeping score at home, my wife was at about a 7 out of 10 on the "I'm going to kill you scale"). As I am making the long pedal to where I wanted to fish I receive texts from Hemmingway..."1", "2", "3 reds" telling me that I better hurry. As I arrive, there are literally bull reds everywhere. After weeding through a few rays, I finally broke the ice. The next few hours are kind of a blur because it was the best fishing of my life. From noon-6:30PM, I hooked into 14 reds and landed 10, with several being over 50" and all being over 44". It was truly a once in a lifetime day. Hemminway, SlobberBob, my friend Adam, and myself, landed 32 bulls. My hands were bleeding, my tackle was wrecked, and I had a drum grin on my face for a week.
And as an added bonus, my buddy Adam found a big ol' striper hanging out with her red drum friends.
YTD Drum Total - 14
Four full days on the ESVA takes its toll on work, family, home responsibilities, so my next trip was much later than I typically fish. I didn't know what to expect. The water was warm and the large sharks patrolling around seemed to have the fish skittish. Hemmingway and I began our day as normal, making the several mile pedal through hard current to the place we thought they'd be. When we arrived it was empty. As we forged ahead, we finally found what we were looking for. Our goal was to catch a couple of fish and get some quality pictures, but with the boat traffic, we didn't exactly want to advertise what was going on, so we settled for quantity over quality. SlobberBob cruised up in his typical ninja fashion and beat up on several drum as well. He hit one on the nose with his first cast! We ended the day with 10 bulls between the three of us. I managed five to end my season.
YTD Drum Total - 19
If you made it this far in the report, I commend you! Thanks for reading!
This spring marks my 7th season chasing big reds on the ESVA. Its a tough fishery to learn (and fish), but with research, persistence, and patience, its as rewarding as it gets. I've learned a ton over the years and this year it really came together in a big way.
Most years begin something like this.....As the water begins to warm in the lower bay, my mind begins to obsess about the hard THUMP of a bull red, the immediate ensuing drag-peeling run, and the dog fight that follows. It's the most exciting thing I experience as a kayak angler and something I put many things in life on hold for each year (much to the annoyance of my wife
).This spring seemed like it took forever to get here. We had the warm spell in February and NC surf anglers had a field day with bull reds. That gave me hope for an early bay season, but March and April were unseasonable cold. That slowed things waaay down. After weeks of waiting, as the water temps approached the magical mark and unconfirmed reports of reds trickled into my "fishing network" of friends and social media outlets, Hemmingway (Gary) and I decided to head South. As expected, the first trip felt more like we should be eeling for stripers than targeting reds. As we arrived out to the vast, open, cold water, Hemmingway immediately hooks up! I pedal over and just watch as he handles the first red of the year like its the 15th. Cool, calm, and collected. Unfortunately that red must have been a recon red, as he was the only one there and the only fish caught all day. But that was OK, because now the rumors were true.....it was officially BULL RED SEASON!
YTD Red Total- 0
The wind blew for a week or so before we were able to make our way South again. This time, it was Hemmingway, SlobberBob, myself, and another good friend of mine. Much to our surprise, we found reds on our way to the place we were traveling to. These reds were deep and we had a field day with them. At one point, we had a triple on. We continued to catch on and off throughout the day, as the reds would appear and disappear seemingly at random. I managed three that day with one being a 53" beast. The other guys also caught reds, but that is their story to tell
. YTD Red Total- 3
Our next trip came a few days later as we were in between fronts. A light 5-10 mph SE wind with THICK fog covered the entire eastern shore. The low cloud cover made it seem like the fishiest of days there ever was...the kind where you just want to throw a topwater all day long. Unfortunately, the reds did not get the memo. After 10+ miles of fishing, I still had not found a single red. A few others managed a scattered red and one Snaggedline member landed a few, but overall it was slow. Juuuuust before going in, I spotted a school of bait and cast into it. I received three short strikes and then hooked up to a small fish. It quickly came unbuttoned and I immediately thought bluefish. On my next cast, that thought was erased when a large 48" bull crushed my swimbait. He was lit up with color and a really cool fish. He saved the day.
YTD Red Total- 4
The next trip had all the makings for banner day. Good water temps, calm winds, and no work the following day. I got a late start because I helped get the kids off to daycare (for those keeping score at home, my wife was at about a 7 out of 10 on the "I'm going to kill you scale"). As I am making the long pedal to where I wanted to fish I receive texts from Hemmingway..."1", "2", "3 reds" telling me that I better hurry. As I arrive, there are literally bull reds everywhere. After weeding through a few rays, I finally broke the ice. The next few hours are kind of a blur because it was the best fishing of my life. From noon-6:30PM, I hooked into 14 reds and landed 10, with several being over 50" and all being over 44". It was truly a once in a lifetime day. Hemminway, SlobberBob, my friend Adam, and myself, landed 32 bulls. My hands were bleeding, my tackle was wrecked, and I had a drum grin on my face for a week.
And as an added bonus, my buddy Adam found a big ol' striper hanging out with her red drum friends.
YTD Drum Total - 14
Four full days on the ESVA takes its toll on work, family, home responsibilities, so my next trip was much later than I typically fish. I didn't know what to expect. The water was warm and the large sharks patrolling around seemed to have the fish skittish. Hemmingway and I began our day as normal, making the several mile pedal through hard current to the place we thought they'd be. When we arrived it was empty. As we forged ahead, we finally found what we were looking for. Our goal was to catch a couple of fish and get some quality pictures, but with the boat traffic, we didn't exactly want to advertise what was going on, so we settled for quantity over quality. SlobberBob cruised up in his typical ninja fashion and beat up on several drum as well. He hit one on the nose with his first cast! We ended the day with 10 bulls between the three of us. I managed five to end my season.
YTD Drum Total - 19
If you made it this far in the report, I commend you! Thanks for reading!
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