GIANT RED DRUM

Questions about Saltwater Fishing

GIANT RED DRUM

Postby STOKES » Wed Mar 04, 2009 9:39 am

Larry, I haven't written you in while, last we spoke I was picking you brain about Bocas del Toro, Panama. After a little research we decided to go to Belize instead, and we made a family vacation out of it. What a great place to go with the family and/or to fish! I scored Bones, Tarpon, Snook and some BIG Permit along with numerous other species. The kids had a great time as well, Incredible snorkleing, jungle river cruises, touring the Mayan ruins and catching their first Bones at 7 & 9 yrs old respectively ! Now on to the reason for this post. I live on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, Kill Devil Hills to be more specific. We have the best BIG Red Drum fishing in the world right here in our backyard, mostly surf fishing, but also sight fishing in the ocean as well as a really good fishery in the Pamlico Sound. Spring and fall are prime time for the surf fishing, while the sound really fires up in the summer, along with some pretty good numbers of BIG Tarpon as well. In the past couple years my buddies and I have started fishing a little more in the "Dahlberg" style. In the fall the big reds make their way south from the Chesapeake Bay and down the Outer Banks to their wintering grouds off of Cape Hatteras. We usually target the north end of the Outer Banks just south of the Virgina state line from early September through late October surf fishing with "heavers" casting bait from the beach. The past couple of years we have started using another tactic, "Beach Launching". We started launching small boats off the beach years ago chasing the massive run of Striped Bass that occurs (or used to occur, that's another story) every winter. Recently, we've applied the same tactic to the Drum with some great results. This past fall I landed my biggest ever at 57" long x 34" girth, what a pig ! The fish formula came up with 72-82 lbs! That day the 3 of us landed 7 fish in about 3 hours. One was 45", all of the others were over 50", TOADS !!! We use the fishfinder to locate schools of bait, usually helped by a few Terns or big slicks to point us in the right direction, then set up and drift large cut baits on the bottom or jigging with bucktails tipped with Gulp twister tails. Soooo if launching a small boat from the beach on a nice slick day and catching WHOPPER Red Drum sounds like fun, let me know, I'd be more than happy to introduce you to our large red friends. I believe you'd really enjoy a trip to the Outer Banks, lots of fishing opprotunities from backwater, inshore, bluewater, wrecks etc, etc. Also, how can I forward some pics to you? I'd love for you to see exactly what I'm talking about. I'll also send along a couple pics of the Permit from Belize. In the meantime here's a link to my post on the Power Pro site, it includes a couple pics.http://www.powerpro.com/trophy/trophy_d ... PHY_ID=708

Thanks, Mike Stokes

PS Cape Hatteras National Seashore Recreation Area, home of the world record Red Drum, Bluefish and Spanish Mackerel not to mention the surf fishing Mecca of the world, is under attack by a small group of environmental activists and our rights to access our own National Seashore beaches are being taken away! To learn more, visit the Beach Access page on islandfreepress.com If you can help us in any way, we would all be very grateful!
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Re: GIANT RED DRUM

Postby dahlberg » Wed Mar 04, 2009 7:20 pm

Hi S
Sounds fun. I'll drop you an email.
best,
L
Larry Dahlberg
The Hunt For Big Fish
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Re: GIANT RED DRUM

Postby STOKES » Wed Mar 04, 2009 8:05 pm

Thanks Larry, I was just looking at some other posts this evening, it's my first time to this forum. I ran across the posts regarding your sponsors, or lack thereof. How are you making out with the sponsors for this year? I would hate to think that HFBF would miss a production year because of a lack of sponsors! I don't think I could make it a whole year without HFBF! You have truly inspired not only myself, but many of my fiends and fellow anglers with the great adventures you share with all of us. By the way I have absolutely GOT TO go to the Seychelles, my god what a place! You have spurred me to make a "bucket list" of fishing destinations that I feel compelled to visit before I kick it, and they are definately on it. How much does a sponsorship cost? I've got a couple ideas for you, E-mail me and I'll pass them on. A buddy of mine, Rob Alderman, produces a great local fishing show called (what else) The Outer Banks Angler. If you get a minute, check out his website. He's got some pretty cool clips of Drum fishing, spear fishing a local loran tower, and a bunch of sick underwater footage. Here's the link http://outerbanksangler.com/ Anyway hope all is well, thanks for getting back to me & I look forward to your E.

Go big or go home!, Mike Stokes
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