Spring Drum Run

It's May, and that means it's time to gte ready for the big black drum run, in the Chesapeake region. These fish are already showing up along the coast and in the next week or two, fisheries in the Delaware and Chesapeake bays will bust wide-open.

The difference between DE and MD anglers is pretty amazing: to the north they'll anchor up and fish sea clams, dead on bottom. But in Maryland's waters, it's considered the kiss of death to drop an anchor. Instead, anglers here go on the hunt for pods of drum by putting around at slow speed and eyeballing the fishfinder. When drum are spotted, the boat is stopped and anglers drop hooks baited with soft or peeler crabs.

Which way is better? For whatever reason, each method works the best in the areas it's used. The Delaware drum are more scattered so anchoring and waiting for one to come by works well. Yet in the middle Chesapeake the fish mill aorund in tightly-packed pods, and have to be hunted down and targeted directly. Ready to go after these behomiths? Here are a few tips from the drum masters:

1. Always search for the fish while going into the wind. That allows you to shift into neutral, drop your baits, and drift back over the fish. If you're going with the wind you'll have to turn the boat around to get back on the fish, and often, you won't be able to re-locate them.

2. Even though these fish are big (80-pounders are common) they like shallow wates. 10' to 25' is the prime drumming zone.

3. Use a fishfinder rig, which allows the line to pass through the weight. Drum have sensitive mouths, and if they feel the drag of several ounces of lead, they'll spit the hook.

4. Drum have strong jaws with rubbery skin in the hinges, which makes them perfect for circle hook. Use 10/0 to 12/0 non-offset circel hooks, for the best strike-to-hooking ratio.

5. Remember that these fish are very old, and releasing any over 30 pounds is a good move. Larger ones don't taste very good, anyway, and many have worms living inthe meat.