Drum Beat 10/14

[karstopo]

Drum Bay for me is sort of my weekend spot by default. Especially when I don't leave the house until 10:30. Swan Lake looked pretty good as I drove by water wise, but there were a couple vehicles blocking my normal launch so on to Drum it was. Drum Bay is big enough that even on a busy Saturday a 10 o'clock scholar like myself can usually find some unoccupied nook or cranny.

By the time I got to the launch, the early birds were already coming in. No worms, or fish, at least that would take a piece of plastic was the report. No problem, I was more interested in making some vitamin D and see the wonder of creation unfold. The earth, water, sky and creatures did not disappoint. A pair of Magnificent Frigate birds glided overhead with their lighter than air grace. Hundreds of Egrets, Herons, Ibises, and others dotted the flooded wetlands. The redfish were probably up in there with them. They weren't in the bay. I didn't see any sign of redfish as I probed along the shorelines and reefs. The water was clear enough to see fish if they were there. A big fish came cruising towards me, looks to be a bull red. Wishful thinking, it was a hefty gar.

I staked out near a reef with water moving over and by it. Here was some sign at last. First cast got me a little speck on a shrimp pattern. Second cast a 13" flattie. Third through 100th cast, nada. A dolphin was my entertainment. I watched it master something tasty in about 2 feet of water. I could hear it exhale and generally seem to be enjoying itself.

The rest of the day was spent hitting reefs looking for sign. The boats and kayaks dwindled to where I was almost the only person visible. Last stop had good moving water over a reef and plenty of sign. I caught some little trout. Something made a big disturbance around some bait 60' feet away. Good time to toss over the shrimp fly. I get the take and finally bring in a spirited 18" inch trout. After that, I missed a couple of fish and finished with a croaker, the third of the day.

The water looked good, streaky, the winds were pretty tame out of the South East. The tide flow was weak, but there was some wind currents and current around choke points. As usual, I got way more than I bargained for or deserve.

[karstopo]

The photos

Sent from my SM-J320V using Tapatalk

[Cuervo Jones]

I've never managed a croaker or flounder on fly. My bad. I need to leave all other gear home one of these days and just throw flies. Maybe next week. Inspirational as always, Karst!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[kickingback]

Nice report! At least you caught some fish. I am happy if I catch one sometimes! Good pics!

[karstopo]

I've never managed a croaker or flounder on fly. My bad. I need to leave all other gear home one of these days and just throw flies. Maybe next week. Inspirational as always, Karst!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I get a few croaker around reefs on the shrimp fly. I've never sight cast one, but will cast to bait being moved around reefs and sometimes it's a croaker that takes the fly. Croaker always seem to bring me a smile with their noisy protests.

Flounder are just fun and I actively try for them, but it's not like I really know what I'm doing. If I see one clear the surface or bait going airborne in shallow water, I carpet bomb the area until I get it to eat or give up after a dozen casts or so. Otherwise, I just try spots that look promising and that usually doesn't produce anything but occasionally it does. Seems like any weighted good sinking pattern works. I only like to use floating fly line and even with weighted flies and long fluorocarbon leaders that only gets me to 4-5 feet of water. So if they are deeper, I'm out of luck.

[Cityfisher]

I was there Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning around the mid bay launch. I couldn't believe how high the water was. The beach area at the launch was underwater and had to pull to the side of the dirt road and launch there.
It sounds like you, Cuervo and myself had pretty much the same kind of conditions and report. I did see one very large red fish slithering with his back out of the water very deep back in the flooded grass Sat evening and that was it. It was very strange. Glad you got to get out and catch some fish!

[karstopo]

I was there Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning around the mid bay launch. I couldn't believe how high the water was. The beach area at the launch was underwater and had to pull to the side of the dirt road and launch there.
It sounds like you, Cuervo and myself had pretty much the same kind of conditions and report. I did see one very large red fish slithering with his back out of the water very deep back in the flooded grass Sat evening and that was it. It was very strange. Glad you got to get out and catch some fish!

I looked into the flooded grass, but never saw anything that drew me in. There was hundreds of acres of submerged marshland. It had wild goose chase written all over it.

That mid bay launch is in rough shape thanks that little marsh drain that has formed over the last couple of years and is now cutting across the road during high water events. How often does one get to see geologic change happen in such a short span of time? We should consider ourselves lucky.







Sent from my SM-J320V using Tapatalk

[Cityfisher]

I was there Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning around the mid bay launch. I couldn't believe how high the water was. The beach area at the launch was underwater and had to pull to the side of the dirt road and launch there.
It sounds like you, Cuervo and myself had pretty much the same kind of conditions and report. I did see one very large red fish slithering with his back out of the water very deep back in the flooded grass Sat evening and that was it. It was very strange. Glad you got to get out and catch some fish!

I looked into the flooded grass, but never saw anything that drew me in. There was hundreds of acres of submerged marshland. It had wild goose chase written all over it.

That mid bay launch is in rough shape thanks that little marsh drain that has formed over the last couple of years and is now cutting across the road during high water events. How often does one get to see geologic change happen in such a short span of time? We should consider ourselves lucky.
So true! I've watched those 2 connected little marsh ponds to the southwest of that launch go from being really small to now turning into 3 connected little marsh ponds. I can usually slide in there really quite like and pick up a red in one of those before spooking anything else in there. Not since it is expanding though.







Sent from my SM-J320V using Tapatalk

[karstopo]

The progressive deterioration of the mid bay launch as shown on Google Earth.

Sent from my SM-J320V using Tapatalk