Black Drum on FIRE in Tampa Bay

Capt. Justin Ascherman
March 18, 2010
Tampa Bay - Saltwater Fishing Report

The Black Drum are on fire in Tampa Bay. Around this time of year the black drum school up with thousands of fish roaming the shallow water flats in search of food.

This year was no different. Got out on Wednsday to find the fish in the same spot as the were last year. It was a bit over cast so it made it a little difficult to see but it didnt matter. When there is thousands of 30-50 lb black drum schooled up in 3-6 feet of water its not that diffcult to see. Surprisingly the fish did not want anything to do with live shrimp. All fish were caught on artifical baits. Smallest fish we caught was approx. 35 lbs and the biggest 45lbs. On a 2500 series reel thats a heck of a test of your equipment. My Shimano Solstace 2500 reel with 8 ft Ohero Medium light action rod worked like a champ. Although it took about 25 mins to get it the equipment was awesome.

After three fish to the boat, we were done. We left there and began our hunt for some redfish. The redfish now are a bit spooky. We saw close to 500 reds with in an hour and half period. We caught two more reds one 18 1/2 inch and one perfect tournament redfish measuring 26 7/8 inches. Both fish caught on live bait. Hopefully the redfish bite becomes more consistant with this warmer weather rolling in.

Target Species:

black drum, redfish

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