Prime Time Is Now for Chasing Giant Black Drum

Every year during the month of March in Northeast Florida, just off the tip of the St. Marys River’s south jetties, big black drum gather in large schools to spawn. The sight can be something to behold even if the fish aren’t always in a mood to eat.

The drum can number in the hundreds. Some may be as large as 60 to 80 pounds.

A full moon and flooding tide after dark builds the drum spawn to its peak. Excellent fishing for these big fish takes place at the mouths of inlets and nearby in bays where massive schools announce their presence with deep drumming sounds. However, when anglers can hear the drum beats the fish are typically spawning, not feeding.

“I believe black drum are more active and feed better after dark,” says local expert angler Jim Cartwright. “Although we’ve caught our share of black drum on completely dark nights, some of the best fishing has come when the moon sheds some light on the fishing. As a result, we normally enjoy our best drum fishing action just before and after a full moon.” Cartwright and his fishing companions use flood lamps to help with catching black drum.

“Not too many drum fishermen use flood lamps when fishing after dark,” says Cartwright. “I believe the added light by shining the flood lamps deep into the water attracts drum to our bottom baits. Obviously, a wide variety of smaller fish are attracted to the light, which also attracts the inquisitive black drum, too.”

Fishing after dark can create a few navigational problems. A clear night may turn pitch dark with the entrance of heavy cloud cover. Although some of the more popular drum holes are located at the many inlet mouths of Northeast Florida, big schools often frequent the beaches where navigation back to port can be a little more of a challenge.

“My boat is fitted with a GPS for good reason,” Cartwright said. “Fog and cloud cover can truly test your navigational skills, particularly if a storm is coming. We won’t fish after dark without a GPS, which allows us to navigate safely back to the Fernandina Harbor boat ramp. One night, a rainstorm threatened leaving all of the boats in the dark. We were the only drum boat on the beach that had a GPS, so we contacted everyone by VHF radio, and they followed us back to a safe harbor from the oncoming storm.”

“An on-board GPS is also a great tool when locating your favorite black drum. We have found a few sloughs along the beach in water depths of 16 to 20 feet. With the aid of the GPS, we’ll anchor right on the spot and within a few feet of where we had enjoyed great drum fishing action the night before. More importantly, it has taken us several fishing seasons in locating these fishing hotspots; with the aid of the GPS, we can fish right up and down these charted sloughs until we locate good numbers of black drum.”

Some sloughs were discovered by keeping a close watch on the fishfinder and marking subtle depth changes of only 1 or 2 feet. Once a slough was located, Cartwright and his fishing companions would drop the anchor and set out reliable baits, a combination of split blue crabs and clam.

“Some sloughs can be more productive than others,” explains Cartwright. “We have often found when you begin to snag shells on the bottom, that we often find the best drum fishing.”

Black drum fishing during the spring is popular with family fishermen, offering a chance to catch a large fish weighing over 50 pounds. It’s a good option for working folks, too, who can enjoy drum fishing after work on a moonlit night. Drum fisherman Ricky Hartsfield recalled one especially memorable catch.

“My wife Allison and I were drum fishing off Amelia Island’s Main Beach where the tide was about halfway in,” Hartsfield said. “I have a spot where I have caught two real giant black drum weighing over 80 pounds. It’s a fishing spot where you either catch a big drum or you might not catch a single fish.”

Hartsfield says his favorite bait for giant black drum is half a blue crab barbed on a 7/0 J hook. His main line is 40-pound monofilament with a 2-foot length of 60-pound fluorocarbon shock leader. A 6-ounce egg weight is attached to the main line, followed by a large orange bead and heavy-duty swivel.

“Allison and I had not been fishing too long before a big drum swallowed my crab and began swimming off real slow,” he said. “Patiently I began reeling in my slack fishing line until I felt the weight of that big drum on my rod tip. Then I set the hook and the fight was on!

“Unfortunately, that big drum swam right into some other lines we had set out in the water. Luckily, Allison was able to untangle the lines while I kept a steady pressure on that big drum. After making several power runs to deep water my drum eventually began to tire. I just knew that fish had to be the tournament-winner when Allison finally netted it.”

Hartsfield’s 68-pounder topped all contestants during the 2024 Nassau County Black Drum Fishing Tournament. Seasoned black drum anglers use the same techniques whether fishing beaches, deep inlets, or just beyond the surf. “It’s very critical when staying on top of a major black drum bite to be able to relocate your boat right over the school,” Donald Shearin said. “My electric trolling motor allows me to stay right on top of the school while employing anchor mode. At the same time, sonar lets me know where the school is located.”

Shearin fills his reels with 30-pound braid and adds a 6-foot length of 80-pound fluorocarbon shock leader. A 4- to 6-ounce weight is attached to the main line, just enough weight to keep his drum bait right on the bottom. A 5/0 circle hook finishes off the terminal end of his fishing gear.

“Our go-to black drum bait is a quartered blue crab,” said Shearin. “However, we always carry along a few pounds of white shrimp in case we run out of blue crabs.”

Using these tactics, Shearin won top honors in the 2023 Fernandina Beach Black Drum Fishing Tournament with a 77-pound black drum.

Long time Fernandina Beach charter captain Tony Peoples aboard the Southern Style explains why drum fishing is excellent off Fernandina Beach’s Main Beach.

“I first located productive hard bottom just off from Main Beach when anchoring one day,” said Peoples. “Retrieving my boat’s Danforth anchor from hard bottom after a night of drum fishing, I found small rocks caught in my anchor. This led me to believe that old sailing vessels anchoring off from Fernandina Beach had discarded their ballast rocks there. I also began to anchor on the edge of this hard bottom and place blue crab baits right on the middle of the hard bottom. A variety of shellfish and sand dollars are attracted to the hard bottom, all excellent food sources for black drum.”

Black drum fishing is excellent at many Northeast Florida inlets during the spring. Fishing is typically best during the last of a rising tide. Anchoring at the mouth of the inlet where a shallow bar falls off into a deep slough is a good approach, while fishing dead on the bottom with a piece of blue crab or large fresh shrimp.

“While watching my fishfinder, I’ll look for the very edge of a dropoff and more importantly where large black drum are marking,” says Fernandina Beach fishing captain Billy McFadden. “Next, we anchor on the high side of the slough which allows my fishermen to place baits right on the dropoff and where the drum are holding. When the action slows, I might re-anchor in hopes of locating the best action as black drum will also relocate according to the current stage of the tide.” Jacksonville’s Larry Finch targets black drum from the beach with fresh local shrimp and sand fleas.

“You do not want to cast too far off from the beach,” Finch points out. “Black drum will typically be holding in less than five feet of water and just beyond the breaking surf. My best drum action during the spring, summer and fall comes during a flooding tide and the last of the falling tide.”

Most of the black drum caught while fishing in the surf are less than five pounds; some anglers call them “puppy” drum. However, drum weighing over 10 pounds and some even larger are caught as well.

Puppy black drum fishing is also excellent during the spring and right through the year while fishing under docks located close to deep river channels. Once again, fishing right on the bottom with fresh local shrimp is key. This is one of my personal favorite fishing methods. I use a ¼-ounce leadhead jig barbed with a fresh local shrimp. Fishing this under docks with this rig will produce redfish and flounder as well as lots of drum.

In general, some of the best black drum fishing comes after dark and a few days prior to and after a full moon. Tides are critical, as well, with the best drum fishing action coming a few hours after dark and on a full moon.

Florida fishing regulations allow fishermen to keep five black drum per day measuring at least 14 inches and not more than 24 inches. One of your five black drum bag limit may measure over 24 inches. For more black drum fishing regulations, visit www.myfwc.com.

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• This article was featured in the February 2025 issue of Florida Sportsman magazine. Click to subscribe.

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