LD on the BD

The fish in the previous post are Black Drum. We estimated that the fish we got were in the 35lb range although there were larger fish in the school. These fish were all caught in our home waters of Tampa Bay within 3-5ft water, the crazy part was even though it was that deep these fish were still sticking their tails out of the water while eating off the bottom!? It's unreal! We were using intermediate lines to help keep the fly down and casting above the school, letting them overtake the fly and doing a very slow strip. These are the first BD of this size that we have hooked on fly so we were not too sure what to tie up. I figured something dark, buggy, and weighted enough to get down into their feeding zone (on the bottom!)

BD Crab Thing

Black Drum are notoriously blind and usually can only sense something if is directly in front of their face. If all goes good during your strip you will feel steady tension, the fish is on, and now it's time to set the hook. Once you get a solid hook up and these fish realize it they are off and running. Now these are not long runs but they are incredibly strong fish with each fight lasting about 15-20min. They're not the smartest fish in the world but they sure fight like hell!

For more saltwater fly pics from the Tampa Bay Area or to book a trip you can visit www.lostcoastanglers.com