For Glenn W: Drum Rig pic

[BTH284]

This picture from Capt Brian shows a good example of the rig that I was talking to you about today.
3" from the hook eye to the bottom of the weight.

[knot for shore]

aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh........looks like it works just fine!!

hellofafish!

[gottaflylee]

here is another picture of it for ya!

[fish4bills]

What size circles are you guys using?

Also, how about some insight on choice of bead color for the rig?

I see that Capt. Brian has chosen green and Capt. Lee shows the yellow in his photo.

[Tuna Taxi]

Great pic, Bryan. I hope we can put some of those to good use next weekend, if I can make it down. I think it would be pretty easy to make that rig up, puttin' a slob on the other end of it is another thing.....

[gottaflylee]

What size circles are you guys using?

Also, how about some insight on choice of bead color for the rig?

I see that Capt. Brian has chosen green and Capt. Lee shows the yellow (florescent green) in his photo.

I use what I had in my box...green, florescent green, red, whatever color on the beads in my box at the time for me.
I think the circle hook is an 8 ought but the box in on my boat and not in my hand, but that will work. That is an Eagle Claw circle hook in the picture...

[clt_capt]

That's one nice drum.

[JMS-ILM]

another shot.....mustad 39966 16/0 on the left and eagle claw wide gap 2022 10/0 on the right. the owner demon circles seem to be popular as well. bead color....some say the red attracts more bluefeesh??? i havent seen that it makes a difference.


like capt lee, i downsize the big rig a little bit for use in the sound and surf with live and dead bait for slot fish. the owner SSW 7/0 seems to fit the bill nicely. have caught numerous flounders, black drum, some trout, ladyfish and various other stuff on the little rig too. works like a charm....

[shore-power]

Ok I would like to respectfully ask a question about this rig and using circle hooks in general for drum.

What happens when the drum doesnt commit suicide and grab the bait and turn and run off with it? What happens when the drum just softly mouths & pecks at the bait until its gone? Like they often do. Im a show me kinda guy and I have had soooo many circle hook guys fish side by side with me fishing for drum (blacks & reds) in all kids of conditions and I consistanly hook more fish than they do. Im not saying the circles dont work but the fish has to aggresively take the bait, which doesnt always happen. When my baits are getting pecked at I reel up the slack and set the hook while my circle hook comrades have to sit and wait for their rod to bend over while feeding good crabs to the fish that are not suicidal. Ok let me have it Im used to it!

Circle hooks are great for live baiting and for fish like rock and amberjack that SLAM a bait. But drum will at times softly mouth a bait & you wont hook them if your not using j-hooks and at times I use a rod rigged with braid so I can feel the extra soft bites and set the hook more effectively. The braid rod has been the difference between catching a few and getting skunked. I don't especially like fighting a big fish on braid but some days its the only rod we catch them on. also I would say 95% of the drum I catch are hooked in the mouth and I have seen circle hooks gut hook drum as well so that argument is all wet in my view. If you want to use a hook that works like a circle hook and yet allows you to set the hook on a soft bitting fish then use a KHALE style hook. For BIG drum I use a special 7/0 khale hook I buy from a guy on EBAY its plenty strong and I have caught 45 to 54 inch reds and big blacks on them in the hard running current around the CBBT at the mouth of the Chesapeake. In the shallows where I dont have to deal with so much current I use a 5/0 khale hook for big reds and will drop down to a 2/0 for puppy drum.

Just my 2 cents. But I have caught a ton of drum so I do know a bit about what Im talking about..

PEACE!

[Glenn W]

Bryan,
Thanks Bro.

Shore--- it would seem to me that you ought to keep using Khale- hooks then--- What ever floats your boat---