On 8/9/2010 3:23 PM, DaveS wrote:

This may well be a stupid question but . . . is fishing for drum with
a flyrod a practical possibility?
Dave

not a stupid question.

lots of folks along coastal nc chase drum with a flyrod. ...especially
the normal puppy drum we catch between 12-26". there are areas the fish
can be found tailing...they are usually the smaller ones that can get
back in the marsh grasses and shallows.

willi visited one year. he was very successful with his 6 weight using
an epoxy crab imitation he tied, while wading in knee to waist deep
waters.

a big puppy drum like the one i hooked yesterday would require a stout
fly rod, and isn't found tailing. they run in schools of like size.
find one, and there are usually 10 more around. but they are on the
move, sort of grazing, then moving to a new spot.

plenty of guys around cape lookout use their false albacore flyfishing
tackle (10-12 weight) to sight fish the old big drum when they are found
running in the surf line near the beach or around the lookout shoals.
over in the deeper holes of the pamlico sound, they catch the really big
drum (50+ inchers) using conventional sal****er tackle and cut bait on
circle hook rigs fished on the bottom.

i don't like flyrodding in the sal****er...too much work and not as
efficient as a spinning rod, imo. and a big fish on light spinning gear
is fun. however, i'm not any good as a flycaster, especially of the
heavy sal****er flies with big rods. i do marvel at some of those guys
shooting line with their double hauls though. i haven't seen the spey
rods here yet, but i've heard of a few people using them. for me, the
spinning gear is quicker, easier, ...and safer. g