Fall is my favorite time of the year to target red drum while surf fishing, but that doesn’t mean it’s the only time you can target them. In the spring season you can catch them in our area, including Maryland but with a better shot casting from Virginia’s beaches.
When to Target Red Drum in the Surf
When the fishing gets good will be temperature-dependent. The ideal water temperature range for bigger reds is 61 to 70 degrees; this is when most reds will school and produce a decent bite. From 70 to 75 degrees they do not school as much, but the bite is still good. With temperatures above 75 reds disperse out into deeper water then move back into the shallows at night to feed.
As for what time of day to fish, for me I have learned you can catch reds day or night, but it comes down to time of year as well. In the spring sunrise and sunset are the best times of day, especially near a high tide. In the summer, 90 percent of all my reds are caught at night. Reds are nocturnal by nature, and the water temps are cooler at night. In the early fall I target them during the night then transition to mornings and evenings as the days get cooler.
Bait and Tackle for Red Drum Surf Fishing
When it comes to bait selection I have a general rule of thumb I follow religiously from the surf: match the hatch. If you’re seeing tons of spot and whiting in the surf while casting your smaller rods, target them as bait. If menhaden are abundant but spot and whiting are few and far between, your best bet would be menhaden. Peeler crab may be a great bait in the bays but for what it’s worth I have always had better luck using cut bait from the surf. Generally speaking, my go-to baits line up in this order:
- Spot
- Whiting (also called kingfish and roundhead) is a close second
- Mullet comes next
- Then menhaden
I chunk the baits into sections and use the heads. For the heads, I’ll hook through one eye and out the other with spot. Bigger kingfish you will want to hook through the nose, and smaller whiting can be hooked through one eye and out the other. Same goes for mullet. Menhaden is the only bait where I will hook the head from the lower jaw out between the eyes, because if you’re fishing heavy current and you hook menhaden through the eyes, the mouth usually opens and becomes a parachute of sorts, making it that much harder to hold bottom. For the meat section of any of these fish I will hook just above the spine exposing as much of the hook as I can.
For rigs, targeting reds is straightforward. I use a simple fish-finder rig with anywhere from an 8/0 to a 10/0 inline circle hook. The bite leader I prefer is 80- to 100-pound mono. This will give you a better chance of getting the rig back if a toothy critter latches on.
For rods and reels I use mostly conventional gear, but spinning gear works as well. I prefer a 12’ or 13’ rod with a weight rating of six to 12 ounces. For line I use 17-pound test mono with 30’ of 50-pound test shock leader tied to the mono. I like having long shock leader to help fight the fish when close to shore, so I can grab the line and not have to worry about it breaking. Plus, once I get the shock leader onto the reel I can really tighten my drag down to finish the fight. For spinning setups you can get away with the same, or some like braided line. I would recommend 50-pound braid as a minimum, because braid isn’t very resistant to chafing and if the fish runs down over the outer bar and your line happens to hit a seashell when pulled tight, you’re going to lose it.
Where to Surf Fish for Red Drum
This is by far one of the most important parts of catching reds from the surf. It’s also one of the few times knowing how to cast for distance can really help. I do not spend a lot of time looking for rips or breaks in the bar. If I find one, great, but it’s not super important to me. I honestly like to just look for areas where I can cast to and over the outer bar. I have had some of my best days at spots most guys overlook because they look like everything else. The biggest difference is that the outer bar is in close. If I find a spot where I can clear the bar at high tide it will be just as good at low tide.
Above is a spot I fished this past spring for striped bass but it would be great for reds as well. The red lines were the most productive spots. The yellow lines were the reason. Obviously the yellow circle was a break in the bar, definitely a great spot, but the majority of the fish were caught at the yellow line. That sandbar was only 75 yards off the beach at high tide and I sent the drone up at dead low because I wanted to see what I was missing from ground level that made this spot so good.
Bait placement is especially important. I don’t want to put my bait a mile over the bar, but just on the back side. If I cast out and my bait does not want to hold bottom I’ll bring it back in and cast again. If it sticks when it hits it stays in that spot. I will then cast a bait on the front side of the bar, especially at high tide. I’ve found reds love to cruise along that outer bar looking for easy meals.
I am sure I’ve missed a few things, but I hope you all can put what I’ve learned over the years to good use and be successful. Feel free to reach out and let us know your results.
-By Dave Moore of Shark Whisperers; you can contact Dave via the Dave Moore of Shark Whisperers Guided Trips Facebook page or on Instagram.