Noobie to Red fishing

[Fishinthebay]

Well after reading everyone's fishing reports I have decided to take a stab at catching some drum.

I am leaving out of Deltaville tomorrow about 3:30pm to head down to the fishermans Island area and going to fish into the night. I have never run that far down and just wondering if anyone can point me in the right direction on where to anchor and start fishing.

[South Paw]

That's a long haul. What size boat? There is some skinny water around Fisherman's Isle your boat might not handle.

[Hanover_Yakker]

How good are your electronics? You need to be able to read the information and interpret that relative to the wave behavior on the shoals. Ask any surf fisher and they will tell you the ability to read the break lines and shoals is imperative to locating the fishy spots. The other factor that often goes unmentioned on here is that the charts for that area are actually incorrect as of today. Even the current view in Google Earth or Google Satellite view is not indicative of the current location of the shallow flats and sandbars. Without getting into too long of a discussion, the SE tip of Fisherman's Island for example has a very noticeable sandbar but what is missing from the charts is that the sandbar you see in person is actually closer to shore by nearly 100 yards or more compared to the same location last year. It is probably not advisable for your first time to venture into that area without someone who currently fishes that area and has fished it this season.

[Gotta Gaff 'Em]

You would be better off doing a day trip to get yourself familiarized before you do a night run

[Fishinthebay]

I will be traveling in a 26' albe, I have been boating for 20 some years and my electronics are pretty good and I am confortable using them. I have a backup garmin GPS and a Lowrance HDS7 MFD.

I am planning on getting out there before dark to scope out the spots and see what the currents and wind is doing and adjust as needed. But if I could get directed to some fairly good spots I will check them out before getting to envolved. Considering the warnings you guys are stating, if I get down there and dont feel to safe with the situation I will tie up in a marina and start at dawn. Day trips are hard for me to make due to time constraints.

I do not know anyone to be with that has fished that area before so that will not help. Is anyone else headed out there tomorrow night?

[Fishinthebay]

How about in the shallows near bouy 13. I have heard some people talk about fishing that area?

[N4ZNH]

As others have stated above the breakers around and between the islands can be challenging. I've fished the area in boats your size but it's not advisable without someone to guide you around the first time.

With that said there are plenty of drum available without venturing into the breakers. Look on a chart for the area. Draw a line between buoys 8 and 10. Then pick a spot between that buoy line and the islands. Look for lumps and bumps adjacent to deeper water and you should have a pretty descent shot at catching a few drum. You will see plenty of other boats in that area to give you a hint of where to set up.

[Fishinthebay]

Thinks Wally, That is the information I was looking for seems to be a little safer to fish there than in the breakers. Maybe after dawn I will venture into the breakers to see whats what and mark spots that I need to avoid. But for my first trip I thing I will do as you suggested and stay in that area.

Hopefully there will be other boats that I can get hints from.

[BottomKnocker]

If you aren't familiar with the shoals and don't want to risk that approach, which i wouldn't venture . There is easier access to the outside of those shoals if you approach it from the ocean side.Plenty of fish out there just outside all the wash.Fishing any of the shoals in the area Latimer , 9ft, etc. offer plenty of depth. Chop can get sporty at times and plan for alot of current .

[Fishinthebay]

Thanks guys for the help. Made it out there and fish with the rest of the boat between 8 and 10 and fisherman's island. From radio talk it seemed that the bites were unusually slow. I was fishing in about 23ft of water but only caught 6 sharks and 10 skates. The waves kicked up seriously around 10:30 and we finally pulled the plug around 2 am to find calmer waters.

I wanted to move to the other side of the fleet closer to fishermans island in shallower waters, but I was having winch anchor problems and was not about to fool with it when the water got spicey. Will try again here soon, hearing good reports from 13 on the bay side for black drum and a few cobia's arriving, its a bit closer to home so I may try there.