I went out last sunday to the CBBT and got 1 keeper rockfish at 20"s and the rest around 17"s so then I decided to try for drum. it was about 4:00 and I went over to the 9' shoals and anchored ocean side in 14' of water and the current was running pretty had about 2 hours till low. So I threw a nice big fresh clam on size 8 circle hook (had two poles out with 65lb line). had a fish finder rig with an 8 ounce led on it . Then I sat there for about an hour 1/2 and didnt get a nibble. Then the wind picked up so I left because I have a long way to go and wasnt sure if it would get worse.

So the real question is, what am I doing wrong? my bait, my set up, or the place and time? or everything lol

Thanks in advance......
P.S. it wasnt red or black in particular just anyone I could get

NICK

It's a lucky bite. You gotta pay dues, there's no magic formula. Your set up is fine, but if you want a red use some crab and maybe trying putting out more than one bait. Most important is you gotta put in some time and wait.

Do that again and like said use crab also. 2 hours is not long enough of a wait. You can go 2 hours between bites or catch 20 in 2 hours.

If you want it to happen faster try chumming.

There will be a Drum fishing demo tonight at the Meet and Greet. Come and check it out!! Check General Chat for details...

Typically, you're fishing for Reds on the 9' shoal in that depth of water (although blacks can be caught also). Try using crab or cut bait (Bluefish/Bunker/Spot/Mullet) in the area you fished... all are better Red baits.

Also, like was said earlier... a 2 hour wait on a first trip is a drop in the bucket! Although there's been a lot caught, you can't realistically expect to set up for two hours and slap'em around.

All good info here. Like everyone else said, try peelers and cut bunker too.

Thanks for all the info, im going out tomorrow and i'll try some crab and maybe 4 four poles out. I'll be out there at 2:30-3:00 and i'll probably be heading in at about 8:00 but first im gonna weave in and outta the pilings on the 4th for some rockfish. I'll let you know how I do, and again thanks for the help

NICK

Dude, sunset and later is PRIME TIME!