[zacharyc]

Didn't have time to load the kayak today so I decided to try a new spot that I found with bank access behind Topsail. I haven't bank fished the creeks/bays in a while, so thought I'd give it a shot. The water looked fishy but I always thought it was a bit shallow to hold decent fish-I was wrong!

Brought my rod, a spook junior tied on, and nothing else. Saw lots of shrimp and mullet in the area but nothing smacking them. Just when I was about to leave I made a long cast along a reed line and a 22-inch fat drum smoked the spook junior. Very exciting hit.

After releasing him I noticed two of my trebles were missing from the spook junior, snapped right off (pictured) and didn't notice before the release. Didn't have a back up spook so threw that one and managed to catch another drum in spite of the faulty hook, this one was short but still fun. Saw them busting bait across the way so will have to paddle the area instead of bank fishing next time. Fish released alive and healthy.

 

[Scott Hobbs]

You can't catch them if you don't go, bank or boat. Nice catch, reds can be in some shallow water with their backs sticking out. Don't underestimate the shallow waters.

 

[drumchaser]

Nice. Always rewarding to pull them in from the bank unexpectedly.

 

[Fly2bTied]

Nice catch!

 

[quest4reds]

I had one of my hooks break on my first drum with it too, I think the hooks they put on them must be brittle. Nice catches.

 

[zacharyc]

You can't catch them if you don't go, bank or boat. Nice catch, reds can be in some shallow water with their backs sticking out. Don't underestimate the shallow waters.

True, some of my better fish have come from a foot or less of water, those places are primarily where I fish. This spot you would be able to see their backs out of the water most of the time though, even high tide in most spots so they'd be easy to spot and haven't before. But turned out there was enough of it to hold a few once I decided to kill a lil time today

 

[zacharyc]

I had one of my hooks break on my first drum with it too, I think the hooks they put on them must be brittle. Nice catches.

Yeah I had seen some complaints about the hooks I never change mine but might consider it. This spook only caught 4 or 5 fish in it's lifetime, bought it not long ago to replace another so the hooks should of held up today.

 

[quest4reds]

Yeah I had seen some complaints about the hooks I never change mine but might consider it. This spook only caught 4 or 5 fish in it's lifetime, bought it not long ago to replace another so the hooks should of held up today.

I hate to get all "sciencey" here, but it seems like their heat treating when wrong, as in they quench hardened them and forgot to temper them back. Quenching, or quickly dropping the temperature by dropping in water or oil, from heat treatment of metals make them very hard, but also makes them brittle so you must temper by reheating to a lower temperature than the forming temp, thus "quenched and tempered" equals "hard but not so brittle".

In other words, I bet if you use a blow torch and just got them good and red once, they wouldn't break so easily.

 

[ice cream man]

I replace the rear hooks with 2X or 3X strength VMC sure sets. ......... ICM

 

[zacharyc]

I replace the rear hooks with 2X or 3X strength VMC sure sets. ......... ICM

Will prob do this today before my afternoon trip. Hoping to walk the bank after work.