Best Baits and Lures for Black Drum

Black drum are year-round species commonly found in the saltwater and brackish water in the Atlantic region, from Delaware Bay to the Florida area. The largest of the drum fish family, this fish is known to live for a long time and can grow as heavy as 100 pounds. What makes these “big uglies” attractive to anglers is that they can put up a big and intense fight. 

Anglers are specifically looking for these giant fish and like to sight fish for them in shallow water or low tide. However, as a year-round catch, they can be found in a variety of spots. They can be caught in the deeper pockets of flats and estuaries, under bridges, in the surf and sandbars, or offshore near passes and deep channels. Just look for structure and a moving tide, especially if you’re inshore fishing. 

Now that we know where to find black drum, the next question is how exactly can you catch them? Here are some of the best bait and lures anglers can use when black drum fishing, along with the ideal way to present them to guarantee a sure catch:

Live Bait for Black Drum

Black drum’s forage of choice are crunchy crustaceans, so anglers will find success using live bait that matches their favorite food. Because they rely heavily on their sense of smell when hunting for food, you can use live or fresh dead bait. If you’re looking to save some bucks, buying freshly dead bait will do just as well as live ones.

1. Half a Large Blue Crab

If you’re aiming to land larger fish in the inlets, do as the northern Florida anglers do when black drum fishing and use a large blue crab cut in half. Sink it behind your boat at least 24 inches off the bottom and wait for your catch to bite. You will know they are heavy once they’ve taken the bait.

2. Live or Frozen Shrimp

Black drum are quite tasty, but the bigger and older ones tend to have a lot of parasitic worms. Therefore, experts recommend catching the smaller drum fish at 20 inches or smaller for table fare. If you’re primarily targeting black drum for food, you can successfully target them by dropping a live shrimp on a sinker. If you’re using frozen shrimp, break off its tail to bring out its scent because for the black drum — the stinker the bait, the better. 

3. Oysters and Mud Minnows

Black drum also like to hunt in the mud flats, where you will have fun fishing from a kayak. You can find the black drum with their noses buried in the mud to hunt for crabs and shrimp under oyster clumps. They also sometimes eat the oysters themselves. If there are mud minnows, they can go for those, too, so you can also try using minnows as bait. 

While these big uglies are not very particular with presentation and will gobble just about anything you put in front of their strong noses, experts like to use the Carolina rig when targeting them. However, do not overload your rig — make sure the weight you’re using for the rig is enough to keep your bait near the bottom where they feed.

Artificial Lures for Black Drum

Black drum are much trickier to catch with artificial lures, but it can be done, especially if you’re targeting them in schools on the flats or sight fishing for them. To guarantee success, match their favorite crustaceans or bivalves and scent them. 

1. Lures Mimicking Crustaceans

The most popular artificial lure for targeting black drum is a green gulp jerk shad or a gulp shrimp rigged on a 1/8 oz—jig head. A Chasebaits USA crusty crab is another fantastic and obvious option as it mimics crabs pretty well and is small enough to fit in the fish’s mouth. It’s best used in clear water where black drum can easily spot it.

2 Paddletail

Another great choice is a paddletail on the same jig head you would use for the gulp shrimp. The paddle tail is not exactly a match for their favorite crustaceans, but they are nonetheless pretty effective lures. The best situation to use them is when the black drum aggressively feeds. If you’re using them in schools, use a lighter jig head so you can drag your lure in front of the school, making sure to keep it a little higher than you usually would for these bottom feeders.

Black drum are a fun fish species to catch in the Atlantic region that can be found all year round. They can be caught with a wide range of crunchy smelly bait and lures but also fight quite well. So if you’re looking for a good and challenging game on your next fishing trip to Florida or the Chesapeake Bay, be sure to include this strong fighter on your bucket list.