Black Drum

Black drum are heavy bodied fish with barbels or whiskers under the chin. Younger fish have four or five dark vertical bars on their sides but the stripes tend to fade with age. The coloration of backs and sides varies although drum usualy have a white belly. Black drum can exceed 100 pounds!

Black drum are members of the croaker family and is related to the Atlantic croaker, red drum, and spotted seatrout. A characteristic of this family of fish is the ability to produce croaking or drumming sounds with the air bladder, which is the reason for the common names croaker and drum. This ability is most developed in the black drum and anglers can sometime hear sounds from schools passing near their boats.

Each spring the Eastern Shore of Virginia Chamber of Commerce sponsors its annual black drum tournament.

Bay Creek Resort & Club Marina
1 Marina Village Cir.
Cape Charles, VA 23310

Telephone:
Eastern Shore of Virginia Chamber of Commerce: (757) 787-2460
Fax: (757) 787-8687

Email:
info@esvachamber.org

Website:
www.esvachamber.org

In May, many charter boats visit the shoals and mussel beds just off the eastern shore of Virginia for a chance at catching black drum. These enormous fish migrate in the bay and may be caught for just a few days or for several weeks. Virginia black drum vary from younger fish weighing 20-30 lbs to very large adults, often exceeding 80 lbs.

Anglers fish throughout the day and into the night using surf clams, hard clams, peeler crabs and other baits. Tackle is simple but stout, with anglers only needing 20-30 lb line, a few sinkers from 3-8 oz and a single hook rig. Many top anglers use circle hooks which work well with these fish.

Types of bait for catching black drum varies with location and time of year. The following list includes some of the most common baits for black drum fishing:

Blue Crabs

The Atlantic blue crab is found in inshore environments from Nova Scotia to Argentina. These crabs make excellent bait for black drum when they are in the shedder or soft stage. They are fished as cut bait and occasionally fished whole.

Hard Clams

The hard clam or chowder clam is the most popular American clam. The largest sizes of hard clams are called quahogs or chowder clams. They are fished whole and also used as chum.

Ocean Quahogs

The ocean quahog is also known as a mahogany clam, mahogany quahog, black quahog and black clam. Quahog may reach 3-6 inches in diameter.

Surf Clams

The Atlantic surf clam is harvested commercially off the Northeast USA coast. Other names include hen clam, sea clam, giant clam and bar clam. Surf clams range from 4 to 8 inches in length.

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Sea Fish

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