"Drum at The Point!" When the call goes out in the spring and fall, fishermen from up and down the east coast and as far west as Indiana begin streaming into Buxton, NC. Their target, a fish that feeds in the surf that can grow to up to 95 lbs. There is a mystique to the red drum that defies logic and is found nowhere else. At the sound of the word, eyes glaze over, arms tighten in anticipation of the fight, and the mind fogs. There is but one thought, "Catch the drum." Locals attach karmic value to the fish. If a fisherman fishes for them and fails to catch one during a season, his Karma is bad and they tend to shy away from him. Red drum range from the Virginia Capes, along the southeast coast and around the gulf to Texas. They're known by a variety of aliases in different places: channel bass, bull reds, copperbacks, spot-tailed bass are but a few. The small ones (up to 15 lbs.) are referred to as puppy drum and 35 #'ers are called yearlings (although they're probably older than that). The large ones can be caught in the surf in the spring (mid April to mid-May) and fall (from around Halloween to close to Thanksgiving). The smaller ones (puppies) can be caught in the surf anytime in between when the wind comes from the southwest. My first drum was an 8-10 #'er taken at The Point. It was a late afternoon in August. It had been a warm day with a southwest breeze. The water was cloudy. I rode with Steve and Dave Hissey (proprietors of the Pelican's Roost in Hatteras Village). As we approached the south side of The Point, Steve opined that it looked awfully drummy. Most of the other fishermen at The Point were clustered either directly at The Point or on its north side, casting for either Spanish Mackerel or little bluefish. I decided to try for the drum. I rigged my rod with a piece of cut mullet, cast it out and then set it in a sand spike and waited. I didn't have long to wait. With my back turned to the water, Steve suddenly shouted that I'd better check my line. The rod was bent over double. There was a good fish on it. It didn't take long to bring it to the cooler. But my favorite drum was perhaps my second - a yearling caught in mid-May about 1984. I was fishing with Greg Compher (then of the Red Drum Tackle Shop). Steve and Dave were there as well, along with all the other "Drumers" around. The word had gotten out that drum were being caught at The Point. They came in waves. Every 5 minutes or so, about 5-10 people would hook-up. And then they'd be gone. After a while we figured it out that they were attacking the baits on the way down. Anybody who was just casting at the time they came in would get a hit. Everybody else would just sit there soaking bait. Dave and I hooked up. Mine fought hard but I landed it. Dave's fish took off for the bottom and layed down. It turned out to be a large (300 lb. +) ray. Once a big ray flattens out against the bottom, there is no way short of a crowbar to get it up! But Dave was determined. He hung on while the rest of us landed our fish. Eddie Ochs (proprietor of the Quarterdeck Restaurant in Frisco) landed 2. Steve landed 2. I landed mine. It wasn't until there were nearly a dozen fish came in that Dave gave up. I took my fish to the scales and it measured 35 lb. Oh! And what about Greg? A sad story. He didn't catch one. Matter of fact he didn't catch one all that season. Red Drum The big drum come in the spring and fall. In the spring, they are migrating into the sounds from the south. In the fall, they come back out to open water from the north. Big drum are primarily nocturnal feeders but they can be taken on any tide, any time of day. They prefer fresh mullet and/or menhaden. It takes a strong person and a strong rod to fish drum. Tactics are changing. I started when the rage was 11' heavy fiberglass rods with large open-spool reels loaded with 15 - 20 lb. test line. Now the standard is moving back to conventional (revolving spool) reels on light graphite rods. Turns out that you can cast them farther than the open-spool reels. The terminal tackle remains the same: a large 7/0 - 9/0 short shank hook snelled to a 8" - 12" 80 lb. trace with a fishfinder rig for an 8 oz. sinker between the trace and a 12' 40 lb. shock leader tied directly to the running line. Look for drum on the SW breeze on shoals with good deep sloughs running in front of them. Although drum are primarily bottom feeders, they like to munch down *against* the side of a sand bar or shoal. So the idea is to cast your bait on top of a shoal and allow it to come back down the side. Best way of cooking drum is on an open fire with some Bulls Eye BBQ sauce. Locals also make a mean drum stew or chowder.