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Fall is the time to find ‘pups’ in the surf
By JOE MALAT  As
summer draws to a close, red drum respond to the changes in water
temperature and gather in large schools inside Outer Banks inlets.
These young drum, locally called puppy drum, will trickle through the
inlets when brisk northerly winds push ahead of the fall cool
fronts. This movement of drum usually takes place in late
September and early October. These puppy drum can range from little ones that barely make the 18-inch minimum to fish that can push the 10-pound mark and are a favorite target of surfcasters. Drum of all sizes are opportunistic feeders and they scavenge the bottom for whatever looks tasty. Crabs, small fish, and sandworms make up their natural diet, and puppy drum may feed on these tasty treats in a variety of weather and surf conditions. These young fish are not particularly bright or wary and are not as difficult to catch as the grown, older drum. Anglers fishing with fresh, natural baits on the bottom will probably catch most of the puppy drum, but many fish are fooled by artificial lures. Let's look at both methods. Bait fishing requires tackle heavy enough to cast several ounces of weight, plus a bottom rig and one or two chunks of bait. I like either spinning or conventional “revolving spool” tackle for the puppies. A good drum rod should be able to cast up to 6 ounces of weight, but 4 ounces should be adequate much of the time. Soft "buggy whip" rods will not do the job. Match a rod in the 9- to 11-foot range to a reel loaded with a premium brand of 17- or 20-pound test monofilament. Puppy drum aren't much on table manners and literally inhale their food. But they don't always run away from the beach when they bite, so a sudden slack line is the alert angler's cue to quickly take up the slack and immediately set the hook. Many anglers use a typical two-hook bottom rig with 1/0 to 5/0 hooks. Several are moving away from the traditional J-style hook and using circle hooks with success. I make my own single- or double-hook rigs by tying dropper loops to hold the hooks into a piece of 50-pound test monofilament. Figure-eight loops at each end of the mono provide a place to snap the swivel from my line and attach a sinker. The only hardware on the rig is the hook, which should be needle sharp. Fresh finger mullet are excellent puppy drum bait, and schools of mullet are often seen migrating down the beach in the fall. When the mullets are running, a skilled throw of a cast net will produce more than enough fresh bait. Be sure to change baits often while fishing. A washed out, old bait loses its scent and will not appeal to much of anything. Many of the puppy drum caught in the Outer Banks surf during the fall are captured on bait. However, a significant number of them are fooled by artificial lures, and that's my favorite way to catch them. The puppies often are mixed in with speckled trout, and the same lures will catch both. Favorite local artificials are lead-head jigs and soft rubber tails, with brand names such as Fin-S, Grubs, Twister Tails, and Touts. Each has a different shape and action when retrieved. Head weights may vary from 1/4 to 3/4 ounces. Any color tail is likely to catch a drum, but lime green, dark green, and the pink/white color combinations all have proven track records. I have also caught puppy drum on MirrOlures intended for speckled trout, and the good colors seem to be green or the red\white combination. Wire leaders and snap swivels aren't necessary in front of these lures. I use an 18-inch piece of 15-pound mono leader, secured to my line with the smallest black swivel I can find. Line twist from the lure whirling around during the cast is a constant problem, and most of that can be avoided with the use of a small swivel. Spinning tackle is the only effective method of fishing these light lures. Light, one handed rods from 7 to 8 feet are seen most frequently on the beach. Match the rod with a lightweight saltwater spinning reel filled with 8- to 10-pound monofilament. Casting distance is not always critical, but on more than one occasion I’ve witnessed drum holding at the edge of a distant sand bar, a long cast away. That’s when an 8-foot rod with a stiff tip and a long butt may give you the leverage necessary for a longer cast. Puppy drum can appear anywhere from Rodanthe down to the south end of Ocracoke, but Cape Point, False Point near Hatteras Inlet, and Ocracoke’s South Point are traditional hot spots. Sections of beach with deep holes and drop-offs are good places to fish. Look for a fairly narrow slough, a sandbar within casting range, and then fish the entire slough from the bar up to the drop off right at your feet. The drum could be holding anywhere in that range. Currently there is an 18-inch minimum and 27-inch maximum size for red drum. Anglers may keep one drum per person per day within this “slot.” (Joe Malat lives in Nags Head and is a professional outdoor writer, book author, and director of the Outer Banks Surf Fishing Schools. He writes about saltwater fishing along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts and is published regularly in national and regional magazines. To order his books, or request information about the Outer Banks Surf Fishing Schools, visit Joe’s Web site at: www.joemalat.com.) 
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