What are the Best Baits and Lures for Black Drum Fishing?


The best baits for black drum are live shrimp and crabs fished within 24 inches of the bottom. The best lures for black drum are 4 inch gulp shrimp with a 1/8 ounce jig head or a 3 to 5 inch paddle tail with a 1/8 to 1/2 ounce jig head.

Black drum a.k.a. big uglies are a very fun fish to catch. This is especially true when they run up into shallow water to feed on shrimp, crabs, oysters and clams around the mud flats and oyster bars.

If you want to catch your fair share of black drums then you will want to know the best baits and lures to catch them with.

The black drum in the photo to the left was caught on a dead shrimp and split shot in about 3 feet of water. The fight lasted about 10 minutes in spite of the fact that I was using an 8 pound mono filament fishing line and there were oysters everywhere.

​The larger black drum like this one are usually full of parasitic worms but the ones around 20 inches or so are delicious. They are another great fish to fillet and release into the grease!

I am an INSHORE FISHING CHARTERS on the Treasure Coast of Florida. I have been fishing the oyster bars and mud flats all over Florida for more than 40 years. In this article, I will teach you everything that I know about the best baits and lures for black drum fishing. Let's get started.

Watch the video below and catch more black drum on the mud flats. 

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Best baits and lures for black drum fishing--OYSTER BARS/MUD FLATS

Black drum are found all over the state in salt and brackish waters. Most of the ones that I catch are in or around an oyster bar mud flat environment. Black drum like to eat bi valves and crustaceans. So where are all of the clams and oysters? That's right. Mud flats are full of clams, oysters, crabs, shrimp and other creatures that black drum will greedily devour.

My favorite way to hunt big black drum is to sight fish for them from my kayak during the lower tides. They will often bury their noses into the mud to flip over oyster clumps to eat crabs and shrimp. They will also eat the oysters themselves using the crushers that are in the rear of their throats. Black drum are the largest species of drum in Florida and can get over 100 pounds.

The best live bait for black drums is shrimp and crabs. Send out a shrimp or a crab with a split shot in the vicinity of a tailing black drum and they will most likely smell it and then eat it. They have 2 sets of nostrils and relatively small eyes for their size. This tells you that they mostly hunt with their noses.

​You should try to match your bait and lure offerings to the strongest senses of your target species. The stinkier the better when you are trying to catch black drum a.k.a. big uglies.

They will also hit a mud minnow in the same way. Just get it close enough to their noses and they will gobble it up. They are very opportunistic feeders and are not very picky about bait presentation.


BEST ALL AROUND ROD AND REEL COMBO FOR BLACK DRUM

In my opinion, the perfect all around rod and reel combo for black drum is a 3500 series reel and a 7 foot medium, fast action rod. Fill the spool with 15 pound braided line and use a 20 pound leader. That combo will catch drum up to 20 pounds.

I have used many different rods and reels over the last 40 years of fishing like Diawa, Shimano and Penn. 

My favorite line of reels that are out now is the Penn Spinfisher series reels. They are smooth, tough; have great drag systems; and best of all a sealed body so sand and water don't get inside the reels.

They are perfect for surf fishing, wade fishing and kayak fishing. (Any fishing technique that makes it likely for water or sand to get in them)

You can expect to pay $150 plus for these reels. BUT they are worth it.

My second favorite non-sealed reels are the Diawa BG reels.

They are the reels that I use on my flats boat because I know that they are unlikely to get dunked in the water or to get beach sand in them.

You can expect to pay $100 plus for these reels. They are a great bargain in my opinion.


The best dead bait is shrimp and crabs but clams and oysters will work too. When they are not tailing in the shallows you can be sure to find them in the cuts between the oyster bars and the mud flats. Send a shrimp up current with a split shot and let it bounce along the bottom back to you for best results. The good news is that red fish and flounder are competitors of the black drum. It's not a bad thing when you fish for a black drum but end up catching a red drum instead.

The best lures for black drum are a Berkely GULP scented imitation shrimp on a jig head. My favorite is a white body with a 1/8 oz. jig head. This set up will often out fish real shrimp because you don't have to change baits as often. For best results just send the jig up current and bounce it along the bottom at the same speed as the current.

Black drum will also eat a gold spoon or even a bass styled spinner bait with gold blades. They have poor eyesight and usually hunt in murky waters so if they can't see it or smell it they will hopefully feel it. The spoons and spinner baits put out those low frequency vibrations that fish love.

The video below talks in detail about the 2 best lures for black drum.

Best baits and lures for black drum fishing--INLETS

The big bruiser black drum come into the inlets and spawn up in north Florida. These fish can be 100 pounds of pure muscle. Fishermen in that region of Florida will cut a large blue crab in half and sink it behind their boats. When a big ugly takes that bait you will know it.

The smaller black drum around many inlets and can be caught with a live shrimp or a crab on a sinker right next to the rocks lining the inlet. Just drop the bait right in front of you. You don't even have to cast most of the time.

A live shrimp or crab or a fresh dead one is about the same to me. The drum are smelling their way over to the bait anyways. Save your money and buy fresh dead. 

I wrote another article about how to catch a black drum that covers the subject in great detail. You can find that article here.

The best lure for fishing inlets is a shrimp tipped feather jig or a scented imitation shrimp on a jig head. You will need a very heavy jig to get it to the bottom to the black drum's strike zone. Both of these baits will work great if you cast them up current and bounce them on the bottom back to you. You can also tip your jigs with a clam strip for similar results.


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​Best baits and lures for black drum fishing--GRASS FLATS

The black drum in my area can be found chasing shrimp and crabs out on the grass flats or around the mangroves during the higher tides. The best live bait is a shrimp or a crab with a split shot rig to catch one. Send the bait over to the mangroves when the black drum are around and wait for the bite. Often you will catch a sheepshead instead but that is a good fish to eat too.

The scented imitation shrimp jig is the lure of choice for this environment too. Just work it slowly near the bottom for best results. A gold spoon or a spinner bait can also be used effectively if the water is murky.

Don't use them if the water is clear. It is best to appeal to a black drum's sense of smell but you can appeal to its lateral line with the low frequency vibrations that the spoons and the spinner baits produce. 

Black drums are often feeding in schools on the grass flats. You can see them tailing as they root around for food in the mud, grass and sand. They are not shy to be in very shallow water and you can see their backs breaking the surface of the water as they swim the flats.

Sometimes they can be in schools of a hundred or more out on the grass flats. If you can manage not to spook them, then you can have a fun filled couple of hours catching black drum in shallow water.
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Best baits and lures for black drum-- DOCKS

Docks are another great place to target black drum. They love to root around the dock pilings for the clams, barnacles, oysters, shrimp, crabs and small fish that often live amongst the pilings.

I have fished a school of a hundred or so black drum that stayed around one dock for more than a week. So if they feel safe and can find enough food in a specific area, then they will stick around for a while. I am sure that one dolphin or shark could have ruined my fishing for that week but it never happened. Thankfully.

The best baits for black drums around docks are shrimp. Frozen or alive doesn't really matter too much. Just send the shrimp to the dock pilings and sink it to the bottom. Wait for your bite and set the hook. That's it.

The best lures for black drum around the docks are again the GULP shrimp. You can even dead stick this bait. Just cast it to where the fish are and leave it there without moving it. The black drum will find it with their extraordinary sense of smell and pick it up.

If you actually want to fish it like a normal jig just make sure to slow down your presentation and bounce it along the bottom. Black drums spend their lives looking down and sifting through the bottom for food. Their strike zone is within a foot or so of the bottom so keep your lures there.


Best fishing gear for black drum fishing:

Polarized glasses--If you are going to be fishing for black drum all day you will definitely need to protect your eyes and skin from the sun's harmful rays. Polarized sunglasses are a must for black drum fishing. A very expensive pair of sunglasses will run about $250 and a cheap pair will run you about $25 with glass lenses. You can find super duper cheap glasses with plastic lenses for about $5 at Walmart.

I have a pair of the $250 polarized sunglasses and they definitely give you better performance when cutting the glare and seeing into the water more effectively. They are also more well made than the cheaper sunglasses.

I got them for my birthday but I am afraid to wear them a lot. I tend to break stuff. They are definitely made from much more sturdy materials and are heavy duty. They also have glass lenses that are scratch resistant.

Whatever price range you decide to go with you must wear polarized sunglasses or you can not sight fish for black drum around the oyster bars or on the flats. The polarized lenses eliminate the glare on the surface of the water so that you can see under the surface.

The best color lenses for inshore and dirtier water scenarios are amber, rose and copper. If you are fishing super clean and clear water or you are fishing offshore a blue or a gray lens is best.

Performance Apparel--You will also want to stock up on UV performance fishing shirts to protect your skin from the sun's harmful rays. These shirts have built in sunscreen and are moisture wicking which means they evaporate your perspiration more efficiently keeping you cool on those hot days on the water.


​Watch the video below and catch more black drum.

 

Tackle-- You are probably going to need two sets of rods and reels for black drum catching. If you are going after the big boys up in the tidal creeks and mud flats, then you will need a heavier rod and reel combo.

I would suggest a 4000 series reel loaded with 20 lb. braided line and a 7 to 8 ft. medium/heavy rod. This rod and reel combo should handle those 20 to 50 lb. black drum that you run into tailing the oyster bars.

A set up like that will run you between $150 to $200. You can spend less for a crappy real and rod or a heck of a lot more for a best of breed type of rod and reel. In my opinion, $150 will get you a decent outfit.

The next rod and reel combo that I would suggest for black drum under 20 lbs. would be a 2500 series reel full of 8 lb. braided line and a 7 to 8 ft. medium heavy action rod. That set up will handle all the black drum, redfish and flounder that you might catch up in the tidal creeks.

That set up will run you around $150 too. Maybe a smidge more. 

Watch the video below and catch more black drum.

Conclusion:

Black drum are the largest member of the drum family and are a blast to catch. They fight in a similar way to their cousins the redfish. They pull and pull and pull some more if they are of any size. Once you figure out the best baits and lures to catch them in your area then you can have a blast fishing for black drums.

Black drum seem to be getting more popular as some other target species begin to decline. If you can find a big school and not spook them, you will have an hour of fighting fish after fish. They are definitely worth targeting and are especially fun to target on the flats.

If you are ever in the Treasure Coast of Florida book a Flats Boat Charter with me. We can target black drum along with redfish, spotted sea trout, snook and tarpon from a kayak. Catching a big black drum from a kayak is a blast.

I hope that his article helps you catch more black drum or at the very least helps you have more fun fishing for them. Let's get some lines wet Florida.
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About the author: The author of this article insists that everyone refer to him as The Slayer of Oyster Bar Big Uglies. BUT everyone just ignores him and we call him Mike, the co-owner of FYAO Saltwater Media Group, Inc.

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