Kayak Sight Fishing Florida Black Drum (Day 2)

I took the July 4 holiday to spend two days sight fishing for black drum in the backwaters of Cedar Key. I was able to land five of these bruisers on frozen shrimp, with dozens of other opportunities. It's a pretty accessible and underutilized fishery opportunity, and it has a lot of the aspects that make hunting fun-being able to use your eyes and then stealthily approach "big" game-but also has the advantage of being able to release these hardy fish relatively healthily. So keep some frozen shrimp on board and if you see some big black/gray/white tails lolling around, try to land one at the tip of fish's nose. There's no quicker way to catch a giant inshore fish.

[@shawnbland3941]

Is this ShellMound? I catch bangers out there all the time!

[@CarsonPrichard]

It's a great place for seeing black drum!

[@shawnbland3941]

@@CarsonPrichard Im headed out there Sat morning in the yak

[@MNBDH34]

Using live or dead shrimp?

[@CarsonPrichard]

Dead shrimp.

[@MNBDH34]

I took a friend fishing near there. He caught a tank and was hooked himself. Bought a kayak and fished every week til he passed. I told him one day we were out there “maybe we died, we’re in heaven and don’t even realize it.”

[@CarsonPrichard]

@@MNBDH34 I got chills reading that last part because you're exactly right, it feels like that. The road to that ramp was closed for about eight months and when it finally opened, and I could drive all the way down to launch my kayak, I found myself overcome with happiness. Sometimes I fish with live bait and keep it in a bucket with an aerator, but when I get down to the last bait, and click off the air pump, the droning buzz of the grasshoppers is all of a sudden all you can hear and it's the most therapeutic sound. It reminds me of being a little kid and staying at my grandma's house in rural Indiana and falling asleep to the nasally nyeah-nyeah-nyeah-nyuh-nyuh sound of katydids through the screened window that my dad would keep open. When my time comes, maybe I'll be greeted with either of those sounds, somehow.