# Best bait for bull reds



## O'Shaughnessy (Jul 17, 2013)

Hi guys,

Was down in Kitty Hawk this weekend and came up with a few whiting, spot, a small blue, and a decent cownose ray (about 26" wide) on cut mullet that was pulling line off my Avet MXL like crazy. Super fun. Caught most of the fish right around the breakers, so if you're just starting out and you want to catch fish, don't try to cast a mile. They might be in close.

No reds unfortunately. Heading back down there later this month and again in October if I can.

A couple of folks I've been talking to say to use live bait (i.e. spot/croaker) or half of a blue crab instead of cut bait.

What are your top baits for big red drum?


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## SmoothLures (Feb 13, 2008)

If he swims by a fresh chunk of cutbait, it's unlikely a red will turn it down...but heads are good. Spot heads, whiting heads, big mullet heads, chunks of those, tuna belly, live finger mullet, crab halves, ect. If the bait is bled out or its been picked to pieces by crabs and blues then your chances go down. Just my .02 from a drumming noob.


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## NC KingFisher (Nov 20, 2011)

I like pinfish heads


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## Garboman (Jul 22, 2010)

There aren't any Bull Reds in Kitty Hawk, you are a few hundred miles too far North for Bull Reds

In October large Drum will come through the area and the best bait for them is a corn cob Mullet Head as it lasts and bleeds the longest


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## fishin757 (Nov 29, 2010)

lets just say i know a guy who got a 46 incher this morning on mullet.........


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## Drumdum (Jan 6, 2003)

This time of year,when available,spotheads do the the trick,MAYBE a little better than cobheads.. All round,cob mullet head.... jmo..

PS As Garbo said ain't no bull reds in this area,they are drum..


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## sand flea (Oct 24, 1999)

Heads from spot or whiting, cob mullet head, finger mullet with the tail cut off so it doesn't twirl on the cast. I've used quartered hard blue crabs but it's only pups/yearlings that seem to bite on them. The only crab I've ever seen big reds bite on are whole calico crabs but it's hit or miss. I only use them when fresh cutbait is hard to come by and I don't mind getting pinched digging them up.


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## Oldmulletbreath (Jan 7, 2006)

WTF is a bull red? We catch DRUM.


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## NC KingFisher (Nov 20, 2011)

Oldmulletbreath said:


> WTF is a bull red? We catch DRUM.


I think it's some kind of snow bird fish


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## KB Spot Chaser (Nov 19, 2009)

Drumdum said:


> This time of year,when available,spotheads do the the trick,MAYBE a little better than cobheads.. All round,cob mullet head.... jmo..
> 
> PS As Garbo said ain't no bull reds in this area,they are drum..


Like he said, and don't leave home without a gold 6 oz. no= hammered hopkins with a single J hook.


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## Fishman (Apr 23, 2000)

Cut spot spot spot heads, mullet heads and cut mullet all chunked not filleted .


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## surfnsam (Apr 28, 2008)

Drum? I'm not in a band, I want Channel bass!!!;/


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## Drumdum (Jan 6, 2003)

surfnsam said:


> Drum? I'm not in a band, I want Channel bass!!!;/


 Then fish in Va or Maryland and getcha one..


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## DrumintheSuds (Nov 19, 2007)

#1 Spot Head
#2 Mullet Head
#3 Blue Crab

Any other oily head, chunk mullet or chunk of bluefish

If you offered me any bait I wanted FOR BIG DRUM from now through mid November it would be a bait cooler full of SPOT HEADS


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## cooper138 (Aug 8, 2012)

#1 head, don't care as long as its fresh, spot, mullet, the other mullet. 
#2 chunks as long as its fresh same as above
#3 finger mullet if the blues aren't to bad and we are getting them in the cast net
#4 whatever is fresh
#5 whatever is available as long as I have a bait in the water. Figure when a drum comes along if I have bait in the water whatever it is I have a better chance of catching it then sitting there getting sudsy looking at a bare hook on the rod holder.


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## bronzbck1 (Jun 13, 2007)

You use what ever they are eating on at the time. Like now finger mullet are being eaten up by the blues and the drum are picking up the pieces. If you can't get what they are feeding on then use the next best thing that is the freshest. I like fingers, spot, & tuna belly


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## ncsharkman (Mar 12, 2011)

Arizona Fred has caught four big drum [one was 46-48 inch] from the O.B.X. bar & grill.


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## ncsharkman (Mar 12, 2011)

Arizona Fred has caught four nice drum this last week from the "bar & grill"! One was 46-48 inches long. He throws fresh cob mullet or mullet heads. I'm going to float out [if the winds right] a Tuna head tonight for a really big "toothy drum".


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## OldBay (May 15, 2003)

No mention of fat back - bunker - menhaden? That's my go to bait for drum in the fall. Then again - what do I know.


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## drumchaser (Jan 14, 2003)

Noggs of spots or cobs.


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## Youngbuck757. (Jan 10, 2013)

Cob noggin!


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## Drumdum (Jan 6, 2003)

ncsharkman said:


> Arizona Fred has caught four big drum [one was 46-48 inch] from the O.B.X. bar & grill.


 You mean he caught one for each rod he had out??? 



Youngbuck757. said:


> Cob noggin!


 Aside from Sept through maybe,early Oct,I'm with ya on that....


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## Oyster (Jun 28, 2000)

Drumdum said:


> Then fish in Va or Maryland and getcha one..


?????????? Why do you guys keep picking the scab off this sore? I would hope anybody attempting to give a history lesson would at least be aware of the proper name of their own state fish.

http://www.secretary.state.nc.us/pubsweb/symbols/sy-bass.htm

Drum is the more generic term that has been adopted by the younger, Johnny come lately crowd. As you can see in the posted link above the N.C. state fish was adopted in 1971, and assigned the name that was most commonly used in N.C. at that time. To the old salts of Va., Md., and N.C., the proper local term is Channel Bass. Personally, I chose to use the proper local term (channel bass) as a show of respect to my heritage. 

Ol’ Greta and I have gone a few rounds about this in the past and I am sure this post will spawn a four-page rebuttal, where she will resort to touting all of her personal credentials in an attempt to prove me wrong. 

That’s your queue Garb.

Now, to answer the question, the single best bait for the channel bass in my area (Va. B. I.) is peeler crab.


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## ncsharkman (Mar 12, 2011)

Drumdum said:


> You mean he caught one for each rod he had out???
> 
> Heck no! I said he caught 4 "DRUM" [not channel bass]. He did not catch 10-12 drum as you indicated....


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## Drumdum (Jan 6, 2003)

Oyster said:


> ?????????? Why do you guys keep picking the scab off this sore? I would hope anybody attempting to give a history lesson would at least be aware of the proper name of their own state fish.
> 
> http://www.secretary.state.nc.us/pubsweb/symbols/sy-bass.htm
> 
> ...


 Actually,I could be considered "an olesalt",at least in terms of age,and I call them drum.. If you speak to ANY OLESALT down here in Hatteras they will call them drum also.. Not sure which part of NC you are including that calls them channel bass,but it ain't Hatteras... Channel bass is much better than "BULL RED" though for sure... 



ncsharkman said:


> Drumdum said:
> 
> 
> > You mean he caught one for each rod he had out???
> ...


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## Garboman (Jul 22, 2010)

Oyster said:


> ?????????? Why do you guys keep picking the scab off this sore? I would hope anybody attempting to give a history lesson would at least be aware of the proper name of their own state fish.
> 
> http://www.secretary.state.nc.us/pubsweb/symbols/sy-bass.htm
> 
> ...



I tried Peeler Crab a few times, I rubber banded it around my 9/0 92553 which is part of my credentials, since folks these days cannot seem to sharpen their hooks never caught a Channel Bass with it but I was fishing in September and it was too early off Rodanthe

I remember a picture of Claude Bain with two large Channel Bass he had taken on the beach near Rudee Inlet back in the 1970's, maybe that is where your information is coming from

None of the old folks in Rodanthe called Drum by any name other than Drum and their Families had been in Rodanthe for the last three hundred years, so either all the old folks had forgotten or else they never knew of the Channel Bass.

I would like to bring in a three page story about Drum but I decided that I was going to write my Book instead, but come to think of it, none of the young folks in Rodanthe call Drum by any other name than Drum

Raleigh folks must have passed the Channel Bass name back in the 1970's, perhaps the Raleigh people did not check with the folks in Rodanthe, since Raleigh folks seem to follow the same procedure these days too......


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## jay b (Dec 1, 2002)

Those fish have as many "favorite" baits as they do names and both name and bait are determined by where the fish are. Why fight about a name ??

As far as bait they're bottom feeders so whatever is currently on the bottom at the time you're fishing for them is their "best" bait. Springtime here in Virginia the crabs are coming out of their winter hibernation in the bottom so crab (preferrably hard because the peelers find too many critters) is some of the best bait to use.

The fall run in Virginia happens at the same time the Spot run is on so a Spot head works best. In additon to Spot the Menhaden and Mullet are schooling up and heading south so they too are good choices, just like in Carolina.

But the number one bait to use if you can't find any of the above is what ever you dump out of your cast net


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## flathead (Dec 18, 2003)

After posting my answer to the question I am going to " Google " ......recipes........for......." Hatteras Channel Bass Stew "....and see what, if anything,pops up. If indeed one pops up.......I'd bet five lbs of fresh bunker heads it didn't come from an HI native or a descendent.

1 - mullet head,
2 - spot head,
3 - sea mullet head,
4 - bunker

Favorite ? Whichever one of the above is the freshest and most abundant in my cooler or bait bucket.


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## bstarling (Apr 24, 2005)

I'm trying to remember the name of that restaurant in Hatteras, you know the one that's been there for since I was a dark haired boy fishing a Squidder up that way. Oh, I remember, it is the Channel Bass Restaurant. 

With that said, I call them drum too.
Bill:fishing:


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## Oyster (Jun 28, 2000)

Garboman said:


> I remember a picture of Claude Bain with two large Channel Bass he had taken on the beach near Rudee Inlet back in the 1970's, maybe that is where your information is coming from


I had never heard of Claude Bain until the late 80’s, when he took over as director of the Virginia Salt Water Fishing Tournament. Since then I have read many articles written by him and have seem him many times on various TV shows. To my best recollection, I have never seen anything from him about surf fishing. It seemed to me that the vast majority of his fishing was from a boat. However, his predecessor, in the VSFT director’s position, was a gentleman named Claude Rogers, who was an avid surf angler and wrote extensively about catching channel bass for the 30 years of his VSFT directorship career (1958-1988). It was from reading Mr. Rogers articles that I became aware of the great channel bass fishing on the V.B.I.’s as well as his favorite bait, peeler. After a few decades of personal E.S. experience, as well as picking the brain of most every E.S. local resident I have met on the islands, Claude Rogers’s opinon, as to the best bait for E.S. channel bass, has been confirmed. 



Garboman said:


> None of the old folks in Rodanthe called Drum by any name other than Drum and their Families had been in Rodanthe for the last three hundred years, so either all the old folks had forgotten or else they never knew of the Channel Bass.


This statement if just flat out untrue, PERIOD.
I spoke at length on the phone today with Stockton (Stocky) Midgett. He is 85 years old, and a born and raised native of Rodanthe. When I asked him if the term channel bass was ever used in the tri village area he responded with “of course”. He went on to say that when he was younger channel bass was the only term used by most folks on the island including those from the tri village area. He said he never heard his father use any other term for these fish. He continued by saying the use of the term “drum” is a more recent thing, but he finds it confusing because you have to then ask red or black for clarification. 

Every time you come out with this B.S., I’m going to call you on it. There is no excuse for continually attempting to mislead the lesser informed. You were wrong 3 years ago when you got into this same debate with me, and you are just as wrong about this today. I’m starting to think that you have deluded yourself into believing that if you say it enough, you can force it to become true. NOT


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## Oyster (Jun 28, 2000)

flathead said:


> After posting my answer to the question I am going to " Google " ......recipes........for......." Hatteras Channel Bass Stew "....and see what, if anything,pops up. If indeed one pops up.......I'd bet five lbs of fresh bunker heads it didn't come from an HI native or a descendent.
> 
> 1 - mullet head,
> 2 - spot head,
> ...



First, the decussion is not about the name of the stew, it’s about the historical use of the term “channel bass”, to define a fish, by residents of ALL of North Carolina, including those of ALL of the OBX, which includes those of the tri village area. I spent quite a bit of time fishing the piers and surf of H.I. early in my life. Later, while working as an offshore mate, we fished quite a bit out of Hatteras Inlet and always had a slip at Hatteras Harbor Marina. If you are familiar with Hatteras Village, then you know the Channel Bass Restaurant was just down the street from Hatteras Harbor, and that is where we usually ate dinner (we usually had breakfast at Sonny’s). Noting your hailing port of western NC, I dare say, that most likely, I have had more bowls of drum stew than yourself. I am sorry you have chosen to hitch your wagon to Garbo’s incorrect position. But I am sure he appreciates the support of a loyal sycophant. 

Secondly, as to your suggestion to use google, what a novel idea, I would suggest you run a search for……….”Channel bass” hatteras……….Then spend the next few days reading all of the old newspaper articles, magazine articles, quotes from books, where H.I. natives use the term extensively. You will even find an old film from 1947 about catching channel bass on H.I. in the Rodanthe area.


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## Drumdum (Jan 6, 2003)

Stocky Midget sells real-estate he don't know nothing about a dern feesh.... 

 NOW, Eff O'Neil KNOWS about feesh,he's 90.. He was the magistrate here in Hatteras.. Also a commercial fisherman from waaaay back.. Oh,and he calls them "ole drum".... 

Used to fish with Raymond Basnight,before he passed, sheriff here in Hatteras for many years.. He was an avid surfisherman.. He also called the old drum... 

Fished with a man named Tex Balance as well.. He was a boat captian and guide here in Hatteras at one time.. One of the best boat fishermen for big drum that I know of before his passing.. He ALSO called them old drum...

Now,I didn't meet either of these native islanders until late 70's and it is *possible* they called them "channel bass" as youngens.. Although,as adults they called them ole drum...


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## Garboman (Jul 22, 2010)

Oyster said:


> I had never heard of Claude Bain until the late 80’s, when he took over as director of the Virginia Salt Water Fishing Tournament. Since then I have read many articles written by him and have seem him many times on various TV shows. To my best recollection, I have never seen anything from him about surf fishing. It seemed to me that the vast majority of his fishing was from a boat. However, his predecessor, in the VSFT director’s position, was a gentleman named Claude Rogers, who was an avid surf angler and wrote extensively about catching channel bass for the 30 years of his VSFT directorship career (1958-1988). It was from reading Mr. Rogers articles that I became aware of the great channel bass fishing on the V.B.I.’s as well as his favorite bait, peeler. After a few decades of personal E.S. experience, as well as picking the brain of most every E.S. local resident I have met on the islands, Claude Rogers’s opinon, as to the best bait for E.S. channel bass, has been confirmed.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


My Reality is different from your Reality.............I do not get upset about your Reality as it is not mine...........I lived in Rodanthe for seven years back during the time when we kept Drum for the table and I killed my share...........I ate Drum cause that is what we caught and in the summers we ate Cobia and Spanish and Kings......That is my Reality................I have fished for Drum on the OBX for near three decades and have never once come across you on an OBX Pier or on an OBX beach and that is my Reality...I am aware of my brief history on the Banks..........If the term Drum is recent to the Banks so be it.......So am I.....

Janie Hooper (RIP) who died at the age of 93 in the Winter of 2012 was a Native of Salvo was one of the old folks that appreciated a full grown Drum delivered to her doorstep in the old days... Janie Hooper all ways called them Drum and after the moratorium on keeping the large Drum went into effect felt the loss more deeply than the rest of us.......as it was a part of her tradition that was lost........it was more just a fishing inconvenience to transplants like myself and the rest of the non native Hatteras Islanders fishing for Drum. 

If I get to make it back to to Hatteras I will be casting my bait for Drum................If I make it to the Eastern Shore of Virginia I guess I would be fishing for Channel Bass

You may have heard of one of Janie's Nephews..... 

Under the mount of the Fish at the Rodanthe Pier House the inscription reads *"Elvin Hooper Red Drum IGFA World Record*" November 7 1973

It is likely it was Claude Rodgers and not Claude Bain I saw in that old photo...................I saw it forty years ago back evidently before the wily Drum changed his name....


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## Garboman (Jul 22, 2010)

I will try to be on the end of Rodanthe Pier this November 7th If I make it I will be fishing for Drum using using center cut sections of Roe Mullet taken from a Rodanthe Midgett's net which is the *Best Bait* off Rodanthe in November


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## ncsharkman (Mar 12, 2011)

I guess the "RED DRUM" tackle shop needs to change it's name! And poor old Elvin Hooper, He thought he caught a drum when it was a channel bass! Your a bad boy Garboman...Now go to your corner for a "time Out"!


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## gshivar (Aug 29, 2006)

On the lighter side. Several years ago in a small bay off the ICW at Middle Sound I was fishing in my boat. Had my slot fish - most were over. Two kyakers with fishing poles paddled by and I told them there were plenty of puppy drum here if they wanted to fish. One said "No we are looking for red fish". As I shook my head I said "OK, good luck". Best - glenn


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## MDFranklin (May 12, 2009)

I had never heard a sea mullet called a "roundhead" until I moved to Virginia. Always called them Virginia mullet or whiting in NC.


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## MDFranklin (May 12, 2009)

BTW caught a 42" and 44.5" Saturday night on bluefish and pinfish from the surf. Two other runs on spot. They didn't touch the cob mullet.


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## NC KingFisher (Nov 20, 2011)

MDFranklin said:


> I had never heard a sea mullet called a "roundhead" until I moved to Virginia. Always called them Virginia mullet or whiting in NC.


I fish with two guys from Virginia a lot, they crack me up. I tossed a big whiting on deck one day and Ed says somebody needs to sling a chunk of that Roundhead. Some guy looks at him and says what the f is a round head


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## Drumdum (Jan 6, 2003)

MDFranklin said:


> BTW caught a 42" and 44.5" Saturday night on bluefish and pinfish from the surf. Two other runs on spot. They didn't touch the cob mullet.


 Cobs will work early season,although matching the hatch early in the season via spots,seamullet,bluefish ect can at times be more productive.. Later in the season,say late Oct into Nov and Dec,cob mullets rule...


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## Bocefus (Apr 19, 2010)

1-fresh blue fish head or steak
2-sea mullet head or steak
3-small cob mullet head or steak
4-fresh bunker
5-Vienna Sausage


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## OldBay (May 15, 2003)

Bocefus said:


> 1-fresh blue fish head or steak
> 2-sea mullet head or steak
> 3-small cob mullet head or steak
> 4-fresh bunker
> 5-Vienna Sausage


I would put a spot head somewhere above Vienna Snausages.


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## jay b (Dec 1, 2002)

If the only thing swimming in the water and the only thing you can get from your cast net in Viennie weinnies then that's what you throw.

Leave the head on the Spot and let it get fried too, it "looks" better on the plate


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