Not a limit of trout but a limit of...
 

Black drum...and a few sheepies
Caught them soaking shrimp. Couldn't buy a trout.Attachment 65628

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Well done.

Do we have a black drum limit? I know we don't have a sheep head?

Same as red drum.

Almost. The bag limits are the same 5 drum per day over 16" with a max of one drum over 27".

The difference is that with redfish, the possession limit (on land not while fishing) is two daily bag limits. With black drum, the possession limit is the same as a single day's bag limit.

I have no idea why you can possess 10 legal redfish (on land, not fishing) but only 5 black drum, but that is what the regulations say.

That'll eat! Nuttin wrong with that.

What's weird is that LAhas the black drum limit but MS and AL do not have a size or bag limit on black drum. Many MS fisherman in west MS who mainly fish LA waters don't know that if they stay in MS, they can go crazy on drum. What makes it more weird is that MS and AL's redfish limit is less than LA but LA treats reds and black drums the same. One would figure LA had more drum, hence at least the same limit

What I don't understand is why we even have a limit on black drum..... I'm sure only about 3% who fish big lake even target them

Kill all them oyster eaten trashy things!!

Back in the day, LA didn't want to bother to do the science on black drum, but they figured the life history was close enough to red drum that they could just set the limits the same and see how it went. It has worked well enough so far.

As time went on, the "blackened redfish" craze of the 1990s led to complete prohibition of commercial harvest of red drum, as well as prohibition of sporting take in federal waters. Black Drum, on the other hand, became popular marketed as imitation crab, and Louisiana has an annual commercial quota of 3.25 million pounds (16-27") and 300,000 fish over 27". There are some commercial fishers on and around Big Lake who run trot lines and catch thousands of pounds. I suspect a combination of this industry and historical momentum is why the recreational limits remain unchanged. These commercial fishers would likely complain to loosening or removing recreational limits on black drum unless their quota was also removed.

Black drum are also a popular catch among certain ethnic groups. Tightening up the limit on recreational fishers would probably be perceived as racism.

Personally, I think that LDWF will eventually realize that the marketable value of black drum is nowhere near the value of the oysters it takes to produce them (black drum eat a lot of oysters) and the loss of ecosystem services provided by valuable oyster reef habitats. Black drum should have a bounty, not a limit.

Yea they normally get tossed back but that was the only thing biting. Heard my spring time trout hole "froze" over. Sure seems like it cuz I haven't caught or seen a trout yet.

We target them ... as soon as we have a limit of redfish in the box. We're getting pretty good at it. Anybody want any tips?

Only tip I can give u on black drum is keep tipping with shrimp!!

What you catch after limit rip gills outs

Yeah, black drum are strongly scent oriented feeders, and they don't usually go for the built in scent on Gulp. Shrimp is the ticket if you are tipping an artificial bait, but crab is better if you are baiting a bare hook. For the bulls, we used the same cracked crab (1/2 crab) technique that we use for bull redfish, but we focus on the inside of the jetties rather than on the outside, or at the "drum hole" just past the end. If the catfish are ripping your shrimp or cracked to shreds, a crab claw has a better chance of lasting long enough for a drum to find it. Most of the trot line runners use crab claws for this reason.

Belle pass has drum holes too, right at the end of the jetties. There are some holes in Caminada pass too that hold black drum, but they are harder to find. Use your sonar. We catch more bull reds on the flats 10-15 feet deep. The bull drum hang out more in the holes a bit deeper. There are times of year when the black drum hit the oyster bars, but the drum holes and deep spots in the passes are a good bet any time of year.

I wish we were as good at catching sheephead, but that's still hit and miss.

You sure your not from.Texas?

I love Texas. When we were making regular trips between LA and Colorado, it always felt like we were on home turf when we cross the state line into Texas.

But I was born in NOLA and grew up in Lake Charles. Went to TH Watkins Elementary school. My dad let us fish on a Prien Lake pier while he played golf every weekend. We caught drum and croaker, with the occasional redfish. Moved to Metairie right before Jr. High, graduated from Grace King, then to LSU. Never lived in Texas, but visited a lot and always loved it.

Genius idea

Thats ok MG....La is almost as good as TX. Not everybody can be from the promised land:*****:

My main gripes with Tx are the fishing isn't as good as LA, the food isn't as good as LA, and I think the invaders from across the border are likely to ruin it as last generation's anchor babies are this generation's voters. At some point the influx of illegals is gonna sink the ship. But it ain't sunk yet.

I think in the long term Tx will be in danger of being re-annexed to the nation from which it came. Not so with Louisiana.

dang bruh...I was just joking....

I'd eat a16-19" black drum any day of the week! They are better IMO than a 24+ inch red. The rest are trashy! But them slots are classy


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