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From: Junior
Date: 9/21/2023
Time: 10:23:18 AM
Went over on Thursday. Expected to find harsh conditions due to Hurricane Lee. Fished just north of the ferry landing just to see what was it like. Able to hold with 4 ozs. Kinda surprised by this.
Spent the night near ramp 35. Ended up right next to the dune due to high surf. Caught a few blues. Got up before sunrise and tried to find higher ground. Back roads were flooded at several locations. Impassable at certain areas.
Ended up going to the north end at dead low tide and it was still a challenge. Spent the night there. Parked truck as far back as possible and was able to stay dry. Was the only person here. On the drive up I saw several nice looking holes. By Friday late afternoon mother ocean was calming down some. Fished hard. Little luck. One unstoppable bite on a drum rod.
Was soaking bait at the ropes on the north end before sunrise. A few blues but that was it. Water was looking so drummy.
The nicest people are on the island. Talked to several Drumwagon buddies and had a few laughs. One fellow talked with Junior for a few minutes then moved down the beach about 100 yards. All I saw was him releasing a citation drum back into the water. I was not paying attention maybe I was watching my rods like I should have been. It was a 60 inch plus drum. Knocked the angler down with a tail smack etc….man really wished I had seen it all. Wish I could have tagged it. Really excited that bulls were in the area. Stayed there til dark. Went gigging on the back waters at the north end. Saw a few shorties and then as I looked up I realized that I was the only person on the north end gigging alone. Not a real smart thing so I headed back to the truck.
Fished the sunrise at the ropes. Had a drum rod bend over and get spooled. Cranked down hard on it but could not stop it. Moved down the beach about 2 miles to a nice spot. Pulled in and caught a nice 23 inch puppy on the first cast. Ok now it is on…..water and hole looked good. Not another bite the rest of the day. Gigged at the ferry landing. Got a nice one. The power of the drumwagon was there also. I saw guys share lights and gigs with others so that some young anglers could experience a little flounder
gigging action. That was so cool and I was thankful for the sharing.
Got up in the morning and headed to the south end. Still some water on the back roads and the beach was still skinny at spots. Drove there and saw some birds working. Threw some metal at them and landed a nice blue. Was too many folks for me so after a few hours I headed back north.
Hole hopped all the way back and surprise I ended up back at the ropes. Stayed there all night. Fished next to some really good fishermen and just plain good folks. Watched a few pups caught along with a few blues.
Monday stopped and talked to a great drumwagoner and he had got into them on Sunday. About 3/4 mile south of where I was fishing. Many oversized and slot drum. Well the curse of Junior stopped that right in the tracks. Fished there the rest of the day without a bite. Sorry to jinx his spot. On the good side had a great conversation and enjoyed fishing next to him. Great guy.
Headed home Tuesday. Ran into a few high school buddies coming off the ferry. One I had not seen in 30 years at least.
Crab cakes and stuffed shrimp were cooked on the beach. Yummy
The one thing from this trip was the spirit of the drumwagon and the island was present. Ohhhh so good to see the friendship and taking care of each other on the island. Y’all know who you are and I thank you for everything that happened.
Headed back in a few weeks if I can.
Tight lines,
Junior