Some of you know that I have gone to the dark side of fly fishing recently. I found a local hole that holds Buffalo, Carp and Drum...along with Gar. It's a trashfishing quadfecta that had me at "hello." Well, not really, but it does sort of have my attention for the moment.
I wouldn't go down alone, so roped a buddy into it. He hooked this Freshwater Drum his first time out. He's lucky in trash. I still say these are darn cool-looking fish, and they almost have a saltwater look about them. I was jealous...still am.
He nailed it on a Headstand off an Orvis 3wt. Not bad. Fat cicada tummy!
After getting a couple of Grass Carp on previous outings, I was ready for some new kind of trash. Seeing his Drum, I took over Chris' spot when he vacated it. I almost immediately hooked into something which I figured was a Common from it's profile in the water.
That's one thing I am really enjoying about these trashy guys--sight fishing. See-Cast-Catch. ...Or that's how its supposed to go. It did for this fella', a Smallmouth Buffalo. Apparently they are really good eating, but it killed my appetite for three days because of the fish smell it left on me. Yes, I did shower; it just didn't matter. Gross, but fun; alluringly fun on 3wts. *grin*
I could hear it saying, "Nooooo!"
Those Drum certainly do have a saltwater look about them. They're the only freshwater members of their family. They look almost just like their saltwater cousin the Black Drum. As juveniles they're practically identical. Looking at the mouth of a Freshwater Drum and a Redfish (or Red Drum) lets you know they're related. I just wish they got some of the respect their saltwater cousins do. Maybe if more people start to realize how similar they are, they'll get the respect they deserve. Great post!
ReplyDeleteNice! And welcome...glad you crossed over to the "dark side"!
ReplyDeleteThose drums are cool looking fish. Looks like a lot of fun on that 3wt! I look forward to your future post of "Grilled Smallmouth Buffalo" :-)
ReplyDeleteWill
ReplyDeleteI will take trash fish as long as it bends the rod---my only complaint is the ugly face these face have, but I can get past that too.
That last picture says it all...you love fish!! HA!
ReplyDeleteTrash fish? Those are things of beauty!
ReplyDelete