Bite Atlas

Fish-finder rig with a 3 oz egg sinker, 30 lb leader, and a 3/0 circle hook baited with half a blue crab or cut shrimp. Cast near the jetty rocks on the incoming tide. Let them eat — circle hooks set themselves.

3/0 circle hook on 25 lb fluorocarbon, 2 oz egg sinker running on the main line above a barrel swivel. Half a blue crab, large shrimp, or cut clam. Cast past the second bar and let it sit. They'll hit slow — wait for the rod tip to load before you lift.

3/0 circle hook with half a blue crab or large shrimp, 2 oz egg sinker, 30 lb leader. Drop straight down along the seawall pilings at the base. Let the bait sit — drum use their chin barbels to find food, not their eyes. Night bite is best.

Larger bait (half crab, large shrimp) on a 3/0 circle hook with a Carolina rig. Target the deeper sections between sandbars where the water looks noticeably darker. Drum hold in these deeper pockets waiting for food to wash through the cuts.

Fresh shrimp on a 1/0 circle hook with a light split shot. Cast onto the up-current edge of an exposed oyster bar and let the bait wash off the edge into the deeper trough. Drum cruise the bar edges looking for crabs and worms. Patience — they take their time.

Large shrimp or half a blue crab on a 3/0 circle hook with 25 lb fluoro, fished on the bottom tight to the pilings. Drum use their chin barbels to find food — they don't strike visually. Let the bait sit and wait for the slow, heavy pull. Circle hooks set themselves.