DaParson's Fishing Adventures

We had the honor of taking Danny Webb out to the Jetties today for a day of fishing. Danny is a member of Bayshore as well as a Pasadena Police Officer. It is always fun to fish with Danny. There was an incoming tide most all day long. For the day - Danny caught 12 Black Drum (the largest 52lbs) - Dewey caught 7 Black Drum - and I was able to catch 9 Black Drum and a 41" Bull Red. These are approximations - we lost count - so I gave a low estimation.

Here is a picture of me catching my first drum of the day. It was still a bit nippy during the early morning - and the fog stayed around most all day long. 

Here is the Black Drum after I got it in the boat. 

Here was Dewey's first fish of the day. By the end of the day - he was whupped. We all were! But what a great day of fishing! 

This was the Big Ugly for the day ... not Danny - the fish! This drum weighed in at about 52lbs. Dewey and I were worried that we were going to have to give Danny mouth to mouth resuscitation after he caught this one. It took him between 25 and 30 minutes to get this one in. Great fish Danny!  

Here is a beautful Black Drum - really nice bronze color - that Dewey caught.  

Here is another one of the Drum that Danny caught. Danny had never vented any Black Drum - by the end of the day he was venting them on his own. 

Here was Danny releasing one of the Black Drum after we had vented him (the Drum not Danny - he is still full of hot air) ... grin. It looks like he is about to kiss the fish! (poor fish!) .... grin

Many have asked for a picture showing the venting of a large drum. Notice the positioning of the "Spice Injector." You slide it horizontally until you go under the scales - beneath the skin - then you slide it on a 45 degree angle into the air bladder. You could hear the air escape through the empty injector. 

Believe it or not - here is a double that I hooked into. Dewey and Danny were both fighting fish - so I did the Double Drum Dip! 

This is another one of the Black Drum that Dewey caught. 

This is another Black Drum that Danny caught. By this time Danny needed to sit down due to exhaustion! 

One of the last fish of the day was this Red. It was the only one caught on the day. He was about 41" long. It was good to catch one - - it had been about 3 trips since we had hooked up with one. All in all a great day fishing! 

What a great article about the Galveston Jetties! Take some time and read it! Jetty Warriors by Larry Bozka Let me know what you think! Mark

Dewey and I had the priviledge of taking Jerry Agnew fishing with us on Friday. Jerry served on staff with me at Clay Road Baptist Church and he is now pastor at First Baptist Church Lomax. Jerry had no idea what he was in for! This was the first of many Black Drum he would catch on the day. Believe it or not - the fishing was so steady that there were times we fought over who was going to reel the fish in. "You do it - No - You do it - My arms are tired!" It was a great day fishing.

This is a nice Drum Dewey caught. If I am not mistaken - this is the drum Dewey landed when all three of us hooked up at the same time! I landed mine first - and with the other two still fighting theirs - tended to mine - then put him back in the water. It was great to see all of us hooked up at the same time! 

Here is Jerry with another Big Ugly. This was the fish he landed when all three of us hooked up at the same time. It looked quite chaotic with all of us fighting fish - trying to stay untangled - and not knock each other out of the boat! 

Here is Dewey with another Drum he caught. The Drum almost has the same coloring as a Bull Red. Many of the Black Drum were quite golden in color. 

Here is Jerry fighting another Black Drum. The fog rolled in for an hour of two - but other than that - the weather was fantastic. The water was in some of the best shape I have seen in quite a while. You could see the big drum flash under the water quite a ways down. 

Here is Jerry with another Drum. Most all the drum were in the 20-25 pound range with the exception of the two great big ones. 

Here is Dewey holding the Big Drum of the day! I can never say enough about what a gracious "Captain" Dewey is. He is a joy to fish with - and every trip is filled with laughter. It is a priviledge to call him my friend. (Not for sure what he would call me after outfishing him all the time - but that is another post!) smile 

Here is another picture of the Dewey's Big Drum. He tipped the scales at a little over 51lbs. Dewey was whupped after fighting this one! 

Here is another Big Black Drum that Jerry caught. 

We were whipped - we had caught out fill of Big Uglies - so at 1:00 in the afternoon - we started bringing the lines up to call it a day. While we were doing this - Jerry's line took off - I thought, "Great! He can fight his fish while I get everything ready to go." About that time - my line takes off! Another double on! As soon as Jerry landed his - and I landed mine - we headed in for the day. 

This was the last fish of the day for me. It weighed in a little bit over 45lbs. All in all a great day of fishing - as best as we can tell - Jerry led the day with 9 Drum - I was able to catch about 7 - and Dewey caught 4. But before you feel bad for Dewey for being outfished AGAIN - he did catch the biggest drum this trip at a little over 51lbs. It was a great day of friends and fishing! 

Venting the air bladder on Bull Reds and Big Black Drum. Right now the Black Drum Run is on. While at the jetty just a few days ago - I saw numerous drum caught - pictures taken - then dumped back in the water - floating belly up because they did not empty the air bladder. I thought it would be good to post instructions on how to do this so we can assure the survival rate of these fish. Below are the instructions. What I have found that works great is a Turkey Spice Injector - I bought mine at Academy for $3.50. It works great! Here are directions: Venting trapped gases from a fish caught from deep water Use the largest hypodermic needle you can find (#10 or larger) and remove the plunger. Insert hypodermic needle at a 45 degree angle, under a scale, near the tip of the pectoral fin and squeeze the fish gently. You will hear the trapped gases escaping. Make a needle clearing tool from a piece of stainless leader wire to clear any tissue, etc. from the needle and ...

What a frustrating day. Right Place - Right Time - Right Tackle - Wrong Bait. We have caught Reds and Black Drum fairly consistantly with cut shad over the past few weeks. We stopped in at Boyd's and picked up Shad - they were out of crab - and we didn't mess with Shrimp. BIG STINKING MISTAKE. Everyone around us was racking up on the drum - Dewey caught this 41" Red - It was the only fish of the day! (Other than a whiting) Finally - out of frustration - we just dumped our bait and came in. Lesson Learned.

Even though we got a late start, t was a beautiful - but cold day at the North Jetty. On the day we caught 3 Bull Reds and 4 Big Nasty Black Drum. This was the biggest Drum of the day - it weighed a little over 40 lbs.

Here is the Big Black Drum I caught. He weighed in at about 29 lbs. I must admit, Dewey's was bigger than mine.