# Reds, Trouts & Ladyfish in Pcola Bay



## JasonL (May 17, 2011)

*Black Drum, Reds, Trouts & Ladyfish in Pcola Bay*

I dropped in Bayou/texar around 4:55am and found some small Redfish and Trout in the backwater on topwater Spooks...no keepers. Outside in the bay on the west side of the 3mile, I was hitting Ladyfish left and right. They're good for a fight, but all were released. I was about to pack it in and around 9:30 I had a seriously tight line. I got it to the boat and it was a 19.5-20 inch Redfish, which was caught on a carolina rig with frozen shrimp. This would be my first keeper Redfish...

*Edit:* I guess I thought that was a Redfish. It is definitely a Black Drum after reading the responses and looking again at the saltwater fishing chart. My fault, I'm from up north and new to Pensacola saltwater and am still getting used to identifying species.

I was wondering why the "Redfish" had stripes and not the spot on its tail. The redfish I've caught had the spots and were definitely non-keeper redfish. Also, the trout was only 12-inches. I was under the asumption that they needed to be at least 15 to keep. Am I incorrect. Again, sorry about confusing the Redfish with the Black Drum


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## MrFish (Aug 21, 2009)

No pics of the red??? Congrats, those black drums are a blast to catch.


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## bbarton13 (May 4, 2009)

nice but yea that first pic is a black drum


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## MrFish (Aug 21, 2009)

The second pic is a white trout, it's a keeper.


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## Paolo (Jul 15, 2011)

Yeah, looks like he thought the black drum was a red. Was he any good to eat? Hope u kept that white trout... Good eatin.


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## bbarton13 (May 4, 2009)

MrFish said:


> The second pic is a white trout, it's a keeper.


u mean the third pic, thats a nice white trout


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## MrFish (Aug 21, 2009)

I was distracted thinking about cutting that ladyfish up, so it won't hit my lure anymore.


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## JasonL (May 17, 2011)

Paolo said:


> Yeah, looks like he thought the black drum was a red. Was he any good to eat? Hope u kept that white trout... Good eatin.


Yep, I'm new to saltwater fishing down south, so my species identification was messed up. Thanks for clarifying. They have similar mouths, so I just assumed it was a Red, but after looking at the species chart, it's definitely a Black Drum.


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## hsiF deR (Oct 4, 2009)

MrFish said:


> I was distracted thinking about cutting that ladyfish up, so it won't hit my lure anymore.


Hahahahahaha


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## MrFish (Aug 21, 2009)

JasonL said:


> Yep, I'm new to saltwater fishing down south, so my species identification was messed up. Thanks for clarifying. They have similar mouths, so I just assumed it was a Red, but after looking at the species chart, it's definitely a Black Drum.


There's an ID book by Vic Dunnaway. I can't remember the exact name, but he has one for the Gulf. I picked up a few, years ago and keep one in my boat bag and one at the house. It also tells you if some of the fish are worth eating.


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## JasonL (May 17, 2011)

MrFish said:


> There's an ID book by Vic Dunnaway. I can't remember the exact name, but he has one for the Gulf. I picked up a few, years ago and keep one in my boat bag and one at the house. It also tells you if some of the fish are worth eating.


Thanks, I'll look into the book. I try and pull up the species ID website on my smartphone when I'm on the boat, but the sun out there during the day makes it hard to see what's on the screen and properly ID fish.


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## Paolo (Jul 15, 2011)

Learning by doing, best way (unless you mistake a redfish for a black drum and they catch you). Well, glad we could help you out. It won't take long and you'll know all the species around pensacola.
Tight lines and have fun, most important thing.


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## Fishermon (Oct 19, 2007)

lol..great report and pics jason..you're all right man..:thumbsup: keep the reports coming.


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## redfish maniac (Jul 19, 2008)

*Black Drum / Redfish*

At least I think you were close / in the same family - Black Drum / Redfish
Redfish are also called Red Drum


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## POPPY (Jan 9, 2008)

good catch. nice little mix of fish. keep fishing & IDing the fish. you'll get it. post anything you are not sure of - PFF people will help you ID the fish. good luck. Poppy
PS - if not sure (type or size) throw it back to catch again --- cheaper then fines $$$$.


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## tugfisher76 (Aug 5, 2011)

what are ladyfish good for ?
\


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## bbarton13 (May 4, 2009)

tugfisher76 said:


> what are ladyfish good for ?
> \


sharkbait, and light tackle fun!


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## Szoccer (Jan 24, 2011)

and on eating black drum, they're delicious, but like a lot of fish, the bigger ones aren't always quite as good.

Smaller ladies are great for tarpon, I keep the ones that size just to cut up for either my crab trap or sharkbait


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