Yesterday I fished the surf at Sargent, TX.

I finally got two bites in the late afternoon after fishing all day without one. I decided it was time to go home, but feeling encouraged by the elusive bites, I wanted to try one last time cut mullet and a shrimp sausage.

That morning I had purchased mullet and shrimp bait at the Caney Creek Marina & Caf� and got some insight where to fish the surf and was warned that beach roads may not be passable.

Sure enough, the roadway through the dunes was not drivable. I had the proof in front of me. A large SUV was stuck in the sand. After 30-minutes of digging and rocking back and forth, the decision was made to call a wrecker and I could begin my fishing day, but not at my target destination.

I quickly put on a jacket and chest high waders, rigged my inshore rod with shrimp, and waded out into the surf. The surf was dirty with so much silt, visibility was less than one inch. I cast for 30-minutes without a bite and decided to try another location in hopes the silt was an isolated issue.

I chose another location, but the surf was just as dirty. I was told dredging of the intercoastal waterway in Sargent area may be the cause of the dirty surf. Fished for several hours without a bite and decided to move to the intercoastal waterway. From there I moved again, closer to where I originally started. Afternoon fisherman had gathered there, presumably from experience.

The day was overcast all day with offshore showers skating the shoreline. It was foggy-like with a light mist in the air. There was a gentle wind blowing steady all day. I was comfortable wearing a rain jacket and waders.

But the fisherman who had gathered left as the bite was slow and they were uncomfortable in the wet weather.

I made several casts and finally got a bite. Hmm�time to go home? No...let's make a few more casts with shrimp sausage and cut mullet. The shrimp sausage got another bite. Need to re-rig my second surf rod which had suffered two snap-offs earlier in order to continue with the sausage and try the cut mullet.

Completing the rigging, I wadded out with cut bait and made my cast. Snap. My rig and bait sailed into the distant surf leaving a bird�s nest in the reel. Third snap-off of the day for this rod.

Throwing the rod in the car I found a fish activity on the other rod. Woo�it�s pulling like a red bull. Its making runs--feels like a red. And to my surprise, it was a 19-pound black drum. Feeling refreshed I tied on another sausage and waded into the surf.

Snap. My rig and bait sailed into the distant surf. Time to go home. The tank is empty.

Well, you were fishing! out in the salt air and wind. and you landed a really nice drum. Awesome good work.

What was causing you're throw offs? was it the overruns or something else?

dirty water is from a lot of things right now.. river runnoff mostly.. Brazos and SB and they flow down the ICW and out Sargent. Dredging will dirty the water, but not that much. Reds usually aren't bothered by dirty water.. Just let the bait soak and if they are there you'll get one. If they are not, then no bites.

When you "whip" that sinker and bait rig through the casting motion you are multiplying the weight of that rig many times over through centrifugal force, and it exceeds the pound test of your line. That causes your line to snap. It's good to use a light line to gain casting distance. However, you must use a heavier leader so that you can make a strong throw with that bait and sinker. The heavy leader needs to extend from the weight through the rod and for a short distance into the spooled line. That will keep you from snapping the line during the cast. If you don't have a bait that is very heavy, you can sometimes use a lighter line for that leader and keep the mainline to the weight heavier. For example, maybe a 40 lb. mainline from the spool to the sinker and a 14 lb line from the swivel to the hook.

Nice report & good black drum catch. What pound test shock leader do your run? If overruns are causing the snap offs, maybe you could mag your sideplate. I have a few magged reels & they help a lot during the cast. Are you using brake blocks? I usually rely on my mono mag only but when the wind is really high I put on 1 or 2 blocks. How do you rig your baits? Sometimes using clip down rigs help for aerodynamics, vs having a helicopter Carolina rig with sliding weight. I switched to Gemini clips from breakaway. Although the capacity is not great, I run mono on my round baitcasters, usually 14-17lb on my 6500 ct. I had issues with the 80lb mono shock knot (8oz weight) making noise during the cast. I switched to 130lb braid for a shock line for smaller FG knots. It doesn't stretch but I never had a snap off with that pound test on braid. Good luck.

Cool report!

are you fishing with spinning or conventional reels?