Black drum are harder to catch right now according to commercial fishermen

James Sanchez is the Angler Engagement Coordinator for the Harte Research Institute at TAMU-CC. As part of his job, he spends a lot of time fishing.

He's been hearing some disturbing talk for black drum enthusiasts from commercial fishermen and guides in the area.

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"They've been having a hard time, at least finding larger concentrations of black drum that are normally seen," Sanchez said.

So what's the reason? Sanchez said Tropical Storm Alberto is to blame.

"So following Tropical Storm Alberto, we had 3 feet of storm surge," Sanchez said. But why does extra water mean fewer drum?

"So what tends to happen is this time of year we have low tides. So when you have that influx of gulf water into the Laguna Madre, into Baffin Bay, these fish start concentrating. Once that tide rises they have a lot more room to roam and they scattering about," Sanchez said.

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But where do they go?

"They can go anywhere from shallow water to very deep water and everything in between," Sanchez said.

Carlos Alegria, the owner of Morgan Street Seafood, said while it has only affected the price of the drum slightly, it's had a bigger impact on amount of black drum that fisherman are able to catch.

"Today, everyone that ordered black drum didn't get their full order. Cause it was hard. Some restaurants order 20 lbs, 30 lbs, 40 lbs, 50 lbs. They didn't get their full order. Tomorrow whatever we were short on their order, they will go out and fish it tomorrow, Alegria said.

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