# Swan Lake or Drum Bay



## mumbles

Anybody ever try these places out and if so how do you get on the north side with out a boat or kayak?

I have fished last weekend and did pretty good just curious that you never hear anybody talking about these places a places to go wading at.


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## Solodaddio

Drum is to muddy to wade deep. Not to sure about swan.


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## mumbles

Solodaddio said:


> Drum is to muddy to wade deep. Not to sure about swan.


Can you expand on this? I know muddy water isn't the best possible condition to wade fish in but what do you mean by wade "deep".

I fished there twice last weekend and both times I didn't kill it but I did catch something to take home. Since it was the first time out there and by myself I was pretty cautious of how far I went. I did see some other people out there in kayaks and a few waders a good ways away but the conditions weren't the best with the wind blowing about 15 mph out of the NNE since the only entrances i know of are off the blue water highway.


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## Solodaddio

Guess I could of worded that better. Drum bay is shallow but is a boggy bottom. The further your away from the bank the more you tend to sink.


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## karstopo

I was out at Drum Bay both Saturday and Sunday and mainly on the opposite shore that is adjacent to the New ICW. Believe it or not, some of those shorelines are very firm bottomed. So firm, I had a hard time trying to stick in my stake out stick. I'm not sure how you could get to those shorelines without a boat or kayak. Drum bay really isn't all that deep in normal tides and if you waded out from the mid bay kayak launch you could get there, but it would be a long wade and probably soft bottom one most of the way. If you waded from either end, you have to contend with the Old ICW which is deep at Rattlesnake point and over by the south end of Drum. 

If I had to try a solution, I would wade up along the north side Arcadia reef at Christmas Bay and cross the old ICW there, as it shallows up pretty quickly into Christmas and then walk the land of Rattlesnake point or wade over to the opposite shore. You are sure to cross some reefs and soft bottom spots, but Christmas is mostly firm. The old cut into Drum right across from Nick's lake is pretty shallow. The next cut down is deeper. You would be doing a lot of walking and wading to get there.


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## mumbles

Thanks for the explanation. Normally I just exit some where off blue water highway and fish that shore line. I was just going to see if there was anyway of getting to the other side. I see some people in yaks head out and work there way along the main reef but thats about it. 

Karstopo how often you hit that area? I went there 2 weeks ago on friday and sunday but missed last weekend, probably going to be out there this friday to testing the waters.


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## iamatt

Used to duckhunt out !there quite a bit. That is far from easy wading territory. Muddy as heck and if you are not knee or thigh deep in mud you are breaking your ankles on chunks of oyster. It's very hard to wade that area in any sort of stealthy manor. Fishing can be ok and the duck hunting can be ok but depends on if there is grass to hold birds or not.


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## karstopo

mumbles said:


> Thanks for the explanation. Normally I just exit some where off blue water highway and fish that shore line. I was just going to see if there was anyway of getting to the other side. I see some people in yaks head out and work there way along the main reef but thats about it.
> 
> Karstopo how often you hit that area? I went there 2 weeks ago on friday and sunday but missed last weekend, probably going to be out there this friday to testing the waters.


I've fished drum bay for several years off and on, but I'm a kayak guy mainly. I haven't fished the opposite shore a ton, but have been from bottom to top of the bay on the opposite shore. There are 
areas of shell. Drum,as you know is full of shell, but I was surprised how firm the bottom was in some areas. Seems like the area just to the south of the cut off the ICW was very firm. I know my neighbor used to wade Drum a bunch. That opposite shoreline has great structure, every point has shell that drops of to deeper water. Every cove holds redfish. Some coves have a lot of oyster, others don't. I like drum bay in higher water conditions. Drum bay seems to have more fish in high water than low. The prevailing winds out of the Se won't always make it to easy to fish over there, but it is a place that is on the short list to go to when the winds are favorable.


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## adanvjr

The north/northwest shores of Drum Bay have gravel in it (I think it washes over from the dredging of the ICW).

You can go further north to Christmas bay (grass flat of 2' or so, not as soft).

It's best getting a Hook-N-Line map to tell you.


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## karstopo

The cove from the mid bay kayak launch towards the new subdivision pier/walkway to the south is very firm. I was out there yesterday and couldn't stick my stake out pole in the bottom. It was hard packed sand 50 feet from the bank anyway.


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## mumbles

You do any good? Which kayak launch you talking about?


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## karstopo

Not on that shoreline. The launch is the one at the end of the long road past going north the new subdivision. Water was up way in the grass. I don't really like going up into grass after fish, so if the Reds were there I might have missed them. 

Found some fish, trout, dinks and small keepers and a couple flounder, one keeper, one 5" fish, out in the mid bay reefs.


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## GRIM

karstopo said:


> I've fished drum bay for several years off and on, but I'm a kayak guy mainly. I haven't fished the opposite shore a ton, but have been from bottom to top of the bay on the opposite shore. There are
> areas of shell. Drum,as you know is full of shell, but I was surprised how firm the bottom was in some areas. Seems like the area just to the south of the cut off the ICW was very firm. I know my neighbor used to wade Drum a bunch. That opposite shoreline has great structure, every point has shell that drops of to deeper water. Every cove holds redfish. Some coves have a lot of oyster, others don't. I like drum bay in higher water conditions. Drum bay seems to have more fish in high water than low. The prevailing winds out of the Se won't always make it to easy to fish over there, but it is a place that is on the short list to go to when the winds are favorable.


I'm going to Drum Bay/Christmas Bay this coming Friday (1/15/2016). 
What's the significance of shell bottoms in regards to fishing. 
Do you want to fish the shelled areas? 
What is ICW?


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## karstopo

GRIM said:


> I'm going to Drum Bay/Christmas Bay this coming Friday (1/15/2016).
> What's the significance of shell bottoms in regards to fishing.
> Do you want to fish the shelled areas?
> What is ICW?


ICW is the Intracoastal Waterway, the big ditch you cross going over the bridge at Surfside among other places. Runs up and down the coast. Barge, boat, and fish highway.

I fish shell a lot. It can be solid oyster reef, reef with gaps, or bottom with scattered shell. Its a major fish holding structure. I fish these places with tails on jig heads or topwaters. I don't rig weedless on the jigs. You will get hung up some that way, but I can get a feel for a reef and work a tail just over the shell without too many hang ups. Drum Bay is full of Oyster reefs and scattered shell. Swan Lake (surfside) is as well. Shell offers cover and nursery to forage fish, crabs, and shrimp that the Trout, reds and flounder plus just about all the other inshore predator or scavenger fish like to eat. Shell might be the number one structure here on the upper coast. There are deep reefs that are famous in East and West Galveston Bay for holding big trout and reds. There are many ways to fish a reef, probably but no one will argue that they are productive spots to fish.


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## Solodaddio

karstopo said:


> The cove from the mid bay kayak launch towards the new subdivision pier/walkway to the south is very firm. I was out there yesterday and couldn't stick my stake out pole in the bottom. It was hard packed sand 50 feet from the bank anyway.


Good to know!


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