Sailboat trip nets multiple big black drum

Florida Sportsman on July 9 published Peter Hinck’s first-person account of a sail-powered fishing trip in the Indian River Lagoon near Sebastian, Florida, built around multiple catches of large black drum. Hinck wrote that he had sold a 22-foot bay boat the year before and bought a 34-foot sailing catamaran, intending to use it as a “mothership” for fishing trips. The trip he described began after a night anchored near a spoil island off Sebastian and continued that morning into the lagoon southwest of Sebastian Inlet. ### Who was on the boat, and where did the trip begin? Peter Hinck wrote that he invited his friend Dave aboard because Dave’s skiff was in the shop, telling him to meet at the Main Street boat ramp in Sebastian. Hinck said he had spent the previous night anchored near a spoil island off Sebastian before motoring to pick Dave up on “that cool March morning.” (floridasportsman.com) At 9 a.m., according to Hinck, Dave came aboard and the pair headed into the Indian River Lagoon. Hinck wrote that the wind was light from the northwest and expected to increase later, conditions he described as suitable for sailing in the lagoon. ### How did a sailboat turn into a fishing platform? Hinck wrote that he first gave Dave a quick lesson in lowering the center boards, setting the sails and completing a safety check before they tacked east and west across the lagoon. (floridasportsman.com) While they were sailing west, Hinck said he saw a large dark shadow off the port side and altered course under wind power to avoid spooking whatever was below. After the boat passed the school, Hinck wrote, the pair dropped the sails and started the motor. Dave then moved to the bow with a Daiwa BG300 on a 7-foot Star Rod rigged with 10-pound-test braid and a 30-pound leader, while Hinck used the catamaran’s height as a sight-fishing advantage. Hinck wrote that the bow sat higher than the casting platform on a skiff, giving Dave a better view of the fish. (floridasportsman.com) ### What did they see in the water off Sebastian? Dave, according to Hinck, identified the fish as “a large school of big black drum” once the boat closed the distance. Hinck wrote that Dave missed on his first cast, then slowed the retrieve on a 1/4-ounce Z-Man jighead rigged with a 3-inch Gulp bait and connected on the next presentation. (floridasportsman.com) Florida Sportsman’s published excerpt and photo captions say both men hooked black drum from the sailboat during the outing. The article’s subheading described the method as “the ultimate in stealth and sight fishing,” referring to the quiet approach under sail before the motor was engaged for casting range. ### Why are black drum a plausible target in the Indian River Lagoon? (floridasportsman.com) Florida Sportsman’s earlier reporting has described the Indian River as one of Florida’s established black drum fisheries. In a 2012 article, the magazine said guide Al Bermitz fished for sport on the Indian River Lagoon near Palm Bay and called the lagoon a “prototypical drum nursery” because it combines shallow and deep water, shellfish forage and access to tidal flow. (floridasportsman.com) A separate 2023 Florida Sportsman article said anglers watch for open-water schools of black drum in Florida during late winter and spring, and said the species can form large visible schools that lend themselves to sight-fishing. That article also said black drum are statewide in distribution and can reach large size, with reported maximum ages of 58 years in the Atlantic. (floridasportsman.com) ### What does the story document beyond one day’s catch? Hinck’s July 9 article documents a specific local variation on inshore fishing in the lagoon: using a sailing catamaran rather than a skiff as the platform for sight-casting. The account is presented as a firsthand narrative rather than a tournament result or charter report, and Florida Sportsman paired it with photographs of both Dave and Hinck fighting black drum from the boat. (floridasportsman.com) The Florida Sportsman article remains posted on the magazine’s website as of July 9, 2026, under the headline “An Outdoor Happening: Sail Fishing in the Indian River Lagoon,” with Peter Hinck listed as the author. (floridasportsman.com)