In Praise of Freshwater Drum

[David Lehmann]

Since relocating to upstate New York, I've stumbled upon an unheralded but wonderful gamefish, the freshwater drum, which locally is called "sheepshead." They are related to saltwater black drum and redfish and are present in much of the eastern half of the U.S.

They are often considered a trash fish locally, but I can't figure out why. They are wonderful table fare, tasting nearly identical to redfish, the nouveau hoity-toity darling of upscale seafood establishments. They readily strike artificial lures, being a sucker for minnow plugs and spinners, and they fight as strong as any freshwater fish I've ever hooked. Their fight is at least on par with their saltwater brethren and is best likened to that of tarpon without the jumps. The take multiple long runs, and when you think you finally have a fish whipped, it will screech off 30 yards or more of line.

They get big, with the world record being over 54 pounds, and five to ten-pound fish are common. In the late afternoon to early evening, when they feed most voraciously, I hook a fish in that size range on average every 15 or 20 minutes. If I lose a big fish, I know that another will soon give me an opportunity to correct my mistakes.

I haven't had the guts to chase them with antique tackle yet, but I'm sure that a Baby Pikie or Baby Vamp would be just as appealing to them as the Rapalas they can't seem to resist. There runs are so violent compared to bass, pike, and trout--fish I routinely target with vintage tackle--that I'm a little worried that a mistake will lead to a shattered cane rod. And they can also destroy a lure.


Here's one I caught a few nights ago. In 30 minutes, I landed this one and lost two others. The lost fish are attributed to damage a previous drum had done to my lure. It broke off the point of one treble and bent down the point of another.


Armed with a fresh plug, I caught a 28" fish tonight, as well as a walleye, in 20 minutes off the dock.

I like to fish for drums with ultralight spinning gear and 6 lb. line. It helps me refine my rod technique to avoid getting spooled (which has happened when I didn't make a fish work against the rod enough).

[spadej1]

Nice catches! I stay away from the bigger lakes since I don’t have a boat but might reconsider hearing this report. I’m right near Cayuga and see that drum are there. Thanks for the story.

[john elder]

Jeez, what fun! Too bad we don’t have those in fresh water here! Would be nice to add to the bass we have. And yes, we do have ocean, but i don’t do well on the ocean, darn-it! Nice fish, Dave!

[David Lehmann]

There are lots of under-appreciated potential gamefish out there! Regarding a boat. I've been catching the drum off of my dock. They come into shallow water chasing schools of minnows. On Cayuga, I'd recommend using a steel or heavy (80 lb or more) mono leader; you could run into pike or pickerel in the same areas as the drum.

[Paul Roberts]

Yes, drum are amazing fighters and often willing biters. never thought of them in terms of their SW relatives. And I didn't know the were good table fare! Drum pretty much have it all! I think I'd want to fish them on slightly heavier gear though!

[spadej1]

Good advice, I would be much more likely to hit a pickerel on Cayuga. I don’t eat my catch so they are also fine with me! Some friends have had a lot of luck with landlocked Salmon in the shallows on our end of Cayuga but I have not gone out much. If I can find some time, I should give it all another chance.

[Robin Sayler]

I hate Sheapshead for the simple reason of they wreck tackle. We do a lot of trolling for walleyes with Shadrap style lures. A big sheapshead will tear the rear hook straight through the body of the lure...there goes 10 bucks each time.

[Paul Roberts]

Oh my! There are fish… and then there are fish.

[David Lehmann]

Robin,
In terms of lure destroyers, bowfin are the king. About 75% of the ones that I've caught on plugs have completely destroyed the plug. Last year, I caught one on a Rapala, and when I landed the fish, about 80% of the plug was completely gone. All that was left of most of the lure was the inner wire harness, the hook hangers and hooks. There is no way my fingers go anywhere near the mouth of one of those beasties.

[Robin Sayler]

I agree, We get bowfin in the backyard in the spring and they always try to bite at you when your unhooking them. They put up a heck of a fight too. Here they are casually referred to as dogfish.

[David Lehmann]

That's a nice bowfin. They call them mudfish here sometimes. This is one of my post-bowfin plugs.

[Midway Tommy D]

They have yearly ice fishing festivals on Leech Lake for for those dang things, probably to try to reduce the population. They play havoc on walleye spawns.

I have heard that if their meat is boiled correctly and dipped in melted butter it tastes like lobster. Never tried it myself. Also, when you get one of them in the boat they squirm and slither around like a snake. My wife absolutely despises dogfish! I usually try to make sure they end up as an Eagle meal.

[Patrick Z]

Growing up in Northeast Arkansas, bowfin were usually referred to as "Grinnell" although some old timers like my great uncle euphemistically called them "Cypress Trout." No one targeted them and those accidentally caught were thrown back. They indeed wrecked tackle. My dad always tightened the drag all the way down on his Zebcos, but I distinctly recall an average bowfin stripping line on his 404 to his amazement. We fried (the only way fish were cooked back there) that one along with the rest of the mixed "mess" of fish. It was okay, but the texture wasn't really pleasant (often described as "cotton-y" by the few folks that would admit to eating one). But I would probably try it prepared as Tommy describes.

And regarding the thread title, freshwater drum were a staple of our fishing and welcome table fare. They strike and pull hard, though almost always in a straight line and you can can quickly deduce that you have an average drum instead of a state record largemouth bass. When I have tried to introduce the culinary delights of drum to people accustomed to eating fried catfish and crappie, they often complain that the flesh is too firm.

[Ron Mc]

Nice fish and thread, David.
I caught a gaspergou that size on fly rod off a Lake Livingston dock, bottom-bouncing a cats whisker on Teeny T130 sinking line.