Rick Towers of Rossville, Kan., can attest to the fun of catching big freshwater drum in Kansas. Lowly freshwater drum makes good table fare art lander s outdoors freshwater drum cooking and eating freshwater drum freshwater drum or sheephead. Freshwater Drum Can Be Cooked and Eaten. The only down side to eating them is just using care while handling and cleaning. I went fishing this morning for an hour and a half. We put the meat into the fridge to be consumed today. Though I've never eaten freshwater drum, I have eaten plenty of saltwater drum. They fight hard but are not real good to eat. Michigan Sea Grant helps to foster economic growth and protect Michigan’s coastal, Great Lakes resources through education, research, and outreach. As with other gamefish, the dark red meat near the skin (sometimes called a mud line) should be removed along with the skin to improve flavor and reduce contaminants. Sometimes. Have you ever eaten a sheepshead? This species inhabits the Great Lakes and Mississippi river drainages stretching from eastern and central Canada all the way down to Louisiana in the southern United States. 6. Freshwater drum (plodinotus grunniens), also called sheepshead and gaspergous, is often found in the same waters and locations that harbor walleye. When we decided that cooking and eating freshwater drum was what we intended to do, it was not without apprehension due to conflicting stories of taste and quality. sheephead) provides a nice way to fill the weeks before salmon start congregating near river mouths for their annual spawning run. You can cook and eat your freshwater drum catch; your well-earned evening meal can perfectly round off a full day of fishing. What Are the Best-Tasting Freshwater Fish? Inland lakes have settled into summer patterns after post-spawn fishing for bass, walleye, pike, and panfish. Most folks think of the freshwater drum as a trash fish but if you give them a try you will be amazed at how great they taste. There you have it: If it wasn’t for my friend, the freshwater drum, there’d be no … In the San Francisco Bay Area, we can catch stripers in the ocean, in the surfs, in the bays, the rivers leading to the bays, the Delta, and lakes. With a little ingenuity you might find that the early-summer drum bite can provide some good meals in addition to fast fishing action! I used to play the drums, but never tried eating one Kidding aside, the outward appearance of a fish offers no insight to its value as tablefare. If you doubt me, fillet the next drum you catch and try some of the recipes that follow. My uncle eats lots of fish and he prefers drum over anything else. Description of the Fish I see they're called "gasper goo" and "poor man's lobster", where they're popular around Louisiana and South Texas, and a fella in Minnesota says they make real good … In Lake Erie they will rarely get over twenty pounds. A lot of it depends on where they come from like most other fish. Some people say they are as good, or better, than the walleye as an eating fish. Is there any special way to clean them and cook them? Freshwater drum like turbid water and inhabit slow or moderate current … Off-flavored drum from the mouth of the Grand River had been feeding heavily on alewife. I also filleted about a 7 pound drum and froze the fillets. Comment. Definately remove the skin and darker meat. As with other gamefish, the dark red meat near the skin (… Freshwater drum can be filleted in the same way as any other fish. Freshwater drum? I have two real nice ones my wife and I caught tonight. Some people report regularly eating and enjoying freshwater drum, and others report trying it once and never again due to a bad experience. Some people report regularly eating and enjoying freshwater drum, and others report trying it once and never again due to a bad … Late June and early July can be a slow time on the calendar for Michigan anglers. Drum fillets are not bony and the firm texture can be an asset if prepared correctly, but one bad-tasting bite is enough to make most fish-eaters swear off a species for life. I caught about 120 of them in the 4 hours out fishing and decided to keep a … You can enjoy freshwater drum any number of ways, including breaded or blackened. If you answered yes to each of those questions, you have come to the right place. If you get them from a dirty, muddy river, they're going to taste nasty. Eating fish is incredibly healthy since it has a high level of protein; it can prevent heart diseases, can decrease the danger of Alzheimer’s, will improve your hair and skin, facilitate your depression and boost mental health. Read lots of times how freshwater drum are good to eat, but have never tried them. I know there in the same family as redfish and red snapper, and have heard that they taste good if cooked right. Rivers and streams have yet to settle into summer lows that are ideal for wading or bank fishing in the predictable spots fish congregate in low water. Drum activity peaks in early summer in west Michigan. Although they they may not entirely rid a lake or river of zebra mussels, drum do help reduce populations of this damaging mussel.Â. The lower section of large rivers like the St. Joseph and Grand, drowned rivermouth lakes like Muskegon Lake and Lake Macatawa, and any pier along the coast of Lake Michigan can be very productive for fish ranging from 2 to over 12 pounds. The freshwater drum is a fish known for its noise. Overall, It’s a great food fish and can be prepared in many different ways. Try boiling them till just done or done do not over cook or they get tough,eat as or like lobster or crab,also good fried,tastes alot like bluegills if cleaned right. Unlike trash fish like carp and suckers, the drum does not have numerous small Y-bones. After it cooled down a bit, my wife immediately peeled off the skin and removed the meat from the bones. If attempting to prepare the tougher large drum, cut it into smaller bite-size pieces, then broil or grill it and serve it as a shrimp substitute. Freshwater vs Saltwater outfits: jchung1031: Fly Fishing: 2: 11-05-2009 12:08 PM: Are sheephead freshwater drum good to eat? Reason No. Archived . Freshwater drum fish, Aplodinotus grunniens, are a native, freshwater fish with the greatest range of any fish in North America. Though not a common target for sport fishing, there is a notable commercial demand for the drum. Do you like to eat? Ohio Sea Grant offers a Guide to Utilizing the Freshwater Drum and includes instructions for preparation. In fact, traditional methods of frying or baking do not work well for large drum because of their odd texture. They have good firm flesh and are often used in blackened dishes as a substitute for redfish. Comment. Other names include silver bass, gray bass, lavender bass, and gaspergou from the French casse-burgeau "to break a clam." Freshwater drum has a reputation for tasting bad, but that could be the result of its diet in some waters. Like most game fish, drum fillets have just a few pin bones that you can eat or remove. Freshwater Drum Can Be Cooked and Eaten. They may be larger in rivers. Gave me a good fight, though. MISG Graduate Student Research Fellowship, National Marine Fisheries Services (NMFS) Fellowships. That noisiness generated many colorful nicknames, including croaker, thunder pumper, grunter, grinder, bubbler. In regards to freshwater drum, I dont know much about them but my father-in-law who is a fishign fiend and a huge eater, claims that they are pretty good as long as they are cooked up fresh. He doesn’t want to be known as a drum guide. Mature freshwater drums sport a prominent humpback. Jul 10, 2015 | Cooking, Dan O’Keefe, Fish, Fisheries, Fishing, News. A quick Internet search reveals a lot of conflicting information on the merits of drum as table fare. And, at the same time, there’s a place for the bass to set up an ambush point out of the current but still in a position to take advantage of it. Are freshwater drum good eating? Guidelines for eating drum have not been published for many west Michigan water bodies due to lack of sampling, but do not automatically assume that freshwater drum are less wholesome than other large gamefish. For creating a list of best tasting freshwater fish to eat, we read people’s reviews to perceive what freshwater fishing feels the best. He hoisted a 26-inch freshwater drum over the gunwale—10 pounds of silver-scaled disappointment. The Delicious Freshwater Drum Taste a Lot Like Redfish. Freshwater drum tastes similar to redfish. In addition to being a very catchable fighting machine, the freshwater drum is a culinary delight. The freshwater drum, one of the most wide-ranging species in North America, can be good to eat if prepared properly. Drum fillets are firm yet delicately flavored, comparable in taste and texture to redfish or swordfish. 6. This may come as surprise, but “Eat Safe Fish” guidelines from Michigan Department of Community Health show that freshwater drum in a given body of water are more comparable to gamefish like bass, walleye, and pike than bottom-feeding carp and channel catfish. If you catch them from a clean lake where they eat lots of craws, they should taste a whole lot better. I gave him one of my jigs, because he forgot his at home. Sheepshead are a saltwater species Comment. I did notice that is was a bit more oily than most fish, but not entirely inedible. Excellent firm, sweet flesh. Males make a grunting or rumbling sound during the breeding season, which is thought to attract females. Distribution and Habitat: Common statewide in medium-sized streams to large rivers and reservoirs.The Freshwater Drum is a bottom-feeder and usually occupies sluggish pools and backwaters of rivers, and deep, open waters of reservoirs. Lowly Freshwater Drum Makes Good Table Fare Art Lander S Outdoors Freshwater Drum A Largely Overlooked Cooking And Eating Freshwater Drum Handy Father Llc Freshwater Drum Or … ), or from Lake Michigan. trapperray , Jan 21, 2014 trapperray , Jan 21, 2014 Some people say they are as good, or better, than the walleye as an eating fish. But, you may want to focus on Redfish smaller than 24 inches or so. Adult freshwater drums reach an average body length of twelve to thirty inches. It can be broiled, baked, fried, smoked, or grilled. As with any species, smaller individuals are generally safer to eat and taste better. The smaller freshwater drum fried up completely fine. For a variety of freshwater drum recipes, including drum au gratin with mushrooms, drum jambalaya, Italian baked freshwater drum and oven-barbecued freshwater drum, go here. I agree perch and walleye aare good eating, but I dont think bass largemouth or smallmouth are very tasty. You realize that individuals began fishing quite a while back, and it is assumed they started doing it in Africa. My experience eating Sheepshead (Freshwater Drum) Here in MN they are considered rough fish and nobody wants to eat them even though they are over populated in the rivers despite having no limit to how many you can keep. 01-20-2017, 09:28 AM. Overlooked and under appreciated, the freshwater drum is easy to find, easy to catch and surprisingly good tablefare. Reports from Ohio in the late 1800s indicated that Ohio River drum tasted much better than Lake Erie drum, and even suggested that river fish should be transplanted to Lake Erie. Larger drum vary from firm to decidedly tough in texture, which is very unusual for fish. Despite misconceptions, they do not contact the small Y-bones often seen in fish like carp and pike. I thing they eat mud or something. Wild fish live in a variety of lakes and rivers and eat a variety of food items that can influence the flavor of their meat. I was after Goldeye and sauger, but I wasn't lucky. A quick Internet search reveals a lot of conflicting information on the merits of drum as table fare. Skin can be chewy. Recent research has been done on the freshwater drum as a possible means of controlling the invasive Zebra mussel in northern lakes and rivers. Redfish are a very popular with anglers across the Southeast. Although rivers may look dirtier than Great Lakes waters, my own experience suggests that drum caught from upstream areas of the Grand River taste better than fish caught off the mouth at Lake Michigan. Fun to catch and good to eat---what's the downside? Found in waters from the Appalachians in the east to Texas and Oklahoma in the west, and from Hudson Bay in the north to Central America in the south, this freshwater fish prefers river and lake bottoms of clean sand or gravel. The result is a strong fishy taste. Both ends of the spectrum make sense based on my own experience and the limited science-based literature available on the subject. Stripers are found and caught in both saltwater and freshwater. However, cutting the meat into smaller shrimp-sized bites before boiling or grilling can make for a great shrimp substitute. Its main diet consists of insect larvae, mussels, and, in some waters, small fish. That mass makes a current break which attracts baitfish and other types of forage for them to eat. Freshwater drum can be filleted in the same way as any other fish. Freshwater drums are a pearl-grey colour with the occasional bronze, blue and silvery reflections, depending on the quality of water they live in. Ohio State's Sea Grant Program printed the Guide to Utilizing the Freshwater Drum, which includes more information about freshwater drum and detailed instructions for preparation. I left the Freshwater Drum in the smoker for 90 minutes, and then I took it out. You can fillet your catch to remove bones and when it’s cooked, it has a firm, not flaky texture. Posted by 7 years ago. In short, Michigan Sea Grant and Michigan State University Extension recommend checking the Eat Safe Fish guide before trying a drum or two from your local fishing hole. GET Can You Eat Freshwater Drum Fish And Freshwater Mullet Fish IN LOW PRICES. More likely, though, it is the drum's reputation as a "trash fish"—arguably it is not— and its resemblance to such "rough fish" as carp and suckers with their down-turned mouths and large, rough scales. Once the fish cools down too much it becomes difficult to do that. Freshwater Drum (Aplodinotus grunniens)(picture) are a freshwater fish with the greatest range of any fish in North America. They are the only North American fish that inhabits freshwater its entire life. Freshwater Drum - are they good to eat? I talked with another fisherman, a young Filipino man, who was fishing beside me. 11. For a variety of freshwater drum recipes, including drum au gratin with mushrooms, drum jambalaya, Italian baked freshwater drum and oven-barbecued freshwater drum, go here. Personally I like sheephead. One study documented that the flavor of drum declined in areas close to a polluted tributary of the Mississippi River. Although some anglers have caught on the sporting qualities of this unique native fish, very few are aware that freshwater drum can make a surprisingly good meal. That’s unfortunate. The small fillet from the drum was not a terrible texture or flavor. Locally many anglers refer to them as "sheepshead." Freshwater Drum In St Lawrence River Art lander s outdoors freshwater drum a largely … Are Trash Fish (Garbage Fish) Good to Eat? For the best flavor, put the fish on ice as soon as you catch it. 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