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Drum question

RUGER

RUGER

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This discussion came up between me and someone the other day.
I can't remember who it was, maybe woodyard?

So everyone goes and catches the big bull reds and talk about how great they are to eat.
What difference is there between the red and the black drum that we have here?

Anyone ever caught and ate a black drum?
Just curious how much difference, if any, there is in the taste.
If there is a difference, is it due to the salt / brackish water or what?
 
Good question, Ive always released as I've been told they are terrible tasting by the guys I fish with. Interested to hear opinions on their taste by those that have eaten them. I willl say redfish are tasty especially in the 20"-28" range.


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Need to clarify something here... in Tennessee we have freshwater drum. In saltwater there are red drum (usually called redfish) and black drum.

In saltwater both the red drum and black drum are prized species... to catch AND to eat. I LOVE redfish!!! But I've never eaten a saltwater black drum.

Oddly enough, the saltwater black drum looks almost identical to our freshwater drum, which as everyone knows is NOT a prized fish to catch or eat (usually). I do know freshwater drum are certainly edible if you trim away the large strip of red meat down their side. I've eaten them and with the red meat trimmed away, they're not bad.... but again, obviously not prized.

So, with those clarifications, I actually have the same question you do?
 
Not to hijackack but I'm reluctant to start another thread on drum fish; but has anyone ever gotten the drum bones out and done anything with them?
 
i believe i recommended someone on here try one and id dare say you probably couldnt taste the difference except its not gonna set you back 25 bucks for a filet.

the meat is not like regular flaky fish, its more like seafood. two ways i like it, blackened or cut into strips and boiled in crab or seafood boil(tastes like shrimp).

a couple of things you have to do or they will taste muddy. dont eat any from muddy water and put them on ice immediately. i always slit the gills to bleed them, never ate any without doing that so it may not be necessary. also seems like the smaller ones 5-10 pounds are ideal. like Rsimms said trim off any red meat.
 
It is a bit of a puzzle. In fresh water we consider drum (pretty much of any kind) trash fish. But we love catfish!

Go down and fish the gulf and red drum (redfish) are fun to catch and delicious. Black drum are lots of fun to catch and are fine to eat unless they are large. The biggest fish I have ever caught was a 25+ pound black drum. Wore me out; made a pic and tossed him back. But several smaller ones made their way to the dinner table.

Catch a catfish in salt water and the guide won't even allow it in the boat. He will pop the hook so that the fish will fall right back into the water. They are considered nasty.
 
TNCharlie":e4dwpe4n said:
It is a bit of a puzzle. In fresh water we consider drum (pretty much of any kind) trash fish. But we love catfish!

Go down and fish the gulf and red drum (redfish) are fun to catch and delicious. Black drum are lots of fun to catch and are fine to eat unless they are large. The biggest fish I have ever caught was a 25+ pound black drum. Wore me out; made a pic and tossed him back. But several smaller ones made their way to the dinner table.

Catch a catfish in salt water and the guide won't even allow it in the boat. He will pop the hook so that the fish will fall right back into the water. They are considered nasty.
Click to expand...

Getting finned by a saltwater cat is no joke. Got hit on my thumb once and it swole up like crazy.
We use hook pullers now


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for anyone interested here is an old pub with how to handle them and recipes. as far as catching them, june-july are good months around here. theyll be on the mussel beds with the blue cats usually. bottom bumping a kentucky rig with top hook baited with pinched crawler but they will hit the turkey or rooster livers on the bottom hook sometimes.

i filet them just like stripers or white bass. dont run the filet knife against the skin, run it about an 1/8th inch or so above the skin. this will leave the red meat on the skin and leave very little on the filet to trim. trim or leave the belly meat on the fish.

http://ohioseagrant.osu.edu/archive/_do ... 20Drum.pdf
 
Black drum (saltwater) are said to get very wormy, mealy flesh as they age. When they are young, they actually have vertical black stripes on them and look a lot like a sheepshead. You can tell the difference up close very easily, as their "face" looks different, and they have little barbels/feelers on the bottom of their jaw. I've eaten the young (striped) black drum several times, and they tasted great. The big ones literally have a smell to them.

As far as the freshwater ones go, I generally recommend using smell as an indicator of meal-worthiness. The bigger ones I've caught always have an unpleasant odor to them. I grew up being told they were inedible (at any size). After our experiences with the black drum in the gulf, however, my brother and I caught a couple small ones (less than 3 lbs) and they were pretty good. The meat texture was not quite what I wanted (chewy, sort of?), but the flavor was good and the meat was clean white aside from a little bit of the lateral line (already mentioned).

For what it's worth, the ones we ate came from below the dam at Pickwick in the late spring/early summer.
 
Crosshairy":dxo2s5bg said:
Black drum (saltwater) are said to get very wormy, mealy flesh as they age. When they are young, they actually have vertical black stripes on them and look a lot like a sheepshead. You can tell the difference up close very easily, as their "face" looks different, and they have little barbels/feelers on the bottom of their jaw. I've eaten the young (striped) black drum several times, and they tasted great. The big ones literally have a smell to them.

As far as the freshwater ones go, I generally recommend using smell as an indicator of meal-worthiness. The bigger ones I've caught always have an unpleasant odor to them. I grew up being told they were inedible (at any size). After our experiences with the black drum in the gulf, however, my brother and I caught a couple small ones (less than 3 lbs) and they were pretty good. The meat texture was not quite what I wanted (chewy, sort of?), but the flavor was good and the meat was clean white aside from a little bit of the lateral line (already mentioned).

For what it's worth, the ones we ate came from below the dam at Pickwick in the late spring/early summer.
Click to expand...

any catfish or drum i eat comes from 30 miles down stream of pickwick. no consumption warnings and never had a bad tasting fish from that area.

fish taste is a perception and one bad experience usually sways people from eating. take my BIL for example. he had a crappie fish fry one time. my wife ate some and she said it was the fishiest and nastiest tasting fish she ever ate. i agreed and asked my BIL if he shock killed them and iced them down before he fileted them. he said they had them in a live well. the problem was he caught them out of that black water in the Big Sandy slough and they will taste fishy if you dont handle them right. my wife will not eat any fresh caught fish now.
 
I guess the consensus is (from what I've read here) the small saltwater ones are good to eat. I'm gonna stick with eating the red fish. As others have said they are a blast to catch and I will continue to catch and release as I have in the past. The one my boy caught on Saturday put a hurtin on him with light inshore tackle and he was all smiles afterwards!


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Pilchard":2gntlk8z said:
Black drum are peasant food. Too many better fish to pick from in the salt. If I was real hungry I'd eat one less than 18 inches
Click to expand...
I will agree with this. As stated though, "any" fish is edible if hungry enough ;) Growing up commercial salt and fresh water fishing in South/Central Florida and Keys, I've ate lots of fish that most would not think of eating. Hard to beat seafood and I do miss being able to keep my freezer's full of it. These cold water, Upper Hiwassee River Rockfish, sure are tasty though. Grouper of the River :super:
 
I eat a few of them every year when I catch them... Freshwater drum from east TN... I do not set out to catch them but occasionally do. I blacken them like redfish and, to me, they are very good. I love seafood and I really like fish... like it was said, they are not white and flaky like flounder or such but not all fish is.... catch one, give it a try and see how you like it... I can say Blackening it is very good... Honestly, I have not eaten it any other way
 
Grew up in NC. My buddies and I have eat a lot of red drum. My buddies from NC came up one year to bowfish with me and that night, we shot several 4-6 lb drum. My buddy said "those things look enough like a red drum that I'm gonna clean'em and try'em. He did and he said they were fine eating and good fish. Not quite red drum but good enough to clean'em and eat'em.
I got another buddy here that'll take every drum he catches less than 5 lbs. he loves them. Says they're probably the most under appreciated table fair as far as fish goes in TN. I'm not sure if I'd go that far but I've ate them and they ain't bad.
 
Red drum (redfish) are pretty good in the 17 to 26in range. The big bulls I thought were virtually inedible until I made a courtbullion out of a 20lb er a couple years ago. I still greatly prefer speckled trout (also in the drum family I think)

Black drum (saltwater) are delicious when small. The bigger ones are some of the nastiest and most worm infested fish in the sea. I always release any over 3 to 4 lbs, but they can get huge!

I've never eaten freshwater drum. I was taught they were a trash fish, but I bet they would be just fine if small.

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My Grandma used to talk about pressure cooking carp and drum during The Depression. She mentioned the boniness of the fish. I don't remember ever eating any of either at their house when I was a kid. FWIW, she was a terrible cook so I have no idea if the fish were fit to eat regardless of what she did to them.
 
drum are like bluegill. they are boneless except for a couple of pin bones that need to be notch cut out. carp have y bones through the whole filet but can be fileted out in 2 pieces.
 

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