Do any of you guys target fresh water drum? Most people consider it a rough fish. They put up a great fight and I think they fry up nicely. I've caught two... one on a spinner bait while bass fishing and the other on a night crawler while catfishing. I would like to target this fish but I don't know how to go about it.. Any input is appreciated.

Rocks and current.

worms shrimp minnows rocks and current are a plus.

Hit anywhere with rocks. They prefer open water or water with isolated hard structure to vegetation. In sandy or muddy areas with isolated rocks or shell beds, they overturn rocks to search for crawfish, insects and other aquatic animals. With plates of crushers in their throats, freshwater drum can smash snails or mussel shells. Therefore, they serve a beneficial service by eating huge quantities of noxious zebra mussels. Anglers sometimes �bait� an area with cracked clams to attract drumRip rap at Ray Hubbard is usually really good. Average sized ones sometimes follow shools of sandies and will be hanging on or near the bottom picking up falling shad from the sandies. On the rip raps and rock piles, crawfish tails work great. or even cut shad. I use a bobber at first to keep it right off the bottom at first. if that does not work, use a small split shot and no more than 8 lb line and let it sit for a bit. Other people call them sheepshead, croaker, grunt, white perch, rock perch, grinder, silver bass, thunder pumper, lake drum, bubbler and several other names not fit to type out. Occasionally, drum strike lures. When feeding on shad, they may hit silver, blue or grayish crankbaits or Rat-L-Traps. They might also take a
white spinnerbait or a chrome jigging spoon. Infrequently, they hit small jerkbaits or topwater poppers. On bottom, drum often hit plastic worms, jigs, grubs or creature baits. As many bass anglers discovered, soft plastic minnows, tubes or crawfish creations make excellent temptations, especially those with build-in or added scent.










All fish under 5 lbs are really great eating! taste exactly like their saltwater cousins the Black Drum

wow best info I've ever seen for drum. I was just about to post what little I know, which is just about what BFS said but instead I learned a lot from Mr Thorn there...

Thanks a bunch guys!!

Pic was taken at I30 near Dalrock marina, Ray Hubbard, Rip-Rap, April or May. Another note: If its glass calm on a night. Turn off all noise makers, and listen closely. Sometimes you can hear them "drumming". The noise they make travels pretty far in the water. Old days you would get to a spot and listen for the the fish before you made a cast. It almost sounds like a bull frog but muffled. If you hear that, they are feeding heavy usually.

here is its Saltwater cousin from Galveston

Very good info carey, i caught mine on a jig while bouncing along the bottom while bass where busting shad at the sureface, he must have been waiting for the leftovers

Cut shad always works for me. Flowinng water along vegitation is typically where I find them. This is my largest one at 21 lbs 10 oz pulled out of Lake Austin, just shy of the weedline on maize.

good lord, thats a good fish!

thats a big boy right there.

Indeed, a colossal drum!

Great info TarponFly. So it seems they are much like buffalo in their shad opportunisticness.

I caught my first and only drum at T-wok a couple of months ago on a tutti frutti boilie of all things.

dude you made that up "opportunisticness"