Do any of the rivers and reservoirs in Central Texas have freshwater drum (aka sheepshead) in any numbers? If so, what lakes or rivers are the best bet?

I used to catch them in IL and TN, they were good fighters and a lot of fun. I've always thought it funny that saltwater drum (red and black) are prized gamefish while everyone considers their freshwater cousin a trash fish!

Pretty much every major body of water in texas has gaspergoos.

Giving a little more information about where you are located will help others point you in the right direction!!

Welcome to the forum!!

The Colorado River around Columbus has some good ones. Also the Frio River in Three Rivers has a lot of em. Just about every River from Austin South has em. If I am not mistaken they are a warm water fish. Could be wrong.

I had to go to Minnesota to catch my first sheepshead.

Thanks! I'm moving to Austin (currently in El Paso - no water to speak of, no fish to speak of) next week. I'm planning on checking out the Colorado River and its reservoirs when I get there, so I was wondering if freshwater drum were on the local rough fish menu.

You'll probably be able to find them anywhere in the Colorado chain. I've heard of them being caught from LBL, but I'm not sure of the population.

you are moving to the rough fish capital of the US.

I guess I'll have to put some live crayfish on the hook when I fish LBL and find out what it has to offer for drum.

Great - something to look forward to.

ohh yes, when you get down there, look up the Wild Carp Club of Austin Directed by Scott Ferguson, Scottevil, you will have a well educated group of anglers to teach you everything you could possibly want to know about the rough fish world!

I have caught a ton of them while fishing Lake Lewisville...My son n law caught one while bass fishing, it was 22 lbs..(It may have been a record on Lew)..The small ones, we would catch on minnows while crappie fishing...Firm , white meat, good to eat..

+1 on the good eats. 2-3 pounders make great eating. The ones over 5 pounds not so much for some reason.

lake Travis has a good population of them i have caught them on minnows and worms. caught about a 10#er their last year

I'll drop Scott a note, the Wild Carp group sounds like a lot of fun.

This is a Sheepshead



and this is a gaspergoo...freshwater drum

Is there even a fish in the first pic Huck???

Damn local names!

There are about 3 different fish that are called "sheepshead" depending on where you are in the country or whether you're fishing fresh or salt. Same thing for "kingfish" and "ling."

Yep

Thats one of the top 3 "sheepheads" ive ever seen. They are.. i mean... it is perfect.

That's one talented sheepshead, Huckleberry.

The only sheepshead I have ever caught is down in Port Aransas.

Gasper Gous are fun and rare enough (for me anyway0.

Good luck Max!

Ive caught/seen about 12 in the last year from grapevine/tawakoni/benbrook. All have come on cut shad. But with that bait, you are more likely to catch catfish.

the brazos river has a good population also

in the austin area Lake Travis, Georgetown and Grainger have excellent populations of drum. If you throw a crawfish on LBL you might end up with a trophy carp or buffalo so be prepared

Holy........!!!!They are beautiful. the fish...yeah...what fish

Speaking of rough fish I saw a guy pull in a HUGE eel from auditorium shores on LBL yesterday.

i met a guy that catches them exclusively at lbl they are bad as>
a lot of people dont know they are there.

you get any pics

The one he saw yesterday was real badass lol ! He sent me pic through text it was damn big.

post would like to see it

Never cared much for catching eels (nuisance to handle, and they always tie terminal rig into slimy, useless knots), though the small ones made for great striped bass bait when I lived back on the east coast.

One rough fish I've always wanted to catch is the bowfin (mudfish) - do they turn up Central TX rivers and reservoirs?

not that I know of. I think around Houston is the only place. youll be able to catch some great buffalo and carp in these parts though

North east and East TX are your best shot at Bowfin, but I know where to get them other toothy critters when your ready.

I can't get the pic to post from my account for some reason but if anyone wants I will text it to you and you can give it a try at posting.

shoot me text i will post it

Awesome! Thanks Tuner.

Here's the picture ! Just wondering what kind of bait do they use for eels and what kind of depth do they usually hang around ?

He caught his on a whole worm (I think). He was on the dock at the dog park and throwing out pretty far. Not sure of the depth there but he was in the channel.

That eel is huge. The only ones that I have caught are the nasty little sand eels at the coast. Here is an excerpt about eels from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Dept.

Although many anglers are put off by the snake-like appearance of eels and the prodigious amounts of slime they produce when captured, eels are in fact exceptionally good fish. In Texas, they are usually caught by anglers fishing for something else. The state rod & reel record is 6.45 pounds and 42 inches in length. The world record is 9.25 pounds.

that spot right where it was caught is where many people catch them

Cool! I want to catch an eel!

I used to catch eels on coastal rivers using nightcrawlers as bait. The wife of a friend of mine loved to eat them (panfried or smoked - not bad, but not worth the trouble of cleaning them as far as I'm concerned), so I gave the larger ones to her and kept the small ones for bait.

Sounds like I have a new mission to accomplish. Who wants to join in the slime?

I was pretty amazed. I saw his rod double over and heard his drag start to pull. So I ran over. I figured big cat, then I thought maybe a big carp. Then he got it to the dock and it was just so unexpected it didn't register what it was.

Some of those folks that swim their smaller dogs at the park may want to think twice now. Hahaha.

I have caught and seen drum up to 30lbs at the spill way behind ray Roberts using live perch for catfish b