It's just too fishy for me. I've heard people say " it's as good as redfish", but that's not true. It's tough and fishy.

Reason this big ole drum was on the stringer is my ex marine next door neighbor fishing buddy wanted to keep it. I filleted it for him with all the other fish. I kept the crappie and let him have everything else. Normally, hand sanitizer will take fish smell right off your hands but it does not work on drum. I ended up having to use Hydrogen Peroxide to get that nasty fishy smell off.

Least I don't have to eat that drum.

Drum are great eating fish! We cook them fried and blackened.
Freshwater drum 1 to 8 pounds are just as good, or better than catfish, and crappie....way better than sand bass and hybrids for taste.
All fish leave a fishy smell on your hands..after washing your hands from cleaning and handling the fish--Wear kitchen rubber gloves when cleaning the fish to keep the smell away and- fin spikes and small cuts.Then use fresh squeezed lemons rubbed on your hands with the juice to clean any smells off..
your hands will be non fishy smelling..

The dogs with hands are eating drum now!

I'll eat a drum, its not crappie, but definitely alot better than sandbass or striper. Black bass are good eating.

But lately I've been catching so many crappie I never get to them. Drum will not be making it to my table. Catfish won't either. I may fillet them for fishing buddies that want them but as long as God keeps making great tasting crappie I'm eating them if I can catch them.

My wife's started complaining about crappie. Says they have a texture like mashed potatoes and wants more sand bass. Now this is coming from the same gal that sneered every time I came home with a limit of sandies from Ray Roberts back in March and April.

mmm hmmm, got to have two live wells...an old one for trash fish and a good for crappie...