I know...it ain't a crappie, but.....

[Bushrod]

...I was out on Norris Lake here in East TN yesterday and caught a 26-pound freshwater drum while jigging man-o-lures along a rocky bluff...my question is: are they good to eat? My folks used to say they ain't worth a flip, but others tell me that restaurants serve 'em...any inputs?

Bushrod

[Tunica]

The problem may be that you don't know how to cook drums. They lose their flavor quickly if they aren't filleted and put on ice promptly, but putting the live fish on ice is another way to preserve them until you get home. So stop with the clubbing--apart from prematurely killing the fish, it's not going to make for the ideal table presentation.

the red drum is often blackened in Cajun cuisine, and you can prepare the freshwater drum this way, too. It is a low oil fish, so you have to be careful not to dry them out when you cook them. Pan or deep frying them is recommended, as is smoking as long as you don't heat them for too long. Some people say they are as good, or better, than the walleye as an eating fish.

[Tarpon]

Does a freshwater drum look like a saltwater drum? I/ve never seen a freshwater one before. As far as I know they dont live in any lakes I fish.

[crappiefishergirl]

we would eat drum when i lived in illinios. the locals called them white perch. i found them to be tasty when baked with chopped onions, tomatoes, salt/pepper and a little beer. wrap up in foil and bake for a few minutes.

a very light tasting fish. good meat.

[Tunica]

Does a freshwater drum look like a saltwater drum? I/ve never seen a freshwater one before. As far as I know they dont live in any lakes I fish.

Oh I bet their there. the primary food are insects small crayfish other small fish they are bottom dwellers and feeders. Freshwater drum are silver-gray in color with a mouth that points down, and a rounded tail. Skeletal features are unique, with the skull heavily reinforced and large ear bones, with a characteristic "L" on one side.

[J White]

We got plenty of them on the Tn river, let me tell you. And the Tenn-Tom
w-way. Usually run into them more fishin w minnows in winter. They will
"talk" to you too - my girls get a kick out of that.

[Eager Beaver]

This is a fresh water drum from South Dakota's, Big Stone lake. We get a lot of them while drifting for Walleye on this Lake.

Forgot to send the pic on first try. still learning to post pics.

[CrappiePappy]

I also grew up incorrectly calling them "white perch". And I've caught many of them on artificial tackle, as well as live bait, when fishing for Bass or Crappie or other species. I've also eaten them.
They are the only "drum" species that exists in "fresh water" ... the Red Drum (Redfish) is a salt water/brackish water fish, of distant relations. Some states consider them rough fish, with nominal commercial value - while others commercially remove hundreds of thousands of pounds of them, from their waters. ........cp

[J White]

An older man here in town, an expert fisherman, told me once that certain
times of the year, you could catch these things by the hundreds in the
swiftwater below Pickwick dam - he used to catch them on a Heddon "Sonar"
or a silver buddy - on light spinning tackle, just for the fight. But I can't
remember what the season was supposed to be... Any ideas?

[gooch]

I used to have a roomate in college that had a uncle who owned a fish market. He would bring drum back from his weekend visits and I would make up fish sandwiches on Sunday nights. We would sell them for a buck along with a hair cut for a buck. The fish sandwiches were great the hair cuts were not.