Saltwater
Black Drum
Where to find them, how to catch them and the tackle to use.
01Introduction
The black drum is the biggest member of the drum family: a high-backed, gray-to-black bottom feeder with a beard of whisker-like barbels under its chin and heavy, cobblestone-like throat teeth for crushing clams, oysters and crabs. It makes a loud drumming sound with its swim bladder. Young "puppy" drum are common, good-eating fish, while spawning "bull" drum of 30 to 80 pounds or more are one of the heaviest fish an inshore angler can hook. Black drum are long-lived; fish over 50 years old have been recorded.
02Where to Catch
Range: the Atlantic coast from about New York south through the Gulf of Mexico to Mexico. They're most common from the Chesapeake Bay south and most abundant along the Texas coast.
Habitat: black drum tolerate more kinds of water than almost any other inshore fish: clear sand flats and muddy sloughs, water so shallow their backs show and depths over 100 feet, fresh river runoff and very salty lagoons. Look for them in bays, estuaries, river mouths, surf and passes, around oyster bars and shellfish beds, docks, bridge pilings and channel edges. They root along the bottom, head-down, leaving small craters behind.
Seasons: big drum gather in schools before spawning, in deeper bays, channels, inlets and around jetties. That happens in late winter in the Gulf and from about April to early June in the Mid-Atlantic, creating an intense spring fishery for big fish. Farther south, smaller drum are caught much of the year.
03How to Catch
Bait on the bottom
Black drum feed by smell and touch and are rarely caught on lures. Put a fresh bait on the bottom and wait. Fresh clams are the top bait in the Mid-Atlantic (drum are picky about freshness); crabs, shrimp, sand fleas and cut bait work everywhere. A fish-finder or simple bottom rig with a strong single hook (a circle hook works well) is standard. From an anchored boat, fish where drum are marked on the bottom; light chumming can hold a school, but too much draws rays and sharks.
Reading the bite
Drum often mouth and crush a bait for a while before swallowing it, and the bite can be barely noticeable. Wait until the fish moves off with the bait, then set the hook (or just come tight on a circle hook). Braided line helps you feel it.
Light-tackle fishing for smaller drum
For small drum on flats and around docks, a light rod and a bait drifted along the bottom with little or no weight makes for good sport.
Releasing big drum
Big bull drum are old fish. Keep them in the water while you unhook them, and hold them facing into the current until they swim off.
04Tackle
Match the tackle to the fish: a light to medium spinning or baitcasting outfit with 15- to 30-pound line handles most drum, but spawning bull drum call for a heavy conventional rod, 50-pound braid, a heavy leader, a stout circle hook and enough weight to hold bottom in current. Black drum size and bag limits vary by state, so check your state's regulations.
05Questions anglers ask
How do I tell a black drum from a sheepshead or red drum?
Black drum have a high, arched back and a cluster of whisker-like barbels under the chin. Sheepshead and red drum have no chin barbels. Young black drum have four to six dark vertical bars, which can make them look like sheepshead, but the bars fade with age.
Why do black drum make noise?
They vibrate their swim bladder with special muscles to make a loud drumming sound, which anglers can sometimes hear from schools passing near the boat. That's where the name comes from.
Why do I miss so many drum bites?
Black drum often mouth and crush a bait before swallowing it, and the bite can be surprisingly light for such a big fish. Wait until the fish moves off with the bait before setting the hook, and use braid to feel the bite.