Anybody know what fish this is?

 

Freshwater drum or Sheepshead

Freshwater Drum

?

The heart breaker freshwater drum.

Had many a time I thought a big bass  was on , when one of those slimy critters surfaced. I have caught them up to 12 pounds here in Kansas.

They are very aggressive and will hit nearly any moving bait.

Some people around here eat them.

On 10/2/2021 at 8:21 AM, Russ E said:

The heart breaker freshwater drum.

Had many a time I thought a big bass  was on , when one of those slimy critters surfaced. I have caught them up to 12 pounds here in Kansas.

They are very aggressive and will hit nearly any moving bait.

Some people around here eat them.

Some people around here are crazy

 

I've caught one in Kansas, and it was on a jerkbait or a crankbait.  My buddy caught a 5 pound drum on a spinnerbait, thought he had a giant.

 

You're supposed to kill them.

In the south, they're also called gaspergou, and I've caught 10-lber's on fly rod. 

They can have shoulders. 

39 minutes ago, HaydenS said:

You're supposed to kill them.

????

2 minutes ago, Finessegenics said:

????

According to my buddy you're supposed to kill any you catch.

23 minutes ago, HaydenS said:

According to my buddy you're supposed to kill any you catch.

Are they an invasive species where you fish?

Not 100% sure, @Bluebasser86 probably knows.  It doesn't look like it based on the website.  I didn't kill the one I caught, or my buddies.  I've seen videos of bass guys throwin them up on the bank around here.

55 minutes ago, slonezp said:

Are they an invasive species where you fish?

They are native.  I don't know of any rules stating you are supposed to kill them. I would think killing and not using them would be considered wanton waste.

If they are not invasive, check your local regulations before you start killing them.

3 minutes ago, Russ E said:

They are native.  I don't know of any rules stating you are supposed to kill them. I would think killing and not using them would be considered wanton waste.

If OP is going to kill them, he needs to throw them on the smoker. 

2 hours ago, HaydenS said:

Not 100% sure, @Bluebasser86 probably knows.  It doesn't look like it based on the website.  I didn't kill the one I caught, or my buddies.  I've seen videos of bass guys throwin them up on the bank around here.

A lot of guys kill them because they consider them trash fish, but like Russ said, that could be considered Wanton Waste and you can get a ticket from a game warden. 

 

As much as they drive me crazy, they're a native fish. They do need culled like everything else though, and very few people eat them, so there's a bit of an issue on how to do that. 

To be clear, that wasn’t my catch.  A friend of a friend sent him that pic to ID, which was in turn sent to me. I’m not a fan of killing fish for no particular reason. 

10 hours ago, slonezp said:

If they are not invasive, check your local regulations before you start killing them.

If OP is going to kill them, he needs to throw them on the smoker. 

I won't kill em now, I haven't even caught all that many.  The ones I did catch, I just threw back.  

8 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

A lot of guys kill them because they consider them trash fish, but like Russ said, that could be considered Wanton Waste and you can get a ticket from a game warden. 

 

As much as they drive me crazy, they're a native fish. They do need culled like everything else though, and very few people eat them, so there's a bit of an issue on how to do that. 

 

They can get pretty big. This one was around 17 pounds 

 

I thought I had a shot at the state record with this one, turns out I was quite a bit short.

That is one pig of a Goo, Blue! I bet the fight was fun.

Fishingmickey

The Tennessee state record I think is 57 lbs or something crazy 

NY state record sheephead is 36 lbs.  This one was 17 lbs.

They're all over and they get decent size - MN state record is 35lb3oz.

1 hour ago, TnRiver46 said:

The Tennessee state record I think is 57 lbs or something crazy 

54 lbs 8 oz caught from Nickajack 1972.   It is also the world record.  

9 minutes ago, Tennessee Boy said:

54 lbs 8 oz caught from Nickajack 1972.   It is also the world record.  

Crazy. That’s a monster 

Who would have thunk it.  Anybody eat them?  I bet there's no slot limit.