Edit: Well, this is messed up. I had a whole paragraph below the picture and it looks like the forum ate it when I posted... 🤔I'll add it back as close as I remember it.

I caught this little guy the other day while bass fishing:

They hang out with bass, some say they're good to eat if you remove the red meat, they fight a good fight, and they bite on artificial lures. Their red drum saltwater cousins are popular.

I mean, they're ugly, but so are catfish.

Why aren't they targeted like bass? I've never understood what led to bass being game fish but not drum.

21 minutes ago, Josh Smith said:

I caught this little guy the other day while bass fishing:

I love catching Drum. The bite and the fight are the same. What is not to love?

1 hour ago, Josh Smith said:

I caught this little guy the other day while bass fishing:

They are game fish.

It's just being played in a different game.

#goberfish

🤪

A-Jay

1 hour ago, Josh Smith said:

Edit: Well, this is messed up. I had a whole paragraph below the picture and it looks like the forum ate it when I posted... 🤔I'll add it back as close as I remember it.

I caught this little guy the other day while bass fishing:

They hang out with bass, some say they're good to eat if you remove the red meat, they fight a good fight, and they bite on artificial lures. Their red drum saltwater cousins are popular.

I mean, they're ugly, but so are catfish.

Why aren't they targeted like bass? I've never understood what led to bass being game fish but not drum.

I caught them on the Mississippi River and would be happy to catch them again. They were fun, so I get your point.

Personally I don’t like them. They inhabit our local reservoirs. Yesterday we caught 4 of them. They are a pain to get off the hook.

They're ugly, they don't jump, sometimes they even stink pretty bad. Their affinity for swallowing the hook is another reason I strongly dislike them. I affectionately refer to them as "Dorkfish", a la Bill Engval's comedy line. They're occasionally a victim of my willingness to target anything when I see a big one cruising. It's hard for me to pass up the chance to try and sight fish a big fish and they're usually pretty willing to bite.

IMO, they really don't fight great for their size a majority of the time. You get one good pull and then they give up, not real unlike a big walleye.

45 minutes ago, Jig Man said:

Personally I don’t like them. They inhabit our local reservoirs. Yesterday we caught 4 of them. They are a pain to get off the hook.

Huh. I've never found that to be so. I generally just shake them off my jigs -- don't think I've ever caught them on anything but jigs, plastic worms, and nightcrawlers (when fishing for catfish back in the day).

I wish @roadwarrior were still around to comment here.

Never caught one, as far as I know their not in any water in my area.

I ask the same question about rock bass 😃

Minnesota has specific classifications

Drum are considered 'rough fish' - same as bullhead, buffalo, gar, redhorse and some others.

Rock bass are considered 'game fish' - along with bass, walleye, pike, sunfish, perch, catfish, burbot and others.

I think the reason they aren't targeted is because getting one to bite where there are plenty of bass is hard. There is always drum down at the river I fish, but bass hit lures more readily. Yes, drum hit them, I caught 2 the other day on crankbaits. But if I was targeting bass I'd have a 500:1 bass:drum ratio.

For bluegill, it's worms and bobbers. For bass, lures. For catfish, livers, worms, hotdogs, cut bait, on the bottom normally. For crappie, crappie specific lures or minnows. For musky, musky lures. But there is no specific lures/techniques for drum.

4 minutes ago, Bazoo said:

For bluegill, it's worms and bobbers.

Or a small jig with small plastic under a bobber - that's how I caught all mine yesterday.

I don't mind drum at all, they're native and don't hurt anything. They can be targeted depending on where and what they're eating. They heavily prey on gobies and crawfish, so tubes, jigs, t-rigged craws etc will all catch them. At times, they can be very timid and refuse your offering. Overall, they're predatory and opportunistic. They're caught open water walleye trolling all the time in the great lakes on cranks, spoons and spinner rigs. They pull hard and can get pretty large.

Sorry but fresh water drum are considered as trash fish just like carp. Some people like them but some people don’t. The choice is yours.

5 hours ago, gim said:

I wish @roadwarrior were still around to comment here.

Where the heck did @roadwarrior go?

Dangit, I take a break to get back into other hobbies and folks just start disappearing.

3 hours ago, herder said:

Never caught one, as far as I know their not in any water in my area.

I ask the same question about rock bass 😃

I decided to try to target rock bass one year. I respect how feisty they are.

Unfortunately, I kept catching smallies instead 😉

1 hour ago, Dwight Hottle said:

Sorry but fresh water drum are considered as trash fish just like carp. Some people like them but some people don’t. The choice is yours.

I know they are.

My question is, why? What made black bass popular while drum were considered trash?

Weren't black bass considered trash fish by trout fishermen once-upon-a-time?

Now, I'm not a fan of drum. I'd much rather catch black bass, walleye or panfish.

The question comes from curiosity.