UTER
Photo: qfc79, CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Aplodinotus grunniens · also sheepshead
How to catch Freshwater drum
Freshwater drum feed in 45–86°F water and bite best at 62–78°F. Fish Scouter's season calendar follows them in 22 waters.
5 pts · trophy at 20"Feeds 45–86°FBest 62–78°FIn season nowRiverLakeReservoirFishing pierBridge
About
The grunting silver drum of the big rivers and Lake Erie — a hard-pulling, mussel-crunching fish the Midwest calls sheepshead, and the bonus fish on every walleye trip.
How to fish it
A crawler on the bottom on a rocky reef or a river current break; they eat whatever the walleye don't.
What it eats
nightcrawlerscrayfishjigs on the bottom
Live bait for it
NightcrawlersWhole on a #6 to #2 hook under a bobber or on a bottom rig; threaded on a spinner harness drifted for walleye. The bait that catches everything in fresh water.
CrayfishHooked through the tail on a #2 to 2/0 hook and dragged slowly along rock and gravel — the smallmouth bait, and good for catfish and walleye.
What to fish it with
the sizes that fish itLeader10–20 lb fluorocarbon
Hook#2–3/0
Jig head1/8–1/2 oz
Braid10–30 lb
The rule
not confirmed hereRules differ by state — check your state's fish and wildlife agency before you keep one.
The current rule →Where it is, month by month
PPeakSSpawningAArriving·AroundLLeaving
Great Lakes
Fresh water by state