RED DRUM
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RED DRUM
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Other names: Redfish, reds, Bull red(big), Rat red(little) Description: Red drum, or redfish, are reddish bronze in color with a black spot on each side of the base of their tails. occasionally they will have more than one spot. Fishing tips: Use live finger mullet, cut mullet, live croaker, live or dead shrimp and lures fished close to the bottom and gold and silver spoons Note: There are stocked red drum in a few of our fresh water reservoirs such as Braunig and Calaveras lakes in San Antonio, Tx. |
Habitat/Habits: First three years of their lives, red drum prefer the shallow water (1-4 feet deep) in the bays, preferring submerged vegetation and soft mud. Adults migrate from the bays to the Gulf where they remain the rest of their lives. These fish feed heads-down, tails-up, when you see this phenomenon its called "TAILING" because you can see their tails sticking up out of the shallow water while they are searching the bottom for crabs or shrimp, marine worms and small fish. But this strange feeding style doesn't slow their growth any - red drum may weigh in at 50 pounds! |
The BLACK DRUM has most of the same habits as the RED DRUM aside from the following information. Barbels, or whiskers, on their chin help black drum find worms, shrimp, crabs and other shellfish. The fish crush their food with plates of teeth in their throats. I've found that when your shrimp starts to spoil...(Get a little stinky)... is the best bait for Black Drum. |
Black drum can survive in most conditions from the fresh water to water twice as salty as the Gulf, from freezing weather to the extremely warm shallows of Laguna Madre in the summer. Black Drum grow much larger than redfish, the best months to fish for black drum is from February through May and again from November to December. This is referred to as the "DRUM RUN". You can catch Black Drum as big as 90 Pounds. ( TEXAS GULF ). |
