Habitat/distribution: brackish and inshore waters; distributed from the upper east coast through the Gulf, all the way down to the coast of Argentina

Method of harvest:   trotlines, hook and line, and white shrimp bycatch

Harvest areas: our Drum comes exclusively from Texas and Louisiana.

Season: No season as set by regulatory agencies. However, the drum spawn in the late spring, and when the spawn is over (typically around the beginning of May), the fish move to deeper waters and avoid areas where fishers typically can set up lines. Basically, the drum stops after that, until slowly starting again in July. Drum are caught in large numbers in the fall and winter.

Size: commercially from one to nine pounds, though drum can get very large- up to more than 100 pounds.

Sustainability: Drum has recently been ranked by Monterrey Bay Aquarium as a “Good Alternative”. The fish is almost all hook and line, and more than 99% very small craft.

Cooking characteristics: excellent flavor, comparable to redfish, but rather sweeter. Drum are notorious oyster predators, which can’t but make them taste even better. Very good grilled or baked. Drum may be cooked “on the halfshell” like redfish, with very good success.