Freshwater Drum

The drum typically weighs 5–15 lb (2.3–6.8 kg). The world record was caught on Nickajack Lake in Tennessee, and weighed in at 54 lb 8 oz (24.7 kg). The freshwater drum is frequently gray or silvery but may be more bronze or brown colored, common in the Lake Erie population. It is a deep-bodied fish with a divided dorsal fin consisting of 10 spines and approximately 30 rays. The pectoral fins are elongated and pointed, and the lateral line extends into the caudal fin, which has a rounded or pointed margin.

The eye of the freshwater drum contains a tapetum lucidum within the retinal pigmented epithelium, as in other sciaenids. In other sciaenids this structure has been found to contain packed lipid spherules which contribute to its reflective properties.

Freshwater drum are the only North American member of their family to exclusively inhabit freshwater (freshwater family members in genera Pachypops, Pachyurus, Petilipinnis and Plagioscion are from South America, while Boesemania is Asian). Their great distribution range goes as far north as the Hudson Bay, and reaches as far south as Guatemala. Their longitudinal distribution goes as far east as the eastern Appalachians and stretches as far west into Texas, Kansas, and Oklahoma. Freshwater drum are considered to be one of the most wide-ranging species in North America.

The freshwater drum prefers clear water, but it is tolerant of turbid and murky water. They prefer the bottom to be clean sand and gravel substrates.

The diet of the freshwater drum is generally benthic and composed of macroinvertebrates (mainly aquatic insect larvae and bivalve mussels), as well as small fish in certain ecosystems. Freshwater drum show distinct seasonal differences in their diet. In April and May, the drum feeds on dipterans. During these months, dipterans make up about 50 percent of the freshwater drum's diet. In August through November, they tend to eat fish (which are primarily young-of-the-year Gizzard shad). The percentage of fish in their diet at this time ranges from 52 to 94 percent. Other items in the drum's diet are mollusks and crayfish.