Location

While few scientific investigations have directly explored habitat use and movement of adult freshwater drum, some studies provide locational connections. One study, for example, conducted on western Lake Erie, linked habitat use with drum diets. Food habits revealed that adult drum primarily feed over two habitat types—deepwater mud bottoms and shoals, taking advantage of a range of forage types offered in each habitat.

Finding drum in standing and flowing waters might best be achieved by making connections to their life history requirements, particularly with food preferences, spawning habitats, and current positioning in rivers. Although at times drum can be scattered and difficult to pattern—likely another reason drum don’t have a big following—some experienced anglers have a handle on where to start.

In lakes and reservoirs, look for drum cruising flats, bars, points, and shallow humps. Areas where you’d likely find smallmouth bass and walleyes may also hold drum. Check mussel beds, if they exist. Drum might be feeding on crayfish and baitfish along riprap banks, rockpiles, and other areas that attract these types of forage.

“I used to catch plenty of drum fishing Iowa’s natural lakes years ago,” says In-Fisherman Editor In Chief Doug Stange. “One of my favorite ways to fish was wading on a rock reef in early summer, flipping portions of crawdad tail or small crawlers for perch, smallmouth bass, and drum.

“In areas I found smallmouths, particularly on rocky reefs and points, drum were there, too,” he says. “I’d see just a lone drum cruising here and there, or a group of fish would move through. There seems to be a connection between smallmouth habitat and drum location, at least in those lakes. Also, neckdown areas—narrows between two sections of a lake or reservoir—are top spots for drum.”

In rivers, drum concentrate in tailwaters from spring into summer. Andrew Rypel, who studied drum in Alabama for his master’s degree, says: “Drum gather in deep eddies during the day and move more and shift closer to shore at night, presumably to feed. Lengthy stretches of riprap are good spots. They leave tailraces by midsummer, moving downstream to river sections with deeper holes, rock cover, and current breaks. Boulders and riprap near deep water are particularly attractive to drum, especially at night.”

Tom Seward, a lure designer, wrote about his tactics for freshwater drum in rivers in a previous issue of In-Fisherman. He reported that drum are sensitive to current speed and direction. Current edges with appropriate bottom structure funnel drum into distinct areas.

Seward says that in strong current, drum hold close to banks in pockets of reduced current behind obstructions. When flows decline, they spread to midriver locations along channels and edges of flats.

As spawning approaches, when water temperatures move up to the low to mid-60ºF range, drum move onto river flats after assembling on the edge of big flats during Prespawn, Seward says. Drum are active, and if current slackens, they disperse over the flat. Faster currents concentrate them along the edges of flats close to the main channel. He finds the best fishing is during the evening or on overcast days.

In summer, some drum occupy deep holes, but most relate to edges of flats in about 10 feet of water, even shallower along riprap banks. Also look for them along narrow extensions of flats extending into the main channel, he says, particularly on the downstream side.

Presentation

Present natural baits on a #1 hook on slipsinker, split-shot, or three-way rigs, matching sinker weight to get baits to bottom in current. Although we haven’t tried circle hooks, those in about a 1/0 size should work well on a drum’s soft fleshy mouth. A 7-foot medium to medium-heavy spinning rod and reel spooled with 10- to 17-pound mono makes a fine setup for fishing natural baits.