Tuesday Carpin

[HighPlainsFlyFisher]

Hit my local lake the other day for a little trash fish action. The cooler temps have dropped our water tmperature several degrees and the shallow fish are becoming much more active than just a week ago. Lots of drum and decent numbers of carp were tailing the shallow flats and I had one of my better days for some serious flyrod action. The fish seemed much more energetic and were willing to chase your fly unlike during the peak of the hot spell when they wouldn't move far to take a fly. Ended up landing several carp and more nice drum than I could count. I know drum are serious trash fish to most but they love to eat flies and will definitely put a hell of a bend in your rod.

Full TR on my Blog.....Jeff

http://highplainsflyfisher.blogspot.com/

[Justin Spencer]

Great Blog, looking at those drum picks reminds me of Florida flats fishing for red fish and black drum, nice for you that these are overlooked by other anglers. I have a sneaking suspicion that if you figured out the best way to clean a drum they might end up tasting pretty good as well. I caught a big redhorse fly fishing the other day and was more excited about it than any fish I had landed in a long time.

[HighPlainsFlyFisher]

Justin - I don't mind at all that the majority of flyfishermen wouldn't bother to waste their time fishing for drum. Myself, I'm into this stuff enough now that I've actually started to appreciate what most call trash fish just as much as most sportfish. I'm still a trout bum at heart but if given the opportunity I'm not passing on sight fishing to good sized fish on the shallow flats , it's just too much fun! As far as eating em...the verdicts still out on that one!! Congrats on the redhorse , don't think I've caught one of those with the flyrod yet. It's nice to pick up something different every so often......Jeff

http://highplainsflyfisher.blogspot.com/

[Kayser]

I troll for drum on Baldwin Lake here in IL- I fillet them, and just take the loin off the top. Normally slice it thin and fry it with Andy's yellow just like any other fish, but I did try it with blackened redfish seasoning on the grill a few weeks ago- was actually really good. Just don't expect this fish to flake like a bass- it's a little tougher than that.

Rob

[David Unnerstall]

Missouri Conservationist had an article about drum, recently. The author claimed it is similar to redfish and included a recipe in the article. That got me thinking. I have been on-call at work all summer and have not been able to leave the area. But I can put the old boat in the Mississippi. Does any one else have any experience with blackened drum?

[sms_alum]

I have limited experience with eating drum, but an old timer told me one time to get them on ice while they are still alive. Apparently this draws all their blood to the vital organs and out of the meet. I tried this on a nice size drum we caught on the piney one time and it was pretty good. They other times I have tried drum they have been a struggle to eat.