We're havin' fish tonite !!

[N Florida Mike]

My son got some nice sheepies and is fryin' em up as I write this. The biggest was 6.9 pounds. Also a 26.5 inch red is in the mix.

Sheepheads are about the top of my list for eatin'. 

[TnRiver46]

Holy cow. I’ve caught some sheepshead but not like that one! I’d say my biggest is 2.5-3 lbs . Crazy fighters

[N Florida Mike]

The Fla. state record is 16 pounds 2 oz. ( or maybe its the world record) My son and his friend caught a 13.2 and a 12.5 in the same day.

They are very hard fighters, hard to hook, not the easiest to clean , but excellent on the table.

[redmeansdistortion]

I've always heard saltwater sheephead were good eating.  The freshwater drum (that we call sheephead up here) aren't, but they do fight pretty dang good.  They come out when the streams are full of silt and I end up hooking them when fishing for steelies and smallies.

[TnRiver46]

3 minutes ago, redmeansdistortion said:

I've always heard saltwater sheephead were good eating.  The freshwater drum (that we call sheephead up here) aren't, but they do fight pretty dang good.  They come out when the streams are full of silt and I end up hooking them when fishing for steelies and smallies.

It’s funny you would say that, I had a former neighbor say that her friend wanted some drum so I cleaned 3 yesterday and tried some. Not as bad as I was expecting but I had to trim a lot of dark stuff off it 

[redmeansdistortion]

13 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

It’s funny you would say that, I had a former neighbor say that her friend wanted some drum so I cleaned 3 yesterday and tried some. Not as bad as I was expecting but I had to trim a lot of dark stuff off it 

How did you prepare it?  From what I heard, it's good to soak them in milk for a few hours prior to cooking.  What was the flavor like?

[TnRiver46]

1 hour ago, redmeansdistortion said:

How did you prepare it?  From what I heard, it's good to soak them in milk for a few hours prior to cooking.  What was the flavor like?

I just rolled it in fishy fry and cooked it in a fryer. Flavor was good unless you got some dark meat. I would rank it just about where you think it should be, just below any game fish but well above most suckers. A lot like catfish but flakier/firmer 

[redmeansdistortion]

35 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

I just rolled it in fishy fry and cooked it in a fryer. Flavor was good unless you got some dark meat. I would rank it just about where you think it should be, just below any game fish but well above most suckers. A lot like catfish but flakier/firmer 

Sucker is pretty dang good smoked.  You gotta get them when the water is cold otherwise the meat is mushy.  Other than that, no thanks lol.  I'll give drum a shot next time I hook into one.

[TnRiver46]

8 hours ago, redmeansdistortion said:

Sucker is pretty dang good smoked.  You gotta get them when the water is cold otherwise the meat is mushy.  Other than that, no thanks lol.  I'll give drum a shot next time I hook into one.

It seemed like a fish I should have grilled skin side down . Maybe I’ll try that one day 

[Bluebasser86]

My uncle loves to eat drum, says they're one of the best eating fish out there. They eat mainly fish, crays, and clams, not silt and junk like a lot of people think, so it would make sense that they'd be decent eating. I don't eat fish, so I'm not finding out, but there are a decent number of people that eat them around here. 

[soflabasser]

Nice saltwater sheepshead, they taste good and are fun to catch. There seems to be many fish that are named ''sheepshead''. You got the California sheepshead (species of saltwater fish), Freshwater sheepshead (freshwater drum), and the sheepshead of Florida.