The Freshwater Drum is quite a fish. It's a mystery to me why so few people pursue them. They're large, good-tasting, easy to clean, and simple to catch. Yet in some of the large walleye lakes in Minnesota, anglers will drag home a half-dozen scrawny walleyes while cursing the beefy drum for stealing their leeches. I don't often advocate catch-and-kill fishing, but you owe it to yourself to cook up a drum or two sometime. They're plentiful. Fillet one out boneless (like a giant crappie), cut the large fillets into manageable pieces, and bake them in a casserole dish in lemon and butter. Delicious. If the drum population were in any danger, I wouldn't be recommending them as food. The Freshwater Drum is also known as Sheephead in our area. It is the sole freshwater member of a large saltwater family that includes such lauded sportfish as the redfish and black drum. Freshwater Drum are able to make curious croaking noises. They can reach weights of over twenty pounds, but drum over five are rare in most places. Drum are often found in rivers, although lake drum are found on occasion - and often grow large. Standard bottom-fishing tactics are highly effective for drum, although they also take artificials such as jigs and flies.