Here’s the fun part: black drum are delicious. But you have to follow one simple rule. Size matters.
Small ones (under 10 pounds) taste like a sweet, mild cousin of redfish or snapper. Big ones? They get tough and wormy. Eat a 40-pounder and you’ll be chewing for a week.
Think of it like this: puppy-sized drum are the filet mignon of the bay. Old ones are the leather shoe. Go for the under-15-pound club.
The Squirming, Slime-Covered Secret
When you catch one, they cover your hands in thick, snotty slime. It’s like handling a wet eel covered in hair gel. But don’t worry—that slime is just their defense. It washes right off, and the meat is perfectly clean.
And they have teeth. Not big, scary shark teeth. They have crusher plates in the back of their throat. They crunch oyster shells like popcorn. That’s why their meat is so firm and tasty—they work out their jaws on shellfish all day.
