Fresh Water Drum (Sheephead)

[Nipfisher]

I was talking to a long-time Lake Nipissing Guide today and he informed me that 20 years ago (when he guided) all the guides would kill every Sheephead they caught. He said they are ferocious bottom feeders and eat alot of walleye, perch, and bass eggs. They are not considered invasive but not really a sport fish either????? Are we as anglers allowed to cull them from the lake? Would it actually make a difference?

From all the reports this year there are higher then normal ammounts of Sheephead being caught, and some well over 10 lbs.

Edited July 30, 2012 by Nipfisher

[northernpike56]

my friend caught a 13 lbs one.. I believe he killed it.

[Whitespinnerbait]

I think they fall in to the same catergory as Seagulls and Cormorants...

[danc]

I was talking to a long-time Lake Nipissing Guide today and he informed me that 20 years ago (when he guided) all the guides would kill every Sheephead they caught.

 

Fortunately there's none up my way. They don't seem like a prize catch. I've seen the same thing done with Pike up here for the same reasons, in my younger days. Until the internet came along, I had no idea that so many Ontario residents considered them a prize. Pike have always been considered a nuisense fish up here. Still are to me. They grow to mammoth proportions up here, but nobody that I know targets them. Weird.

[Rod Caster]

It would be a hard sell to convince me to kill any native fish just because its under-favored compared to another species. Not sure it s illegal though... Since its not a sportfish??

[Grimace]

Deciding that a fish is a nuisance and bad for the Ecosystem based on hearsay is laughable. Deciding that every one of those fish that is caught should be killed is despicable. Where is the scientific evidence for such a claim? Of you catch a Sheephead and do not want to eat it, throw it back. They do not have grinders in the back of their throats for walleye eggs. Those grinders are geared more towards mussels and crayfish, although they eat plenty of small fish to round out their diet. During the first year of their life cycle they are a food source for walleye so it could be the other way around. There are a gazillion Sheephead in the Bay of Quinte and that doesn't seem to hurt the walleye numbers.

[BillM]

Fortunately there's none up my way. They don't seem like a prize catch. I've seen the same thing done with Pike up here for the same reasons, in my younger days. Until the internet came along, I had no idea that so many Ontario residents considered them a prize. Pike have always been considered a nuisense fish up here. Still are to me. They grow to mammoth proportions up here, but nobody that I know targets them. Weird.

 

Only us southern Ontario guys like the big toothy critters

[limeyangler]

Deciding that a fish is a nuisance and bad for the Ecosystem based on hearsay is laughable. Deciding that every one of those fish that is caught should be killed is despicable. Where is the scientific evidence for such a claim? Of you catch a Sheephead and do not want to eat it, throw it back. They do not have grinders in the back of their throats for walleye eggs. Those grinders are geared more towards mussels and crayfish, although they eat plenty of small fish to round out their diet. During the first year of their life cycle they are a food source for walleye so it could be the other way around. There are a gazillion Sheephead in the Bay of Quinte and that doesn't seem to hurt the walleye numbers.

 

 

I have to agree with this. I have fished all over the world and in every instance i have come across 'nuisance' fish. As DanC says...pike here, to most locals (including myself now) are considered a royal pain in the derrier...in England it was Garfish when seafishing, even fishing on the River Thames in England as a wee lad common eels were the bogey fish.

 

I dont agree with killing any fish you catch simply because its not what you intended, or wanted, to catch. If you put food on the end of a hook and drop it in water contaning hungry creatures some of the time you will catch one.....lol...deal with it! but dont take it out on the fish!

 

Good question Blair...and a good thread, i'd say it would be illegal to kill and waste them....unless like the round goby you are obliged to do so if you catch one.

I dont get those here, but i got 2 just last week fishing the pier at Erieau......tell ya what...i appreciated hooking into them, cuz to actually feel something solid at the hookset was a welcome relief to the very small and infrequent bass, sunnies and crappies i had been catching. I think that they put up an awesome scrap....i would say pound for pound right up there with smallies...and they get way bigger than smallies, only difference i can tell is people dont eat them (much), but then again muskies are not regular table fare either.

Edited July 30, 2012 by limeyangler

[bubbles]

Not sure who believes that they can manipulate the fish population becasue they have deemed that fish to be a pain. I personally love catching sheephead when I am out. You want to see a kid have a blast?, let him hook into one of these monsters jigging in the detroit river, you think that kid cares what kind of fish is on the end of his rod? Take a kid fishing off a pier, sunfish, 1/4lb perch, or a sheep head......what do you think he wants to catch?

The last 2 times out I have caught 7 and 8 different spieces of fish, keeps it fun.

[BillM]

Sheephead fight great!

[Woodsman]

Sure not worth the work after getting multiple ones approaching 10lbs on 10 colour leadcore.

Sadly Saturday was one of those days on Lake Erie out off Port Bruce.

[smally21]

i did a trip on nippissing last year and all of the oldtimers in the group were talking about how they dispatched the sheephead when they caught them...

 

what i found funny was there really wasn't a 'serious' or 'experienced' fisherman in the whole group - they were just acting on something they had heard from their uncle bert or at the legion or something..

 

I asked them the merit of killing and sinking the sheep head - not one could explain why..just they had heard it once before and they did it all the time on their once a year trip..they really thought they were acting for the greater good.

 

 

-and it is pretty unheard of for a naturally occurring species to be 'bad' for its enviroment.

 

(with one obvious exception of course)

Edited July 30, 2012 by smally21

[Millhouse2020]

I have fished lake Nippissing, especially the area near Lavigne since I was 4 years old. I have watched the walleye numbers dwindle significantly for the last 15 years. In the past 3 years, we certainly catch more sheephead/drum than we used to. They used to be a more rare occurence in that area of the lake however now we catch them on every other outing. They are fun to catch after the excitement of hooking the mother of all walleye evaporates after you see the fish. It is a bit disappointing for me to watch a once glorious walleye fishery become what it is now but I still hold the hope that the fishery will bounce back. I was out for opening day this year and counted a handful of other boats where we were fishing. I recall as a youngster seeing dozens and dozens of cedar strip boats lining the same shoreline.

 

 

On a side note, I have cooked drum and they are excellent table fare when prepared right. Try the poor man's lobster recipe.

 

 

- Fillet the drum boneless

- Cut fillets into thin strips

- Boil in vigorously boiling salted water until cooked, the strips should curl up

- Enjoy dipped in shrimp cocktail sauce with beverage of your choice

 

 

 

Cheers

[grimsbylander]

I don't think sheephead are hurting Lake Erie bass or walleye. I was out alone yesterday and boated 15+ smallies and one sheephead...in 2 1/2 hours. If the numbers were reversed it would be an issue! And that sheephead was a welcome battle too! It's that first 10 seconds when you're thinking you're got that 7lb smallie!!

[ehg]

Good to see a better attitude towards this native species.

Killing and wasting a native fish is wrong period. Only invasive species such as round gobies are to be dispatched.

 

When a child my father would take me to mouth of eastern Lake O. tribs for bullheads, perch and sunfish.

Once i caught a drum and was a totally thrilled 7 yr. old.

[Dave Bailey]

Deciding that a fish is a nuisance and bad for the Ecosystem based on hearsay is laughable. Deciding that every one of those fish that is caught should be killed is despicable. Where is the scientific evidence for such a claim? Of you catch a Sheephead and do not want to eat it, throw it back. They do not have grinders in the back of their throats for walleye eggs. Those grinders are geared more towards mussels and crayfish, although they eat plenty of small fish to round out their diet. During the first year of their life cycle they are a food source for walleye so it could be the other way around. There are a gazillion Sheephead in the Bay of Quinte and that doesn't seem to hurt the walleye numbers.

 

WORD!

[Snidley]

Funny thing about Sheepies and attitudes about them. In Louisiana guys enthusiastically seek Red and Black Drum and they are essentially sheepies, especially Black Drum which look identical. In Australia they target what they call Jewfish (not Goliath Groupers) and they also are dead ringers for Sheepies. I get them locally to about 14lb. and I not only do they fight really well at that size I look so forward to catching them that I have a specific set of lures that will max out a day fishing for them. I have eaten fresh water Drum and they taste much like an ocean fish BUT they rank very high on the contamination scale, much like the Salmon, Steelhead and Lakers found locally. Only retards would eat them from around here risking cancer for a feed of local fish. Killing them for another made up reason is not only illegal but also a further example of how stupid some people really are.

[Muskieman]

I know a few guys who keep a hacksaw in their boats to cut the " pearls" out of the Sheep's head then sink the fish...

 

I myself will keep a few every season to BBQ ,great mild taste and big white flakes...

 

As for the decline in Nipissing's Walleye population ( by the way, for many Nipissing anglers, I know a whole bunch of them, 2012 is going to end up being banner year for Trophy Walleye and daily catches of 30+ fish ).... there are a lot more places that someone can point a finger at than the poor Ol'Sheepshead.

 

I'd love to get out for some Nipissing Sheepshead or anything else for that matter , I haven't wet a line since Father's Day , work has me by the .....

 

I can't wait for Falleye...

 

Randy

[lhousesoccer]

I'm with most of the posters here ... just because some people consider them nuisances or "trash fish" doesn't mean they should be killed. I've seen "bass guys" slitting the throats of pike when they get them by accident because they just don't like them, and that should be a punishable offence with a big fat ticket from a C.O., in my opinion. No different than killing a freshwater drum just because someone thinks they eat alot of walleye eggs, or has no other benefit. Which is questionable, by the way. Guess what else they eat a ton of? Zebra mussels. And every native fish, whether they are "sportfish" or not, serve a role in the aquatic ecosystem and fish community they evolved in.

 

Besides - anyone who's tangled with a 10-pound plus sheepshead knows what a battle they put up! No disgrace or trashiness there in my opinion!

 

 

 

[misfish]

Fillet the drum boneless

- Cut fillets into thin strips

- Boil in vigorously boiling salted water until cooked, the strips should curl up

- Enjoy dipped in shrimp cocktail sauce with beverage of your choice

 

[Muskieman]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Yep X 2

Edited July 30, 2012 by Randy from Sturgeon

[Nipfisher]

Thanks for all the comments. I have never killed a Sheepherad. I always let them go. Maybe I'll have to keep one and taste it.

 

Randy, I'm getting the same reports. There were easily 80 walleye caught out of our camp this weekend. Probably 20 or less Sheephead.