Chunky and high-backed, with a fringe of sensory barbels under the lower jaw. Young fish carry four
or five dark vertical bars that fade with age; fish from muddy bays are dark grey or bronze, while
Gulf fish tend to silvery grey. TPWD describes black drum as adaptable to a wider range of habitat
than any other important Texas food fish, from clear shallow sand flats to Gulf water more than 100
feet deep. They root buried molluscs and worms out of the bottom using the barbels to find them,
then crush the shells with heavy pharyngeal teeth. Growth is about six inches in the first year, 12
in the second, 16 in the third, and roughly two inches a year after that; the all-time record is 146
pounds and the Texas sport record 81, though most genuinely big fish run 30 to 40 pounds.
Fish over 30 pounds are called "bull" drum regardless of sex. They school before spawning, and the
February–March runs are, in TPWD's words, probably the best chance most people have of landing a 30-
to 40-pound fish. Spawning runs February through July with a February-to-April peak, and unusually
for a drum it can happen in the bays, in the passes or in the Gulf. Like their relatives they drum:
a passing school can sometimes be heard through the hull of a boat.
Source-backed field notes
- TPWD lists the primary sport species of the Laguna Madre as spotted seatrout, red drum and black drum, with snook, gray snapper, Florida pompano and barracuda as secondary species specific to the lower bay. (TPWD Short Report: Laguna Madre)
- Fishing rules at Padre Island National Seashore: a valid Texas fishing license package is required (children under 17 exempt), a maximum of 6 poles per person kept at the surf's edge, cast nets up to 14 feet in diameter and dip nets up to 3 feet for baitfish only, sail-lines permitted from sunset to sunrise, and gigging allowed for non-game, non-protected species such as flounder, black drum, whiting and sheepshead. (Fishing - Padre Island National Seashore (NPS))
- The current Texas black drum limit for comparison is 5 per day, 14 to 30 inches, with no more than one over 52 inches per person per day counting toward the bag. (TPWD Outdoor Annual: Drum Bag & Length Limits)
- Black drum in Texas: daily bag 5, minimum 14 inches total length, maximum 30 inches, with one black drum over 52 inches allowed as part of the daily bag. (TPWD Pocket Guide to Bag and Size Limits of Saltwater Fishes and Crabs (PWD CD V3400-100B 7/26))
Observe responsibly
Wildlife, tides and access conditions change. Keep a respectful distance, do not feed wildlife, stay out of dunes and marked nesting areas, and use current official rules before fishing or handling any catch.