Florida Fish Species: Black Drum

Black drum are members of the croaker family and have the ability to produce drumming sounds. Thye are heavy-bodied, high-backed fish with many barbels under the lower jaw.  Smaller fish typically have 4 or 5 wide vertical black bars contrasting with a grayish body. On older, larger fish the bars are faded or absent. The belly is generally whitish. Their teeth are rounded and they have powerful jaws that are capable of crushing oysters and other shellfish. Drum are a large, long lived fish, reaching sizes approaching 100 pounds and living up to 40 years. 
 

Maturing at 24 inches or so, and 4 to 5 years of age, drum generally spawn from January to April. They’re prolific, with larger females producing upwards of 60 million eggs. Spawning occurs in or near passes and in open water channels during evening hours. They will spawn in depths from 10 to 150 feet.  Preferred temperatures for spawn are 60 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit in highly oxygenated waters. Once spawned, the eggs are out to sea by currents where they hatch. The young drum then make their way back to the estuaries and marshes where they grow.
 

Young black drum feed mostly on marine worms and small fish. As they grown, they switch over to primarily oysters, clams, and mussels. Drum feed with their heads down slightly, running their whiskers over the bottom in search of food items. Once a tidbit is located, the drum stops and uses suction created by its gill covers and mouth to inhale the item which is then crushed by its pharyngeal teeth. The shell is separated and ejected from its mouth.