Sheephead aka Drum, Sheephead

So, last Saturday my son and I went out on Callander Bay for a few hours hoping to hook up with a few Walleye. We were drift fishing from 20 back to 12 FOW and we landed two sheephead. I figured we give them a try. Well...after watching a few videos on how to prepare Sheephead. I cleaned both fish, ensured all the red meat was removed (which apparently holds the strong fishy taste) then soaked them in lightly salted water for the night. The next morning I cut them into strips about the size of shrimp and lightly battered them and fried them up. I found out Sheephead are very tough (like use a knife to cut them tough) and not very good tasting. Some people compared it to a poor mans shrimp well...I think I will stick to buying my shrimp from the market...lol

Overall, it was the first time for us to catch a sheephead and it was a nice fight but from now on, they will be going back in the water.

Cheers

Darn I caught one on Sunday and filleted it and planned on cooking it - maybe not lol.

The wife suggested I can it.

They work really well in the garden.

LOL....I was thinking of trying it....thanks...you saved me some work!

texture and taste of Wood.

Ya, like the outhouse door on a tuna boat.

Ah, the drum. Great fighter. I have had burn marks on my finger from a drum peeling off braided line so fast... Makes you think you have the walleye of your life until the flash of brown and white hits your eyes and the realization funnels to your brain, oh, it’s a damn sheepshead!

Best approach IMO is to cut out all the red meat and soak it overnight like you did, then grind it and mix with a bit of flour. Then press into muffin pan and cook at 375 for 45 minutes. Take out of the oven and allow to cool. Then take the whole thing and throw it in the trash

Nice couple of drum there. Thanks for giving them a taste. Good to know.

My wife loved the comments, especially bake it then put it in the garbage..lol.

So, since it's very tough and meaty, I wonder what it would be like to slice it thin and use it on a worm harness (is that legal??)

That would be illegal. You can only use bait fish.

Is it wrong, per se? I wouldn't fault you for it.

They are great eating


Once you put them under your tomato plants and harvest those

Only thing is the coons might dig them up and get sick.

Definitely good when small....a pound to pound and a half and believe it or not the taste and texture are great.
Anything bigger has always been like a dish rag.