By Cali Hlavac, To Do In Destin
If you’ve wandered around any dock inside the Destin Harbor, you might have looked down to see some very large fish swimming below and wondering what kind they were. Often referred to as the “Big Ugly” by fishermen around the area, these monster fish are Black Drum.
Black Drum are a cousin to the Red Drum and are a popular fish among anglers, because they will eat both live and dead bait. They typically feast on oysters, crabs, shrimp and small bait fish and are often circling docks to eat the crustaceans off the sides of the pilings. Another name for these fish is the “lazy fish,” for their tendency to feed on dead bait more frequently than Red Drum will.
When the weather is warm, you’ll often find them on top of the water, making it easy to sight the fish, or throw a fly at them if you’re a fly fisherman.
Black Drum can surpass the 50 lb. range, and while they are edible, their flesh becomes coarser and less desirable once they surpass lengths of 30 inches. Slot size for a keeper is 14-24” and you are able to keep five per day. When they are too large and pass the slot size, they have an old prehistoric look to them and can be full of worms, so not ideal for the dinner plate.
In terms of a fight, Black Drum are strong and solid, but not as determined as other fish. Often, they will run towards the dock and, if you’re not careful, you might break the line when it hits the pilings. While you may not want to eat the large ones, catching one is still a great fight and should be on your bucket list while visiting Destin.
Try to snag one yourself from a dock or call up one of our local Charter Captains to take you out and get it done.
