Freshwater Drum
Freshwater Drum (Aplodinotus grunniens) is a freshwater species. The first thing to check: a steeply humped back with a long dorsal fin notched between the spiny and soft sections. The look-alike to rule out is Sheepshead (saltwater): different fish entirely, despite the shared nickname. Saltwater sheepshead have bold vertical bars and human-like incisor teeth.
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| Scientific name | Aplodinotus grunniens |
|---|---|
| Also called | sheepshead, gaspergou, gou, croaker |
| Water | Freshwater |
| Group | Drum |
| Temperature | Feeds from the high 50s into the 80s °F, most actively in the 70s. |
How to identify a Freshwater Drum
- A steeply humped back with a long dorsal fin notched between the spiny and soft sections.
- The lateral line runs all the way onto and through the tail fin — unusual and diagnostic.
- A rounded tail and a downturned, subterminal mouth for feeding on the bottom.
If you would rather not work through a key on a wet deck, photograph the fish and let the app name it — you get the common and the scientific name back, and the record is filed before you release.
Fish it is mistaken for
| Species | How to tell them apart |
|---|---|
| Sheepshead (saltwater) | Different fish entirely, despite the shared nickname. Saltwater sheepshead have bold vertical bars and human-like incisor teeth. |
| Black Drum | Black drum are a saltwater species with chin barbels; freshwater drum have none. |
Read the full entry for Black Drum.
Where it lives
The widest north–south range of any North American freshwater fish — from Hudson Bay to Guatemala. Holds on the bottom in large rivers, reservoirs and lakes, over sand, mud and mussel beds.
Temperature
Feeds from the high 50s into the 80s °F, most actively in the 70s.
The conditions that matter
Drum are bottom feeders on molluscs and crayfish, so substrate matters more than weather. They tolerate turbidity well and keep feeding through high, coloured river flows that shut down sight predators.
Global Fishing League records 18 weather and water readings against every catch automatically — tide stage, barometric pressure, water temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll, swell, current, moon phase and more, taken at your GPS position at the moment you log the fish. Over a season that turns a hunch about freshwater drum into a pattern you can read.
See every reading recorded with a catch, or the guides to what each reading means.
Size limits, bag limits and seasons
Size limits, bag limits, slot limits and seasons are set by your state wildlife agency — and for many offshore and migratory species by federal regulators — and on many waters they differ from the statewide rule. They also change between seasons. Check the current regulations for the exact water you are fishing before you keep a fish — we do not republish limits here, because a number that is a season out of date is worse than no number.
What the app does do is make your side of it accurate: every catch carries a length measured from the photograph, a GPS position and a timestamp, exportable if you ever need to show your work for a tournament or a record claim. It is also what a Global Fishing League entry is built from — a record that verifies itself, without publishing where you caught the fish.