World Record Black Drum*

[OlegIvanishyn]

Yo man, i seen that drum one week before you shot it, I didnt take the shot cuz i didnt think I could land it, I would probibly loos my 38" riffe, good job, you have no idea how jelous I am.

 

[defofthecrown]

Nice to meet you Oleg. My friend Adam told me he met a Ukrainian(?) kid who said he saw the drum. He was actually telling me about it on the phone before I came up to dive. I kind of thought it might be a "fishing story" but.... In fact he said he shot a Riffe and thought he would loose his gun!

If it was you thank you for not hurting the fish b/c along with loosing your gun you would have lost a great fish. Believe me what you did in passing up a shot with the wrong grear is more admirable than what I did. I had oversized gear and it kind of worked out, but only b/c of your sportsmanship. Thank you.

Next time I'm in NJ I'll help you rig up a floatline and terminal gear so you can get your own. Also with those stripers try right off the point and don't move after you dive to the bottom. Hold your breath and let them circle you for a minute and you'll see the big fish in the mid 40's show up.

No need to be jealous, this is as much yours as mine.
Nice to 'meet' you,
Chris

P.S. I'll be sending some karma your way and hopefully others will to. It's attitudes like yours that make spearfishing special.

 

[OlegIvanishyn]

ye I'm the ukrainian, I'm suprized he remembered it wright. wen you go of the point how does the curent afect you in low tide and in high. Also have you ever bin spearfishing at long beach island, i got a few good size shipshead lest sunday.

PS next time your going to the jetys post ,mabe we will met up ther ,I would realy like to hear more about the drum.

 

[GreekDiver]

Originally posted by defofthecrown
Pogonias cromis, or Black Drum, range from Maine to Argentina but are rare here North of New Jersey. There a popular game fish in the spring when large pre-spawn fish are caught. They purportetly attain weights up to 150lb, but most state records are between 80-110.

They are a member of the croaker or drum family, so there related to red fish and your white sea bass. They eat crustaceans and shell fish and are most abundand where estuaries drain into larger bodies of water.

As far as table fare goes it can be an esoteric food. A lot of people in NJ think it's great and tastes like veal. Others won't go near it. In the summer the larger fish also have parasities in the tail portions of the muscle. The best eating fish are said to be smaller (as always).

My friends have been catching them up tp ~25lbs of late.

After this catch I found one report on the internet of a 73lb fish speared in New York and a few large fish also from NJ.

They are pretty nasty tasting. They have lots of worms in the meat too. There are tons of black drum in virginia beach. I just never shoot them because i wouldnt know what to do with them. I try to shoot what i can eat or sell.

 

[StretchArmStron]

smaller black drum (up to about 12-15lbs) are good fried.

 

[GreekDiver]

Originally posted by StretchArmStron
smaller black drum (up to about 12-15lbs) are good fried.

Any fish that needs to be fried, blackend or smoked, to taste good will not taste good broiled.

 

[StretchArmStron]

that's why I never said broiled, baked, saute'd, ceviche'd...






























I said ...













































Fried.

 

[Bergo]

def-

congrats man. We talked awhile ago about doing some spearing together- I am in MD. Do you want to try to put something together. I don't know the NJ shore area so i would love a local guide.

thanks jon

 

[GreekDiver]

Originally posted by StretchArmStron
that's why I never said broiled, baked, saute'd, ceviche'd...

I said ...


fried.

What i ment is you can fry anything. Its a given.

 

[StretchArmStron]

just because you fry it doesn't mean it'll taste good..

tried to fry bonnet-head shark...looked great comin' out of pan..


YUUUUUUUUK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
will never kill another one.

 

[defofthecrown]

Bergo,

I'm currently plying the waters off South Carolina as I've relocated to Charleston. I remember PM'ing about a year ago. Again, your best bet is to contact Matt at Pirate scuba in OC Maryland. He can put you in touch w/ guys that reguarly dive NJ, MD,VA and DE. 410-213-0116, give him a ring.

-chris

 

[peskydor]

Here's a drum which I speared
in 1995. Don't remember the
weight.
Pesky

 

[Bergo]

Thanks Def-

Better diving off of SC.

Yeah- I will give him a call.

Again- great F@*#ing fish. Congrats

 

[defofthecrown]

The vis. is worse if you can believe it. I swear I can hunt by sound alone now:hungover

 

[StretchArmStron]

ahahah Viz here is killer man!

lucky if you can see past the speartip of a 38 special. (seriously)

We hunt it..and hunt it hard...