ruttinbuc Posted May 22, 2009 Report Share Posted May 22, 2009 (edited) I had a good trip, but only managed to catch a few fish. I fished most of the night Tuesday and came away fish less. I ran up to Sandy Pond from Mexico Point and concentrated on the mouth of the big Salmon River. I managed to catch some brown trout on Wednesday at 9 Mile Point. I caught 5 that all could have passed for quintuplets. Not very big and certainly not what I had hoped for. I also caught a few sheepheads (freshwater drum). They fight like a water filled boot! Supposed to be good eating though. Thursday was a wash. I decided to head home after running the trolling batteries to near exhaustion. In the couple hours I did fish I had a nice brown steal a Rapala from me. I also had a few that got off long before the boat. It was a lot to ask of my set up for that type of fishing. Next time I will have a gas kicker on the boat to do the trolling with. The jet was fun though as I gave it a good run everyday. Should have fished more in Oswego. Maybe next time. A couple of fish Edited May 23, 2009 by ruttinbuc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaun_300 Posted May 23, 2009 Report Share Posted May 23, 2009 Cool pics Mike! Those sheephead look like a cross between a smallmouth bass and a whitefish... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tominator Posted May 24, 2009 Report Share Posted May 24, 2009 Good pics. Sheepshead = seagull fodder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adjam5 Posted May 25, 2009 Report Share Posted May 25, 2009 Hey at least you caught a few Mike... Good pics as always. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redkneck Posted May 26, 2009 Report Share Posted May 26, 2009 Good pics. Sheepshead = seagull fodder. I cant speak for the freshwater variety, but i like to spear them on the coast, and they are very good to eat if you know how to cook! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hardwood_HD Posted May 27, 2009 Report Share Posted May 27, 2009 we catch a ton of them dang sheephead at lake erie.. we stayed at a cabin on lake ontario a few years back to smallmouth fish, i like that lake Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RangerClay Posted May 29, 2009 Report Share Posted May 29, 2009 Wish I knew sooner Mike. You were only 15 minutes from my house. Maybe next year we can get together. Nice fish btw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruttinbuc Posted May 29, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 29, 2009 Yes, I left shortly after posted my plans, Joe. That is pretty close for sure. Hopefully, I'll be able to get back up there. I 'll holler if I do... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leo Posted May 30, 2009 Report Share Posted May 30, 2009 Sheephead (aka. Freshwater Drum) aren't nearly as tasty as the saltwater variety (Red Drum and Black Drum). 3lbs and under are the best eating size for them in my experience. It's nice white meat but on the bigger ones it's very coarse and slimy. It's pretty hopeless for baking. Some folks cut it in narrow strips boil it in saltwater squeeze lemons over it and dip it in melted butter. (that's the "poorman's lobster" method). If there is any on your filets be sure to cut any red or yellow meat out of the filets before trying to cook it. I used to eat them when my Grandmother cooked them. (Yikes! That was 30 years ago!) She would dry the filets off with a paper towel, salt and pepper them and then shake them in a bag of flour. She'd then sauteed them in a pan with melted shortening and butter until they were golden brown on both sides. Don't let the pan get too hot or the butter will burn! She'd put the cooked filets on paper towels to soak up the extra grease after cooking. Then I'd squeeze a lemon over the filet just before I ate it. I wouldn't consider them great eating but they are edible. You must have caught them in deep cold water if they didn't fight much. I've caught them when they are sluggish and I've also caught them when they'd makes runs like a striped bass. We catch a fish also called a sheephead here in saltwater. It's not a drum at all. It looks completely different. They have teeth that are flat and look like the front teeth of a human. The saltwater sheephead are fantastic eating. This causes confusion. It seems to mostly be around the great lakes that freshwater drum are called "sheephead". Every place else I've caught them they are referred to as "drum". I've had to explain more than once to folks I've fished with here from the great lakes area that the saltwater sheephead and freshwater sheephead are completely different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruttinbuc Posted May 30, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 30, 2009 Leo, I didn't keep any of the fish I caught up there, but thanks for the method used to cook them up. I actually caught these fish on crankbaits 8-9' below the surface in 30 feet of water. Not all fought like an old boot. The one pictured did give me quite a tussle for a little while. When I got home I googled up sheepshead and images and was amazed at the variety of different fish called sheephead Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leo Posted May 30, 2009 Report Share Posted May 30, 2009 Leo, I didn't keep any of the fish I caught up there, but thanks for the method used to cook them up. I actually caught these fish on crankbaits 8-9' below the surface in 30 feet of water. Not all fought like an old boot. The one pictured did give me quite a tussle for a little while. When I got home I googled up sheepshead and images and was amazed at the variety of different fish called sheephead That's the teeth the sheephead around here have. They bite barnacles off pilings with those choppers. They like fiddler crabs and mole crabs too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaseasl Posted May 30, 2009 Report Share Posted May 30, 2009 cool Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruttinbuc Posted May 31, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 31, 2009 That's the teeth the sheephead around here have. They bite barnacles off pilings with those choppers. They like fiddler crabs and mole crabs too. A little scary to say the least, but cool, say chaseasl! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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