TEXAS CITY, Texas – Jacob Saldana, who says he’s a member of the Reel Hustlers team of fishermen, told KPRC 2 he caught this massive golden black drum along the Texas City Dike on Monday.
“These fish come in from deep Gulf waters to spawn in our bay systems...and some get giant,” he wrote to KPRC 2. “Sometimes they come in golden in color! Most are black and nasty-looking. This one is a beautiful golden amber color! They eat live blue crab! They are not good for eating just for fun!”
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Saldana, of Willis, said the fish is 45 inches long.
“I want to show people in the area how cool and big these fish get.”
Texas Parks and Wildlife notes on its website that this fish is a member of the croaker family and is related to the Atlantic croaker, red drum, and spotted seatrout.
“A characteristic of this family of fish is the ability to produce croaking or drumming sounds with the air bladder, which is the reason for the common names croaker and drum. This ability is most developed in the black drum and anglers can sometime hear sounds from schools passing near their boats,” the website continues. “Small fish, under a pound in weight, are sometimes called ‘butterfly drum’ while those of larger size, 30 pounds and more, are called ‘bull drum,’ although the large specimens can be either male or female. ... Some compare landing a 40-pound drum with raising a sunken log, but many anglers are devotees of this kind of fishing in Texas. It is probably the best chance many people have to land a 30 to 40 pound fish.”
Well, Saldana certainly seems to have done that.
He estimated the fish weighed about 40 pounds.
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