If you catch a small fish that has the distinct black vertical stripes on its body, it can sometimes be hard to know what type of fish you have. This is perhaps the most striking difference between a black drum and a sheepshead. Many anglers, long ago, would catch a sheepshead and note that it looked very much like the head of a sheep with its sloping nose and pronounced upper and lower teeth. The sheepshead fish gets its name from its distinct head shape, as well as its highly unique teeth. The world record sheepshead was a 21 pound whopper that was caught off the coast of Louisiana in 1982, although there have been stories of anglers catching some that were bigger which were not certified on official scales. They also tend to grow to much larger sizes around the Texas and Louisiana coastline in the Gulf of Mexico as this region has near-perfect conditions for sheepshead to reach their maximum potential. Most sheepshead only grow to about 14 to 18 inches in length and might weigh anywhere from 1 to 8 pounds on average. Sheepshead are markedly different in terms of their size capacity. The IGFA world record black drum tipped the scales at a whopping 146 pounds and was caught in Texas, where these species of fish find abundant prey, as well as the ideal climate and water temperature to reach such sizes. ![]() It’s well known among anglers that these fish can grow to be much larger than sheepshead when they have a healthy diet and ideal conditions. Black Drum vs Sheepshead Sizeīlack drum are capable of reaching much larger sizes than sheepshead, but the average size for a black drum is roughly 40 to 60 inches while they often weigh about 50 to 80 pounds. To many anglers, it appears to be comical, but the human-like teeth of the sheepshead allows the fish to easily scrape away barnacles from hard surfaces like rocks, stone or concrete pillars and the metal surface of shipwrecks. oysters, as well as many other types of prey that they find along the bottom of the ocean floor or coastal inlets.Ī sheepshead has one of the most unique mouths of any fish in the world. Sheepshead have a very similar diet compared to black drum. In fact, sheepshead usually venture well away from land and might stay near artificial reefs and shipwrecks that are more than 100 feet deep, especially in the Gulf of Mexico. One of the major differences between black drum vs sheepshead is that the latter variation don’t confine themselves to waters near the coast. It’s also common to find sheepshead in and around the Carribean Islands, as well as South America, but they seem to be found in greater numbers in the areas north of the equatorial divide. They are much more prevalent further south and are known to prefer waters that are more shallow, which many anglers consider to be inshore areas. What is a Black Drum?īlack drum are often found in the coastal areas throughout the eastern half of the United States. Many anglers who might not be very familiar with these types of fish can get confused about whether they have caught a black drum vs sheepshead. These types of fish are commonly found in marshy areas and there are many instances where you might catch both species in the same habitat. Sheepshead are caught a bit further away from the shore, but sometimes you’ll see them come into coastal waters and gravitate toward dock pilings and other structures. Inshore anglers routinely target black drum as they are fairly easy to catch and have a good taste when prepared and cooked properly. The black drum and sheepshead fish are two of the most sought-after species around the coastal waters of the eastern United States. If you’re not quite sure how to tell the difference between black drum vs sheepshead, we’ve compiled this article to serve as a handy guide. Each of these are found in abundance around the coast of the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. Two of the most popular types of inshore saltwater fish species are black drum and sheepshead.
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