Life History Black drum is the largest member of the drum family, Sciaenidae, and can be found along inshore waters and estuaries from Argentina to the Gulf of Mexico. The largest numbers occur along the Texas coast in Corpus Christi Bay and Laguna Madre.
Black drum are gray or black colored with a high arched back.
They get their common name from a large and elaborate swim bladder that, by using special muscles, can resonate to produce croaking or drumming sounds. They can crush these items by using their cobblestone-like teeth, or pharyngeal tooth plates. 7 to 57 years old observed in Chesapeake Bay. Black drum spawn at the mouth of Chesapeake Bay and seaside inlets of the Eastern Shore between April and early June when water temperatures reach 57-68 o F. Mature fish may contain over 30 million eggs. After spawning, black drum spread out within the Bay and will migrate southward in late fall.