Freshwater Drum

Identifying Characteristics

• Laterally compressed body shape
• High-backed with two connected dorsal fins
• Blunt snout
• Pores along the lateral line
• Rounded triangular caudal fin

Distribution

The Freshwater Drum is native to the Powell and Clinch watersheds of the Upper Tennessee River Basin located in southwest Virginia. Introduced populations exist in the Roanoke River watershed.

Habitat

Freshwater Drum prefer undisturbed waters with sandy bottoms, as these areas facilitate their feeding tendencies.

Diet

Freshwater Drum are benthic feeders and target crustaceans, insect larvae, and small fish as the bulk of their diet.

Reproduction

Freshwater Drum are pelagic broadcast spawners. As such, spawners will congregate near the mid-channel in open water, and the males will fertilize eggs that have been released into the water column by nearby females. During this process, it is possible to hear the “drumming” sound produced by males, which is an attractant to nearby females. Spawning in Virginia can occur between April and June.

Conservation Efforts in Virginia

One component of Virginia DWR’s freshwater mussel restoration program includes efforts aimed at restoring the Fragile Papershell Leptodea fragilis, which is an imperiled mussel species found in southwest Virginia. The Freshwater Drum is the only known fish host used by Fragile Papershell to complete its reproductive cycle. In order to help conserve populations of both of these animals, the Freshwater Drum is listed as a Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN) within Virginia’s Wildlife Action Plan and is a protected “non-game” fish.