Gasper-Goo

[jeffro]

Here in Texas we have a Freshwater Drum we call a Gasper-Goo,anyone familiar with eem?
He is the only Purple fish I ever saw and get really big in Lake Brownwood and at Texoma as well.
I fried one up and what a waste,it was like chewin rubber...I felt guilty about takin it home.

[Dblackman]

You said it was a drum? And it was bad eats? around here, drum are trash, its one of those fish that conservation doesnt care what you do with it. Ive never seen a purple one and i hear drum in general are terrible no matter how you cook them. you live, you learn
David

[crazy4oldcars]

I have heard of people eating goo, but I don't know how they were fixed. Possibly as a fish stew? Going by how they smell when you pull em up, I don't think I'll ever try one. They stink!
DB, they are also called black drum. Depending on the water they are taken from, they can be anywhere from dark silver to dark purple.

From the TPWD Pamphlet:
"Although freshwater drum is considered a rough fish by many anglers, it is prized as a food fish in some areas. Drum are also sought after as bait for other species. In Texas the rod and reel record exceeds 30 pounds, and the trotline record is 55 pounds."

Kirk

[mnklagoon]

we have those in mississippi along with another favorite....the grennel..every year we hold a "trash fish" tournament and have a lot of fun. i still wouldnt eat one lol
'

[Bluegill222]

any chance of a picture of this critter? we have a freshwater drum up here. Mostly silver, but often with a purplish tint. Taken out of clean water and prepared right, ours can be pretty tasty. Just wondering if it's the same fish.Here's a pic of ours

[crazy4oldcars]

Bluegill,
That's him. As a matter of fact, the last one I caught was just about that size. Silly thing hit a spinner bait out in the middle of Sam Rayburn. I'm still trying to figure out what he was doing way out there.

Kirk

[jeffro]

Bluegill222,,,,Yes Sir thats the fish I was talkin about.Here is another;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freshwater_drum

[bowfin47]

Back in my undergrad days at LSU, my fraternity's St. Bernard shed so much hair that it clogged and wrecked our A.C. The huge A.C. repair bell had to be paid from the "kitchen/house" account, which then left our small fraternity short on funds for food.

In order to help alleviate this situation, our lovely old, alcoholic cook "Bee" brought our frat. brother/house manager (from Rhode Island) to a fish market "across the tracks" where he purchased about 400 or 500 lbs. of "Goo". As it was purchased before any of us knew about the "deal", we were stuck!

So, we ate Goo for lunch, a whole bunch of times... We did however have a couple of members who refused to even try our famous, Goo lunches...

Overall, it was good (or Bee was just a great cook!). However, as I remember, about every 10th piece had an muddy taste...

Of course, this Goo meat came from much larger fish than y'all have pictured above.

Bowfin47

[jeffro]

This fish has 2 liddle flat Stones and round on 1 side in its head...I've heard that they accually rattle or make a sound and I've been told they make interesting jewelry.
i have some in my Striper Box from the last trip I took to Texoma a few years back. The larger the fish the larger the rocks.

[Bluegill222]

Actually, the stones are part of the ear structure of the fish I think they are called otoliths or some such). You can age the fish by them, but they aren't what makes the signature sound. That's done with the swim bladder. My grandmother has a set of very nice earrings made from drum stones.

Bowfin-- I've eaten a lot of drum myself over the years. They'll never be my favorite, but I've found the colder the water you catch them in, the better they taste. I usually keep a few in October or November. Don't know if it's a dietary change that comes with the cooler weather or what, but they aren't bad at all then.