Habitat
The Freshwater Drum fish is the only one of its family Sciaenidae found in a freshwater habitat. The Drum lives in North America, east of the Rocky Mountains and as far south as Guatemala. It is found in all of the Great Lakes and is one of the must abundant fish in these lakes. This area is highlighted in yellow on the map to the right.
The Drum likes to live in deep pools of large streams but is also happy living in turbid waters of shallow lakes and streams. The bottoms of these lakes and streams are mostly made of mud or a combination of mud and sand. Drums that live in turbid waters tend to have a more gray or silvery color whereas drums found in clearer waters will have more of a bronze coloration. To learn more about the drum's appearance, read Facts. The fathead minnow, another fish found in the class Actinopterygii along with the drum, also likes to live in turbid waters.
