Jackson: Don't judge a fish's taste by what you've heard
Most anglers I know have their own preferences regarding specific fish species, especially when it comes to the moment when it goes on the grill or under the broiler.
My first battle with this particular brute came on a very sunny day in Minnesota. Dewey and I were out for sauger and walleye on the Mississippi River.
I lived on Lake Minnetonka on the Henepin County side of the Twin Cities, while Dewey lived in a St. Paul suburb (Ramsey County). We had fished dozens of lakes in the Twin Cities area but now we wanted a healthy taste of the big river and what it had to offer to us.
After launching at a spot where the St. Croix River meets Ol' Miss, we motored downstream to some rock piles and started the jigging process to wake up some fish.
Dewey maneuvered the boat to the upstream side of a wing dam and we slowly worked the slack-water pool carefully bouncing the jigs over the rocky bottom.
Wing dams are man-made, underwater, anti-flooding structures. They're scattered over a wide range of the big river. And fish generally hang out around the concrete chunks as a place where they can ambush forage.
It took close to a half-hour before we had our first walleye strikes. Dewey and I managed to catch a half-dozen, cigar-sized walleyes and sauger. We gently tossed each fish back in to the water.
"Let's go a little more downstream," I suggested.
We lifted the anchors and slid along with the current. We found the next wing dam about a hundred yards south of our last anchorage. Back went the claw anchors, right to the bottom in about 12 feet of water.
I changed to a ½-ounce white jig tipped with a large minnow. I kept the ⅜-ounce jig tied on to the other rod, but I used a piece of nightcrawler on this rig.
In a matter of seconds I felt a heavy thump on the heavier jig. I set the hook and my line took off sideways for close to fifty feet. I loosened the drag and after the fish stopped running, I re-tightened the drag and started bringing the fish to the boat.
I told Dewey I didn't think I had a walleye or sauger on the jig. I was right when I netted a large white drum (sheepshead).
Dewey suggested we string the fish because he believed even though white drum have a tendency to be loners, there's a chance this fish traveled in a school. Plus, I knew right away Dewey wanted to feast on the drum that very evening.
But he was right.
It was just seconds after we secured the fish when Dewey's rod displayed the typical tap dance along the boat's gunwale. Dewey set the hook as if he was battling a muskie. His fish weighed in at 5 pounds.
We moved the boat one more time to another rock pile. This time we connected once again with some small walleyes. Dewey was happy to have caught a mixed bag of fish.
"Most guys I know would never keep a sheepshead," he declared. "But I discovered a long time ago this species tastes great once I grill it and apply my home made marinade.
Dewey was able to make a believer out of me after we supped on a wonderful meal of drum and walleye filets, little red potatoes, and a couple home-brewed dark beers.
Where have I been all those years that zoomed by me in a flash?
• Contact Mike Jackson at angler88@comcast.net, catch his radio show 7-9 a.m. Sundays on WGCO 1590-AM (live-streamed at www.1590WCGO.com) and get more content at www.mikejacksonoutdoors.com.