The freshwater drum, Aplodinotus grunniens, is a fish endemic to North and Central America.

[4][6] The freshwater drum is also called Russell fish, shepherd's pie, gray bass,[7] Gasper goo, Gaspergou,[8] gou,[8] grunt, grunter,[7] grinder, gooble gobble, and croaker.

The world record was caught on Nickajack Lake in Tennessee, and weighed in at 54 lb 8 oz (24.7 kg).

[12] The freshwater drum is frequently gray or silvery but may be more bronze or brown colored, common in the Lake Erie population.

Their longitudinal distribution goes as far east as the eastern Appalachians and stretches as far west into Texas, Kansas, and Oklahoma.

[22] The diet of the freshwater drum is generally benthic and composed of macroinvertebrates (mainly aquatic insect larvae and bivalve mussels), as well as small fish in certain ecosystems.

During its early stages in Lake Erie, it has been shown to compete with yellow perch, the trout-perch, and the emerald shiner.

[4] Consistent with other sciaenids, freshwater drum are strongly nocturnal with the bulk of most catches being derived from night angling/sampling.

[27] There has been some research on the freshwater drum's impact on the invasive zebra mussel in northern lakes and rivers.

[28] The fish larger than 35 cm (14 in) exhibit less selectivity and consume mussels relative to their availability in lakes.

[29] The freshwater drum then spawn during a six to seven-week period from June through July when the water reaches a temperature of about 65 °F (18 °C).

[22] Females from six to nine years old have a clutch size of 34,000 to 66,500 eggs and they spawn in open water giving no parental care to their larvae.

[30] Females grow at a faster rate than the males and adult characteristics start to form at a length of 15 mm (1 in).