Fish of the Day: Sheepshead a Face only a Mother could Love!

Fish of the Day: Sheepshead a Face only a Mother could Love!

Did you know there is a Sheephead.org but unfortunately it is about a card game that we are not familiar with? However the fish the Sheepshead we do know a little about and they have a face that any angler can love which is where the name comes from and they are pretty tasty table fare as well. So we thought we would share a little bit of info about the beloved sheepshead!

The Sheep head is a fish in the porgy family, common all along s Atlantic coast and Gulf of Mexico coasts. .The Sheepshead has high forehead and a compressed silver body with wide, dark, vertical bands, most distinct in juveniles. The large flat teeth crush and grind crustaceans and hard-shelled mollusks. Adults are typically 2–2.5 ft and can weigh up to 20 lb.
This Species is a fiery fish that like bottom structure and can be found inshore and also offshore in wrecks and reef structure. Most of the fish taken are smaller inshore and the larger adults are little further off but what we would call near shore from the back bays, marshes and smaller inlets. The sheep head will take your bait a lot if you do not pay attention and keep some chum close by so you can keep them in the area you are fishing, We have used cat food before by punching holes in the cans just to keep the sent in the water. You can also use shrimp and other bait fish cuts to do the same thing. The tackle needs to be in the Medium Heavy Action 10-20lb range Mod Fast rod is what we like at Wahoo..  You will want to use a bait cast reel instead of a spinning reel so you can stay in contact with the live bait rig you are using to fish for these crafted fish. May need to add some longer leaders and a 1/0-2/0 bait hook, Sheepshead fishing results will be better with live bait or cut or whole baits, like crab, shrimps, mussels, clams, worms, sand eels, cut strips or squid. Sometimes if you do a great job on the chum the sheepshead will take a small artificial jig but it is rare you will limit on these fish just fishing with artificial.

If you decide you want to go out and target these fish you will have to fish from around Charleston SC south into Florida on the Atlantic side and anywhere for the most part on the gulf coast. Start off to locate sheepshead by looking around markers, pilings, rocks and inlet jetties. The best time of the year to catch sheepshead  is the winter on  slack tides. In the spring the, sheepshead   school up and move into shallow water. In southern Florida, look for inshore reefs, inside inlets, deep channels along mangroves in  the 10,000 Islands or all the coastal bay areas. The Best time is approaching so let’s catch some Sheepshead ! If you would like more information on how to catch Sheepshead send us a email to info@wahootackleandfishing.com and we will be happy to share what we can to help and if you would like to find a captain to catch some of these fun and great fish to eat we can do that to.