Winter Sheepshead Fishing Tips and Techniques
You can find sheepshead around all of the dock pilings, bridge pilings, mangrove roots and any other underwater structures. All that you need to catch them is a 3500 series reel filled with 10 pound braided line; a 15 pound leader; a medium/heavy action rod; a dead shrimp and a #2 sized J hook.
Sheepshead move inshore in the winter months making them one of the most popular winter fish. Winter sheepshead fishing in a lot of fun. There are always sheepshead around but the big breeders come in from the offshore reefs and wrecks in the Winter months all over Florida..
This makes it easy to target them because they will be around any sort of structure that has barnacles and other growth on them.
My daughter Emily caught this nice one off the the beach right next to a shallow reef using a piece of shrimp.
I am a FISHING CHARTER CAPTAIN on the Treasure Coast of Florida and sheepshead are one of the first fish that I ever caught. I have been catching sheepshead for over 40 years.
My older brothers and my dad would take me with them when I was 5 years old. We would catch fiddler crabs for bait during low tide. Then we would cross the mud flats over to a mangrove island and catch sheepshead and mangrove snapper all day using cane poles. That's a really fun way to catch them.
In the article below, I will teach you everything that I know about catching sheepshead inshore.
Watch the video below and catch more Winter Sheepshead.
You can find sheepshead around all of the dock pilings, bridge pilings, mangrove roots and any other underwater structures. All that you need to catch them is a 3500 series reel filled with 10 pound braided line; a 15 pound leader; a medium/heavy action rod; a dead shrimp and a #2 sized J hook.
Sheepshead move inshore in the winter months making them one of the most popular winter fish. Winter sheepshead fishing in a lot of fun. There are always sheepshead around but the big breeders come in from the offshore reefs and wrecks in the Winter months all over Florida..
This makes it easy to target them because they will be around any sort of structure that has barnacles and other growth on them.
My daughter Emily caught this nice one off the the beach right next to a shallow reef using a piece of shrimp.
I am a FISHING CHARTER CAPTAIN on the Treasure Coast of Florida and sheepshead are one of the first fish that I ever caught. I have been catching sheepshead for over 40 years.
My older brothers and my dad would take me with them when I was 5 years old. We would catch fiddler crabs for bait during low tide. Then we would cross the mud flats over to a mangrove island and catch sheepshead and mangrove snapper all day using cane poles. That's a really fun way to catch them.
In the article below, I will teach you everything that I know about catching sheepshead inshore.
Watch the video below and catch more Winter Sheepshead.
When is the best time to catch sheepshead inshore?
Sheepshead are always around but they come inshore in greater numbers in the Winter months. They move from offshore reefs, wrecks and rock piles that they use as gathering points to spawn. I have caught dozens of them 20 miles offshore on rock piles in Northwest Florida. They are near structure in 20-25 feet of water in huge numbers.
That is fun but I prefer to stalk them around docks, mangroves and out on the grass flats. They are pretty spooky when they are out on the flats but if you see them before they see you, then you can sight cast a shrimp to them and catch then.
From November through March these fish are very prevalent around any sort of inshore structure. You just have to keep your bait very near whatever that structure is.
Sheepshead are also very fresh water tolerant. You can find them all the way up some of the fresh water rivers that empty into salt water. When I was a kid, we would bow fish for them in the same river that we would catch bass and bluegills in.
Where is the best place to find sheepshead?
Like I mentioned earlier, you can target sheepshead effectively by focusing on structure of some kind. Sheepshead are a specialist and use their specialized human like teeth to crunch up barnacles, oysters, shrimp, crabs and other crustaceans.
They have a second set of crushing plates deeper in their throats to more effectively consume the hard shelled foods that they prefer. In other words, they are built to crunch up their hard shelled foods that they prefer.
If you are on foot searching for sheepshead, then you will want to focus on bridge pilings, the rocks and sea walls by inlets, jetties, fishing piers, near shore reefs on the beach and other structure that you can cast to.
If you are wading, then you can focus on mangroves at high tide and docks along with the places mentioned above.
If you are in a kayak or a boat then you can add grass flats, channel markers and buoys to the list of places to find and catch sheepshead.
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What is the best bait to catch sheepshead?
Sheepshead love crabs. If you can buy or catch fiddler crabs or mangrove crabs, then you are good to go for catching tons of sheepshead. If you can't get those then frozen shrimp will work just fine too. You can use clam strips and sand fleas if you want to but frozen shrimp are easier to get at most bait shops.
Pro Tip: Cut your shrimp in half or in thirds. I put just enough shrimp on to cover the U part of the hook. With sheepshead less is more. Make it easy for them to get it into their little mouths. That also makes it a lot harder for them to take your bait without getting hooked. They are very good at taking baits without getting hooked.
You have got to keep your bait very close to the structure that you are fishing. If you are out of the current, then a split shot or two will do the trick. If you are in the current them you will need more lead to keep the bait near the structure.
Watch the video below and catch more sheepshead around mangrove roots.
Sheepshead love crabs. If you can buy or catch fiddler crabs or mangrove crabs, then you are good to go for catching tons of sheepshead. If you can't get those then frozen shrimp will work just fine too. You can use clam strips and sand fleas if you want to but frozen shrimp are easier to get at most bait shops.
Pro Tip: Cut your shrimp in half or in thirds. I put just enough shrimp on to cover the U part of the hook. With sheepshead less is more. Make it easy for them to get it into their little mouths. That also makes it a lot harder for them to take your bait without getting hooked. They are very good at taking baits without getting hooked.
You have got to keep your bait very close to the structure that you are fishing. If you are out of the current, then a split shot or two will do the trick. If you are in the current them you will need more lead to keep the bait near the structure.
Watch the video below and catch more sheepshead around mangrove roots.
What is the best tackle to use for sheepshead?
Sheephead are renowned for their bait stealing abilities so they are hard to catch if you don't have the right gear. You have to use small hooks to catch these fish. I recommend a 1/0 or smaller hook size. I also recommend not using circle hooks. You will want to use a J hook for sheepshead because you need to set up on them quickly.
Not only do they have small mouths but they crush the food with their big buck teeth before swallowing it. This means that they are hard to feel when they are mouthing your bait.
I recommend using braided line when fishing for these fish because you can feel them mouthing your bait better because braid does not stretch like mono filament lines do. Reel up all of the slack in your line so that when you feel anything that you think might be a fish try and set your hook.
You can use a 20 pound braid and a 20 pound mono filament or fluorocarbon leader. That should be enough to get a big stubborn sheepshead out of the mangrove roots or dock pilings that you are fishing around.
I would also suggest a 3500 series reel coupled with a 7 to 8 foot medium/heavy rod. That is plenty of reel to handle most sheepshead and a medium/heavy rod is plenty stout to move the fish away from the structure.
Can you catch sheepshead with lures?
Yes. I have caught them with small gold and silver spoons and scented shrimp imitation baits like Berkely Gulps with an 1/8 ounce jig head. Pompano jigs will also catch them.
The small spoons work well when there are lots of small bait fish around. Sheepshead will eat small bait fish too.
Are sheepshead good to eat?
Sheepshead are very good to eat but they are very hard to clean. They are one of those extremely bony fish so you end up getting a lot less meat than you would expect from a decent sized fish.
Their meat is a light and mild flavored one. They are definitely tasty. Their skin is extremely tough so you will need to sharpen your fillet knife after every few fish that you clean.
Conclusion:
Sheepshead are one of those fish that everyone has access to. You don't need an expensive flats or offshore boat to catch plenty of sheepshead. All that you need is some crabs or shrimp and some structure and you can catch sheepshead.
They fight pretty well and they are good to eat. You just have to make sure that your baits and hooks are small or you won't catch very many fish. These fish rarely hook themselves so do not use circle hooks when fishing for them.
Down here in Florida the first cold fronts that come through in late October and early November signal to fishermen that the big sheepshead are coming inshore soon. They are easy to see because of their black and white vertical stripe design. Sight fishing is a fun way to catch them when you are out on the grass flats.
Want to catch more sheepshead?
- Learn the best baits and lures.
- Learn when and where to find more fish.
- Learn how to catch sheepshead more consistently.
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