Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Outdoors

Sheepshead flock to structures in the gulf

By ED WALKER
Published January 21, 2006

Water temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico are as low as they are likely to get all year. Many areas of the Nature Coast have had readings as low 56 degrees recently. The cold water normally makes fishing the flats a little more difficult. Even hearty fish such as speckled trout and redfish are less likely to feed when temperatures drop. Both species can be caught, but some tinkering with the approach is usually required.

If two months of chasing trout and redfish is becoming a bit monotonous, there are other options available. One is to target the giant sheepshead that have taken up around offshore rock piles and artificial reefs. They travel out of the rivers, creeks and estuaries and swim as far as 20 miles into the open gulf. After selecting a bottom feature that suits them, they gather in large schools. Divers reported seeing schools of a hundred or more over some of the county artificial reefs at this time last year.

The average size of the sheepshead found offshore is typically over 2 pounds, with 5- to 7-pounders common and a few that reach double digits.

Catching them is simply a matter of taking the right bait. Crustaceans are a must. Shrimp will work, although grunts, sea bass, porgies, spots and many others eat them, too. Constantly reeling up small, unwanted fish only slows your program.

Small crabs such as fiddlers are a favorite of sheepshead and are seldom picked at by other nibblers, and taking a bucket of chum can be helpful in getting the bite started. To get the best chum, try pulling up to a bridge piling and using a shovel to scrape off a mix of barnacles, oysters and other crunchy stuff before you head offshore.

Next, idle over your favorite nearshore rock piles or grouper ledges and watch for strong "shows" of fish on the depth recorder. Those that appear suspended high in the water are usually sheepshead. This impressive mid-depth display on the sonar screen is often misinterpreted as grouper that won't bite.

Mark the school's location with a buoy, and anchor directly over it. Toss a few handfuls of the gritty chum mixture over the side and give it a few minutes. If you are in the right place the fish should work themselves into a frenzy munching on the free appetizers.

Place a fiddler crab on a No. 1 short-shank hook tied to a 2-foot section of 25-pound fluorocarbon leader, a swivel and a sliding 2-ounce sinker. Drop the rig to the bottom, allowing the sinker to rest on the bottom but keeping a tight line.

At the slightest tap on the line, lift the rod slowly. If you feel resistance, yank upward to set the hook. After a little practice you should be able to hook one out of every three or four bites you get from these notorious bait thiefs.

Although sometimes viewed negatively as a food fish, sheepshead are good to eat. The bag limit is 15 per person with a 12-inch minimum size limit.

For the next month and a half, landing a cooler full of these big striped fish should not be hard provided that you deliver the right bait at the right place.

Ed Walker charters out of Tarpon Springs. Call 727 944-3474 or e-mail info@lighttacklecharters.com

[Last modified January 21, 2006, 01:33:17]