Sheepshead fishing? Any of you Ol' Salts have a secret to catching sheepshead? I find those puppies to be the hardest fish for me to catch. I have even gone to seminaries on how to...

flyguy Loc: Lake Onalaska, Sunfish Capitol of the World!

Any of you Ol' Salts have a secret to catching sheepshead? I find those puppies to be the hardest fish for me to catch. I have even gone to seminaries on how to catch them, and I will catch them, but they are a challenge. I guess that is fishing. Anyway, what I do and it makes a difference on the tide, the current and the location. I only use live shrimp or ghost shrimp (preferred), but they are hard to come by and I drop shot them with a #10, 3x strong treble or an Owners #4 circle hook or I will use a Colorado rig with an Owners #4 circle hook. I will use 6# fluorocarbon for a leader and the weight will depend on the current. Any words of wisdom on this matter?

Bob O Loc: Palatine, IL

You really are serious . . . going to seminaries. . . I know they teach you to be fishers of men there, but I guess the addition of sheepshead will help with the other when you share!!!!! LOL

Pickle Loc: Duplin co, NC

I tight line 30lb braid with live fiddler crabs and keep a finger on the line so I can feel those sneaks when they nibble. Other than that you have to set the hook about a half second before they bite.

Flytier Loc: Wilmington Delaware

Pickle wrote:

I tight line 30lb braid with live fiddler crabs and keep a finger on the line so I can feel those sneaks when they nibble. Other than that you have to set the hook about a half second before they bite.

That's the same way everyone I've asked about them has described it.😊

flyguy Loc: Lake Onalaska, Sunfish Capitol of the World!

Pickle wrote:

I tight line 30lb braid with live fiddler crabs and keep a finger on the line so I can feel those sneaks when they nibble. Other than that you have to set the hook about a half second before they bite.

So, you go with 30# braid without any leader? Hook size and style? Hard to come by those fiddlers in the Wintertime when I'm here. I have heard that they are as good as anything.

DarrellSenn Loc: Dauphin island alabama

We always catch our limit. Or close to it. 16 to 18 inch leader 3/8 oz lead above it with a number 5 swivel ...a number 2 size hook. ....go out around the bridges ...take a shrimp head . Or cut a shrimp in half. And fish right up against the pilings. If you don't get a bite In 5 to 10 minutes move to the next piling. Until you find them ...take a hoe or something to scrap the barnicles around the pilings ..it might help then go into a feeding freenzy if the bite is slow ...rocks. Walls and pilings. Is where you'll find sheepshead. Also ..if you can find hermit crabs. That's another favorite bait of theirs.

wellfield Loc: Long Beach,California

Usually catch them on squid strips or whole squid....(swivel.....25# mono leader.....18" down,triple swivel with 25# x 8" line,with 2/0 circle hook......18" more down,triple swivel with #25 x 8" line with 2/0 circle hook.....another 18" down,a hook swivel with 3 or 4 ounce weight)remember we're fishing in 150+ depth saltwater....with every 4 or 5 'rock cod' you catch,you'll usually pull up a 'Sheepshead' amongst them,the red with black head is male,the lighter one is female (they're all born female,then some change to male species)

Jeremy Loc: America

Cool pictures well field it’s so cool to catch a bunch of fish. Looks like a nice day on the Ocean too.

flyguy Loc: Lake Onalaska, Sunfish Capitol of the World!

DarrellSenn wrote:

We always catch our limit. Or close to it. 16 to 1... (show quote)

I have fished the Gulf Shores/Orange Beach/Fort Morgan area and have caught more sheeps than any of the other places that I have visited, and I have tried hermit crabs used the same way that you have explained. but you still have to work at it to catch them. But, this is fishing in the Wintertime, Jan & Feb. I think in the second 1/2 half of March & April you can do that. That's fishing! Thanks for all the help guys.

flyguy Loc: Lake Onalaska, Sunfish Capitol of the World!

wellfield wrote:

Usually catch them on squid strips or whole squid.... (show quote)

Nice fish Wellfield!

wellfield Loc: Long Beach,California

Jeremy wrote:

Cool pictures well field it’s so cool to catch a bunch of fish. Looks like a nice day on the Ocean too.

Thank you sir.....love to fish!

Salty Dog Loc: Punta Gorda, Florida

flyguy wrote:

Any of you Ol' Salts have a secret to catching she... (show quote)

Sheepshead are short biters. You have to be quick to hook them, like Tautog (Blackfish) up North. Best hook is the Virginia Hook. Like a Mustad 4011E. It's a shorter barb bend than regular J hooks. Size 1 will catch any size Sheepshead.
Best bait, hands down is Crabs. First, if you wade near shore and turn over rocks you will find a crab that is green, and although not a true Green Crab, cut into halves or quarters on a Virginia Hook these crabs are something no Sheepshead can pass up. Never saw these for sale in any bait shops. You have to collect them yourself with a small hand held bait net. Second best is Fiddler Crabs. You can find them, believe it or not, in small trees along salt and brackish waterways as well as on sandy beaches. Just look for a lot of small burrows/holes in the sand and dig them out.
Cheers 🐟

No one special

Bob O wrote:

You really are serious . . . going to seminaries. . . I know they teach you to be fishers of men there, but I guess the addition of sheepshead will help with the other when you share!!!!! LOL

It seems that your quip was lost on a secular crowd.

Gordon Loc: Charleston South Carolina

I agree with everybody on there methods. I do suggest drop your sinker untill it hits bottom and lift it slow about a foot
Keep repeating this. You can feel the bite better this way. When you cant find fiddlers use clams. Mainly in the winter when there arent any fiddlers.

Judge32 Loc: Vidalia, Ga. 30474

Pickle wrote:

I tight line 30lb braid with live fiddler crabs and keep a finger on the line so I can feel those sneaks when they nibble. Other than that you have to set the hook about a half second before they bite.

I have always been told to hook them before they bite. They slip up to a fiddler crab and suck the insides out. Takes skill to catch them. Your way sounds perfect.