Bait Stealers of Tampa Bay
January is usually the month for one of my favorite Winter species to catch–sheepshead (Archosargus probatocephalus). An inshore member of the porgy family, sheepshead are a common North American species spanning from Cape Cod down to Florida and the Gulf of Mexico. After a long Summer, like we have had this year, it is a good break from catching snook, redfish and trout. I look forward to catching these thieves (often called convict fish of Tampa Bay), for they have a knack of stealing your bait before you even have a chance to feel the bite.
The diet of sheepshead consists of shrimp, fiddlers, small crabs, bloodworms, sand fleas and barnacles. Because of this foraging of crustaceans, sheepshead can most frequently be found around docks, bridges and other similar structures. Sheepshead are great fighters on light tackle, especially the big females that can range upwards of 12 pounds. These big females migrate in from the Gulf of Mexico to spawn. Based on the water temperature, the females will arrive in mid-to-late December and leave around early March.
Where and how to catch them: Tackle changes, depending on where you are fishing for them. Around bridges and docks, medium spinning tackle, 15-pound test braid line and 25-pound test fluorocarbon leader with a #1 hook will work simply fine. Fish that hang around these areas tend to be smaller, and most are males in the 1 to 3-pound class. The big females, on the other hand, prefer the deeper waters of the bay, hanging around the ledges, wrecks and rock piles in anywhere from 12 to 30 feet of water. They average in size from 4 to 12 pounds. I prefer to use heavier tackle, a 7-foot rod medium action with a 3000 spinning reel with 15-pound test braid line and 20-pound test fluorocarbon leader tie with a loop knot to a 1/0 hook. I use a Texas rig where the sinker slides on the leader just ahead of the hook. I also use a small glow soft bead because, this keeps the sinker from hitting the knot and the glow beads seem to draw the attention of the larger fish. The weight is based on depth and tide movement. I start with 3/8 oz and can go as heavy as 1 oz. The lighter the weight, the easier it is to feel the bite. If there is not enough weight used, your bait could drift from the bottom, therefor, making it harder for the sheepshead to find it and eat. Another good method, when you are fishing during slack or slow-moving tides, is yellowtail jigs. This is nothing more than a 1/0 weighted hook, the name coming from the Keys where they use them as the word implies for yellowtails on the patch reefs.
How to find the fish: Coast Guard charts are still the best at showing rocky bottom and ledges or wrecks. New software chips, showing the contour of the bottom with rocks and ledges, were not available a few years back. C-Map Reveal and Navionics Platinum to me are the best with C-Map Reveal being a little better.
Locations:
From shore, bridges, docks and rocky areas. On the water, their favorite spots are artificial reefs, wrecks, ledges and rocky bottoms. Remember, the deeper water holds the bigger the fish.
Shore Fishing:
· North side of St. Pete Gandy Bridge–plenty of rocks along the shoreline.
· Weedon Island Fishing Pier sits on an oyster bed–great fishing all year round.
· Skyway Fishing Piers–both North and South piers. South pier you can drift a live shrimp on a cork with outgoing tide over the rock piles from the old bridge. Big sheepshead in Winter months.
Boat Fishing:
· Howard Franklin Bridge rock jetties Tampa side–Gandy Bridge rock piles on edge of channel southside of Gandy Blvd. St. Pete side.
· Port Tampa rocks.
· Rocky seawall north side of St. Pete airport.
· Skyway Bridge large boat finders.
· Range markers.
· Artificial reefs.
· Wrecks
Fishing for the sheepshead can be a fun and rewarding experience. Hooking and fighting an 8 or 10-pound sheepshead will put a big smile on your face. And, if you have kids, they will love the experience.