December is usually the start-up 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, because they have a knack of stealing your bait before you even have a chance to feel the bite.
A sheepshead’s diet consists of shrimp, fiddlers, small crabs, bloodworms, sand fleas and barnacles. Because of this foraging for 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 to 12 pounds. These big females migrate in from the Gulf of Mexico to spawn. Based on the water temperature, the females will arrive in early to mid-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, use medium spinning tackle, 15-pound test braid line and 25-pound test fluorocarbon leader with a #1 hook. Fish that hang around these areas tend to be smaller, and most are males in the 1 to 3-pound class. The big females 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. Here I prefer to use heavier tackle like a 7-foot rod medium heavy action and a larger spinning reel with 20-pound test braid line and 25-pound test fluorocarbon leader tied 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 the depth and tidal movement. I start with 3/8-ounce and may go as heavy as 1-ounce. 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, therefore, making it harder for the sheepshead to find it.
Things to Remember:
· Check your hooks often. The sheepshead teeth tend to break the circle hooks at the bend or tip.
· Avoid soft tip rods. You need pressure on them to set the hook.
· Keep your rod tip almost touching the water when fishing from a boat–no slack in
· the line or you will not feel the bite.
· Avoid large baits–they have small mouths.
· Replace or sharpen the hook often.
· When fishing under a bridge or along seawall, scrape the barnacles. This creates
a chum slick, drawing sheepshead to the source of food.
· Always have the point of the hook exposed.
Tackle:
· Okuma 7-foot medium and medium heavy spinning rods.
· Okuma Helios 30 saltwater spinning reels.
· Fins braid line 15 and 20-pound test. I prefer green or black line for sheepshead fishing.
· OHERO 25-pound fluorocarbon leader. The leader should be at least 30-inches long.
· OHERO #1 or 1/0 circle hooks. Three most important things to look for in a hook is strength, size and sharpness.
Favorite Baits:
Live shrimp, fresh dead shrimp, fiddler crabs, bloodworms and sand fleas all work. Fiddlers and sand fleas work best, but lack of time on my part to catch them drops them down to second best after live shrimp and bloodworms. Since sheepshead are bait stealers, regular shrimp works best. Do not waste money on medium or large shrimp, it is just more bait for them to steal. If you want to use artificial baits, try Fishbites strips in either sand flea or shrimp flavor.
Fishing for the thieves of Tampa Bay is 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.
Captain Sergio Atanes is a native resident of Tampa and has been fishing the water of Tampa Bay and Boca Grande for over 40 years. Host of TV and Radio Show Fishing Adventures USA. Capt. Sergio Atanes can be reached at (813) 973-7132 – atanes@msn.com www.reelfishy.com