inshore sheeps

Saltwater Inshore Reports
1

Did not expect much but went out and fished some docks for reds with cut mullet and did not get a bite. Said the heck with this and went back to landing and picked about a half a bucket of oysters off the dock and headed to the sheep honeyhole. Wasn’t long before we were getting action and pulled up a nice 21" sheep. Next fish was 19". Caught several small ones and let those go. Wound up with a nice 16 incher before it was all said and done. left them biting and headed home with 3 nice ones in the cooler. Christmas day sheepie fingers are on the menu this year!!! Pics and video to follow

2

Good job on the sheeps!

3

21 is a fat one nice work! Christmas sheep fingers sound absolutely great too.

4

What is the best way to keep oysters on the hook?

Thanks

~You holdin’ your mouth right?~

GMC z71
Sea Hunt xp19
Yamaha 115

5
quote:
Originally posted by marshscaper1

What is the best way to keep oysters on the hook?

Thanks

~You holdin’ your mouth right?~

GMC z71
Sea Hunt xp19
Yamaha 115
I use the whole thing, shell and all. Just kinda thread the hook through the gap in the shell and out the other side. Ive hears of people boiling half the oysters and leaving half raw. Then putting the boiled meaty part and the raw part of the oyster on the same hook. The raw one floats off and leaves the scent. Then in theory the Sheepshead eat thr boiled one and it stays on.
If you fish with an oyster you have lessbites but better fish.

14’ Skiff-“Redfish Reaper”

6

I use mussels when I can find them. Tough as rubber compared to oysters and sheeps suck them right down for a good hook set.

26 Seahunt
Angler’s Dream

7

Thanks, I’ll give them a try and post my findings.

~You holdin’ your mouth right?~

GMC z71
Sea Hunt xp19
Yamaha 115

8
quote:
Originally posted by marshscaper1

Thanks, I’ll give them a try and post my findings.

~You holdin’ your mouth right?~

GMC z71
Sea Hunt xp19
Yamaha 115

They do sell clam strips along with live fiddlers and shrimp at HPT. I like to have a bit of everything when I go out

14’ Skiff-“Redfish Reaper”

9

What kind of hook, sinker and rig do you use for sheepshead? You cast along pilings of docks along the intracoastal waterway? How do you fish for them? Tide going in or out?

10

Yakman, I’ll have try the clam strips next time, fiddlers haven’t produced for me the last few times as they did in the summer.

Has anyone tried using the cheese cloth method for shucked oysters? Any pro tips with this?

~You holdin’ your mouth right?~

GMC z71
Sea Hunt xp19
Yamaha 115

11

Skulldigger, I had great luck with sheeps over the summer and through fall. I use a modified carolina rig. Shorten the leader to about 8" or so, use a strong j hook and 30# floro or better (depending on structure). I use a gamekatsu hook that is for tarpon flys. Find and old bridge or dock covered in oysters/barnacles an hour or two before low tide and fish till an hour or more after the tide change. (less water = fish are more concentrated) Fish vertically as close to the structure as you can get. Drop your rig to the bottom and real up a few inches so your bait/rig is free moving in the water column. Pay close attention to your line, any movement, extra weight, tap, or if you just think you may have felt something set the hook like Bill Dance. I slowly lift my bait often to see if there is any resistance, if so set the hook. If you pull up a crunched fiddler or otherwise the sheeps are there keep at it and pay attention. Bring more bait than you think you’ll need.

~You holdin’ your mouth right?~

GMC z71
Sea Hunt xp19
Yamaha 115

12

Duct tape

13

I buy some of the black mussels and baby clams in the frozen section of the grocery store…they run them n sale a lot and they cost a coupe bucks a bag. Good take along bait as well as can whole baby clams…little more pricey but I keep a small tuna size can in my tackle box…just in case bait…just about anything will eat them … Biggest sheep I ever caught was on a canned clam at a range marker. ;). Btw…hermit crabs are excellent bait too if you knock them out of their houses as are strips of conch…

miss’n fish’n

212 SEAHUNT CC
Sea Squirt 16

14

Are sheepshead a year round inshore fish?

15
quote:
Originally posted by 32Gnu

Are sheepshead a year round inshore fish?

Yes, they can be caught all year inshore

16

Penny kills hermit crabs!!!

“Apathy is the Glove in Which Evil Slips It’s Hand”.