Want to try my hand at some sheepie fishing this fall. Not looking for spots, but general pointers. I know about how they hit the fiddlers- we used to fish for em in florida.
how far inshore do the sheeps come here? I live on the stono between st johns marina and limehouse-- do they come that far in around bridge pilings or just closer to the ocean and rivers near the ocean this time of year?
Can you tie up to the bridges to the west of charleston harbor? I know there are rules about tying off on the wando, etc.
yeah I know they congregate around docks and pilings…wondering if they come up into the stono as far as my area or if they stay down closer to the major inlets closer to the ocean.
I meant to post over in the “inshore discussions” area- sorry fellas!
I have friends catching them in bushy park this week and I catch them way up small creeks near edisto, which is much farther inshore than where you are. You should be fine.
The groupon deal today is offered by one of the best sheepshead guides in town. He targets them more than any other captain I know. Might be worth the money to hire him to take you out for a day.
Nah you cannot tie to any bridges on the Ashley or stono but you can get creative. I concentrate an hour in a half before and after low tide, fiddlers are rather effective but oysters if you have the patience work the best. They’ll be around thick until the water hits lower 50’s, fish the eddies created by pilons, bridges, breakwaters, etc if you see oysters/barnacles on the structure they should be around. Chumming gets them going as well. I find bigger fish in somewhat deeper water but have caught em in good numbers in as little as 4’ of water. Hope that helps
They can go up pretty far, but I suggest trying the pilings in the rivers with clearer water and/or closer to the ocean–Wando, IOP/ICW, Kiawah, Harbor, and the harbor-most parts of the Ashley, Wappoo Cut, and Cooper. When I fished for them a lot, I would catch them inshore all the way until it got really cold in late January or early Feb. Then, they turned back on real well in March. The best times were spring and fall. I live on the Stono, but I never caught any in it. I caught them in most all of the other bodies of water named above. I didn’t put much effort into finding them in the Stono, though, because it’s so muddy a lot of the time, and they were so readily available everywhere else. I sort of got my fill of it after a while and went back to fishing the trout and reds. Don’t tie to the pilings. Take your boat to the up-current side of the piling; let all your anchor line out, and throw the anchor down one side, down current; then, back your boat down current, down the other side.
Gotcha Covered,
Lee Strickland
Strickland Marine Insurance Agency, Inc. https://stricklandmarine.net
843-795-1000 / 800-446-1862