How to Target Sheepshead
Sheepshead are an interesting species of fish and are probably one of the most underrated inshore game fish in my opinion. Yes they can take a bit of preparation to go out and target but they fight hard and if you’re looking to have some fresh seafood they make excellent table fare. This is a species that I am not targeting everyday like Redfish or Speckled Trout but if it’s really windy or rainy than fishing for sheepshead is usually on the list of things to do and for good reason. In this article I will cover the gear that I use to target Sheepshead, the bait I prefer, methods I use and also time of year.
First off let’s cover the time of year. In the area that I live in, Wilmington North Carolina, the time that most people are going to target sheepshead is Spring through Summer and also into early Fall. In the Spring many times the best fishing for Sheepshead is on nearshore structure. During the winter these fish tend to move offshore, as the water begins to warme they begin to move closer and closer and eventually make their way into the inshore waters. In the spring, many times you can find them staging up on structure such as rock jetties, artificial reefs etc. As the Spring turns into Summer many of these fish will make their way all the way inshore and will begin to stick to structures such as docks, bridge pilings, oyster beds, really anywhere where they have the chance of munching on barnacles and finding other tasty treats such as crabs, shrimp and other invertebrates or small fish. Once Fall rolls around, especially early fall I generally will target them the same way I do in the Summer, unless the water temp really starts to dip off. If the water temperature starts to get down below the 60’s inshore then I will start to target them nearshore or on deeper inshore structures. Once winter rolls around they seem to move further and further out into the ocean in search of warmer water.
Let’s go over the tackle and gear for Sheepshead. My go to rod for Sheepshead is a 7’0 or 6’ 6”M Mod-Fast TFO Professional paired with a Flordia Fishing Products Osprey CE 3000. Almost all of my reels in the 3000 size class are spooled with 15 lb Power Pro Super Slick braided line. The M power of the rod provides for some nice backbone to pull fish away from the bottom or structure that they are trying to break you off in. If you plan on just using these rods for Sheepshead fishing then the 6’6” option is probably the best in my opinion but if you want something that can double as your top water rod for Redfish or something similar I think the 7’0 is the best fit. Tackle for Sheepshead comes in a lot of different variations but there are a handful that I think shine over others. Of course you can use a traditional Carolina rig for these fish and that works really well but what I prefer is more of an actual Sheepshead Jig. A few of my favorites include Bottom Sweeper Jigs, 43:2 Jaw Breaker Jigs, and First Flight Lure NC Treat Jigs. The reason I prefer these a bit more than to the typical Carolina Rig is simply because you can feel the bit a little better. With a Carolina Rig you have a bit of leader coming off of the hook where your bait is attached and that can dampen the feel you get when you have a Sheepshead nibbling on your crab. Typically with these Sheepshead Jigs I’ll connect about 3 or so feet of Fluorocarbon to my main line with a double uni knot and then I will connect my sheepshead Jig to that fluorocarbon with a Uni Knot or a Improved Clinch Knot, there are plenty of knots that will do the job just fine these are just the two I prefer.
Now let’s move to what bait do you pin on these Sheepshead Jigs or your Carolina Rig when targeting these fish. I’ll just start off with my favorite which are Mud Crabs. Here in North Carolina you find them when it’s typically somewhat warm out and they like to hang in muddy structure, hints the name Mud Crab. The best place for this in my option is oyster beds. I try to always come prepared with a bucket, small shovel, really tough shoes like Xtratuf boots, and some thick gloves. This will help you dig through those oysters to find these little suckers as they like to be under the clumps of oysters. One other key to this is knowing the tide as this will make or break your success, you need a low tide when plenty of oysters are exposed so that you can see the crabs when you flip the oysters, if the oysters your trying to find crabs in is 10 inches under water you will never find them. If you find a good spot for this you should be able to get your fill of crabs within 30 minutes and enough to last you a day of Sheepshead fishing. One thing to know is that Mud Crabs and Stone Crabs can look very similar so you have to be careful which ones you are choosing to bring with you because at least here in NC we are not allowed to take Stone Crabs. The easiest way in my opinion to tell the difference between a Stone Crab and a Mud Crab is that Stone Crabs no matter what age they are have white bands on their legs. So why go through all this trouble of getting Mud Crabs over another types of bait? Well the answer really is that they just last longer on the hook and don’t seem to get torn up as bad by fish you are not targeting like pin fish, pufferfish etc. There are plenty of other baits you can use though and have great success with like Fiddler Crabs, Clams, Shrimp, Barnacles and Urchins.
Lastly let’s go over how you fish for them. You got the rod, you got the bait, you got the jigs, now how do you go about catching one? Well it’s actually pretty simple! Find a piece of structure like some bridge pilings and get your boat or your kayak right up next to that piling you want to fish and fish it completely vertically. I see people casting out to structure quite often for Sheepshead and yes it can work but what we need to understand is that Sheepshead are not always on the bottom, they work up and down structures like crazy. If you are ever sitting there Sheepshead fishing at a piling look in the water for them because many times they will be swimming up the piling pecking at barnacles and then they slowly work back down then back up again on another piling. Fishing vertically makes the most sense, one because you can work your bait at different depths and two because if they are there most likely you will see a couple working the area, which generally means there are more around. I like to get right up next to the piling and drop my bait a couple inches off it and let it sit on the bottom a couple minutes, if nothing reel up a couple feet, if nothing reel up a couple more feet and if still nothing and depending on your depth move on to the next piece of structure. That could mean one piling over or moving 50 yards to another piece of structure, really depends on how hard you want to pick apart a spot. I will say this, I have had Sheepshead experiences where I have not gotten bite for 30 minutes and then I move 10 yards to another piling and it was Sheepshead madness. So just because one piling is not working does not mean that they are not somewhere very close by. I do want to talk about the bite for a second because they can feel somewhat like a small fish when nibbling on your crab and here’s how I try and handle that. Once I feel a nibble I wait about 2 or so seconds and then I slowly lift my rod and if I feel weight when I lift then I set the hook. They can be fairly tricky to hook and are notorious for stealing your bait so if you keep dropping crabs down and they are immedielty getting chewed up, there is a good chance it’s a Sheepshead getting free meals, just keep at him and eventually you will come tight.
In conclusion, do not let Sheepshead fall off the list of fish to target, they are an absolute blast to catch and provide some awesome fishing action when it’s too windy or rainy to target anything else and who know maybe it will become your favorite fish to target.
Happy Fishing!
Capt. Cameron Pappas
(910) 547.9353
