Sheepshead

• Description
  • Basic silvery color; with 5 or 6 distinct vertical black bands on sides, not always the same on both sides.
  • Prominent teeth, including incisors, molars, and rounded grinders.
  • Strong and sharp spines on dorsal and anal fins.
  
  

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• General Information
  • Sheepshead are often referred to as the convict fish because of its bold and distinctive black and white vertically striped body.
  • It is a year round resident throughout the state.
  • Sheepshead is one of the "staple" fish in Florida.
  
  

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• Distribution
  • Inshore species can be found around oyster bars, seawalls and in tidal creeks.
  • Sheepshead move nearshore in late winter and early spring for spawning, gathering over debris, artificial reefs and around navigation markers.
  • Land bound anglers can find them around bridge and dock pilings.
  
  

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• Tackle and Techniques
  • You won't need any special tackle for sheepshead. Reels rated for 6-12 pound test line with a corresponding rod is sufficient when fishing in the backwaters. Attach 12-18" of 20 pound test line as a leader and you're ready to go.
  
  

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• Bait
  • This species is a adept bait stealer. Equipped with front teeth that look remarkably like our front teeth, sheepshead can pick the bait off your hook without hooking themselves. Towards the back of their mouth they have molar-like teeth that crush and grind their food.
  • Live fiddler crabs, live or dead shrimp, and sand fleas are some of the favorite baits.
  
  

Secrets to Success

When fishing around bridge pilings, use a flat blade shovel to scrape some of the barnacles off the pilings. This natural chum often attracts fish to the area. Drift your bait into the chum slick and wait for the action to begin. Use only enough weight to keep your bait in the chum.

Sheepshead have small mouth so select a small, sharp hook. The first signs of a bite are one or more light taps. Ignore these and wait until you detect a heavy feeling on the line. That's when you want to set the hook. Keeping the weight used down to a minimum gives you the most sensitivity to feel those first few light taps.