![]() To catch sheepshead, a simple knocker rig and a sturdy size 2 hook is sufficient, but many anglers simply thread a shrimp, tail first, onto a 3/8-ounce jig head. Fiddler crabs can be found on shallow beaches all along the Big Bend, as well as at local marinas during the early spring. Fiddler crabs are excellent bait, too, but they’re sometimes hard to find. Most anglers rely on whole live shrimp as bait. Spawning fish are mature, larger fish and their mouths are bigger. Chumming with crushed crabs, oysters, barnacles or shrimp heads will increase the feeding frenzy. When their spawning ritual begins, mature sheepshead will mill around structure and seemingly eat any bait presented them. These fish, found mostly in deeper water and around structures such as rock pies, reefs and old navigation markers, sometime reach weights of 10 pounds or more. ![]() It’s the bigger spawning sheepshead, usually found during the late winter or spring that excite Gulf anglers. And, while the size limit on sheepshead currently twelve inches, a fish that size yields very little meat upon cleaning. Learning to feel the signature bite of a sheepshead takes time, and you’ll likely miss a few before you get into the rhythm. ![]() Small hooks and small baits, such as fiddler crabs and cut shrimp pieces, are the key to catching sheepshead close to shore. It’s these smaller fish that are very difficult to catch, as their ability to crush bait, swallow the meat, and spit out the exoskeleton (with your hook) is unrivaled. During most of the year, these small-mouthed fish inhabit coastal oyster and rock bars, docks and rock jetties searching for their favorite prey-crustaceans, including small crabs, shrimp and even barnacles. Sheepshead, found all along Florida’s Big Bend coast, are notorious bait stealers. One species that’s of interest to both small boat and large boat anglers is the “convict” fish, or sheepshead. So many game fish species come close enough to Florida’s Gulf shoreline that most anglers need only expend a minimum effort in catching dinner on a low-impact, low-cost outing. Inshore fishing, which includes small-boat, bridge, bank, beach and pier fishing, is much more accessible to the general public. ![]() The reality, however, of a round trip that has fuel costs approaching that of the purchase price of a small outboard motor is staggering to many anglers. Of course, many inshore anglers long to be aboard a big sport fishing boat trolling the depths of the Gulf for fish of mammoth proportions. Inshore and nearshore fishing along Florida’s Gulf Coast has as much to do with economics as it does with species. ![]()
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