# Finally figured out the sheepshead



## baldona523

-#10 freshwater live bait hook (bream hook). Also can use gold sabiki size hook for catching cigars
-Split shot or small bass worm weight as slip weight above swivel
-10-15 inch 12-20 lb Fluoro leader
-flat blade shovel and mesh net for getting oysters off of structure
-hammer and brick to smash oysters to use as bait and chum
-light drag

Many ways to do it, but I simply put a brick on a towel on the boat and break the oyster up with the hammer. Use the pieces of oyster as bait and throw anything else along the pilings for chum. Fished about 10-15 ft down on slack tide. Only fished about 2 hours for these, caught as many as we wanted to clean and left them biting. 

It's taken me years to figure these guys out, watched many a guys catch them hand over fist while I couldn't catch a single one. Once you think your hook is small enough, use the size smaller. I don't usually post this good of info but these guys will peeve you off like nothing else.


----------



## shrapnel

Wow nice haul! Your gonna need a few ziplocks for those. What body of water were you on?


----------



## Johnson11c

Great report. It's appreciated


----------



## mirage2521

shrapnel said:


> Wow nice haul! Your gonna need a few ziplocks for those. What body of water were you on?


Damn....he told you how. Now you want him to tell you where. Just ask him to give you his fish.


----------



## onemorecast

Great info and one heck of a haul!!!!!!


----------



## shrapnel

mirage2521 said:


> Damn....he told you how. Now you want him to tell you where. Just ask him to give you his fish.


Long dry spell with the wife crabass?

I asked which body of water, not the GPS coordinates. In case you haven't noticed there are some large bodies of water in the area. He doesn't have to answer if he so chooses.


----------



## mirage2521

shrapnel said:


> Long dry spell with the wife crabass?
> 
> I asked which body of water, not the GPS coordinates. In case you haven't noticed there are some large bodies of water in the area. He doesn't have to answer if he so chooses.


Whine if you want. That shits funny.


----------



## baldona523

Choctawhatchee. I've caught them at both
Mid bay and destin bridge all the same. I've seen them caught at other bridges as well. Throw some chum in the water and if you aren't catching them in 5 minutes move on. Try a couple pilings and move bridges.

I prefer slack tide because the bite is so light it's hard to feel it otherwise, and places like the destin bridge with any kind of tide are pretty hard to fish for them.


----------



## shrapnel

baldona523 said:


> Choctawhatchee. I've caught them at both
> Mid bay and destin bridge all the same. I've seen them caught at other bridges as well. Throw some chum in the water and if you aren't catching them in 5 minutes move on. Try a couple pilings and move bridges.
> 
> I prefer slack tide because the bite is so light it's hard to feel it otherwise, and places like the destin bridge with any kind of tide are pretty hard to fish for them.


Thanks Baldona. Never tried the Mid Bay. Hit the Destin bridge last weekend but the combination of the wind and tide made it unfishable at the time.

Again, great haul!


----------



## tkh329

Thanks for sharing the technique! Great catch!


----------



## submariner

mirage2521 said:


> Damn....he told you how. Now you want him to tell you where. Just ask him to give you his fish.


OK give me your fish ! 

Just kidding- thanks for sharing bet it was fun catching


----------



## mirage2521

Some good tips for sure.


----------



## bamacpa

Very nice haul. Definitely need small hooks. Thanks for sharing.


----------



## Scouticus

That one up front is a stud! Nice catch


----------



## Jason

Awesome haul.....Ya'll did great!


----------



## Murphy's Law

You got'em figured out for sure. Nice mess of fish !

Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk


----------



## yukondog

Thanks for the tip on the smaller hooks, I need all the help I can get.


----------



## ironman

I like using small circle hooks.


----------



## RandyGuy

Congrats on you sweet haul.


----------



## softbutchharley

*Ty !!!*

....for posting some great info.............. :thumbup:
Gonna try verbatim in Navarre. You hit all my soft spots when I go after these guys.
And I share on this side of the forum... already gave this on women anglers side...
Simply cubed and quick broiled ( season to taste) and dipped in garlic butter.


----------



## sealark

I hate to post this but feel I should. Oysters have a size limit and amount limit. Dont know if FWC would ticket or just advise and warn you. I think it's 3 in and they must be culled and smaller ones returned to the water where caught.


----------



## baldona523

sealark said:


> I hate to post this but feel I should. Oysters have a size limit and amount limit. Dont know if FWC would ticket or just advise and warn you. I think it's 3 in and they must be culled and smaller ones returned to the water where caught.


You are correct, I think the main difference to FWC is when an oyster is harvested off of structure as opposed to from the ground. This is a quote straight from FWC:

Can oysters and barnacles be used as bait or chum for sheepshead?
Oysters and barnacles are very, very different when it comes to regulations.
Oysters have closed seasons, bag limits, size limits and can only be legally harvested in specific shellfish harvesting areas that are classified as "approved" or "conditionally approved" and in the "open" status. The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Division of Aquaculture External Website manages these shellfish harvesting areas.
Barnacles on the other hand do not have size limits or specified bag limits, which means that you can harvest up to 100 pounds per person per day with a recreational saltwater fishing license and you can use them to chum sheepshead. You can also simply scrape them off bridge piles and allow them to sink and attract sheepshead. Do not scrape barnacles from private docks or other private structures without permission of the property owner.


----------



## JohnAndrew

Man, that's a really nice haul! :thumbsup:
Big congrats!


----------



## D35

How do you get the oysters to stay on the hook?


----------



## Flounder Hounder

*Sheephead*



mirage2521 said:


> Damn....he told you how. Now you want him to tell you where. Just ask him to give you his fish.


Can I have your fish? :laughing:


----------



## Riverfan

A question on were to find oysters? I look at the pilers at our condo and everything I see is at the waterline and appear to be empty. Where should I look?


----------



## baldona523

Riverfan said:


> A question on were to find oysters? I look at the pilers at our condo and everything I see is at the waterline and appear to be empty. Where should I look?


Yes, a bunch of them are empty shells. I don't know how many somewhere between 30-50% probably maybe more. We just scrape them clean from the concrete and you will find plenty of usable ones. I take a net with small holes, like a mesh net, and then a flat shovel or roofing shingle remover and scrape the concrete while holding the net just underneath of it to collect all the shells. Probably better ways out there to be honest.

The oyster meat does not stay on the hook well at all, but you really only need very small pieces like a thumbnail size really. If you use a huge piece of bait they'll usually suck it off your hook before you know what happened. I use less than 1/4 of even the smallest oyster usually.


----------



## Riverfan

Ok I scraped some shell and your right, the don't look alive but are. I did a batch to learn, but don't want to waste things. I assume you harvest and fish the same day but have you ever refrigerated or frozen the oysters?


----------



## sealark

Big mistake, what ever happend to live and learn.


----------

