# is shrimp wrong sheepshead bait?



## jwc14 (Feb 16, 2012)

Went to the first dock in gulf breeze by the 3 mile ridge and used dead shrimp from gulf breeze bait and tackle. Got a ton of nibbles but probably only bait fish....are live fiddlers the way to go???


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## BigSlick (Jun 13, 2010)

fiddlers have always been my favorite. sheepshead love em and it pretty much weeds out all the trash fish. ive wasted money using live shrimp only to have 1000 pinfish tear it to pieces. fiddlers i feel are theyre favorite food.


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## tjwareusmc (Jul 10, 2008)

Fiddlers for sure. They are not too expensive either. At $2.50 per doz you can spend $7.50 and catch TONS of sheepies.


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## FishGolfDrink (Apr 19, 2011)

I bring both just to be safe.. this weekend we caught almost every fish on shrimp and maybe 2 total on fiddlers. I think fiddlers definitely stay on the hook better than shrimp though. You might get more bites overall with shrimp, but bring a lot because you will go through them quickly.


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## jwc14 (Feb 16, 2012)

Thanks y'all definitely going to try this out soon.


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## CptBass (Feb 15, 2012)

If you check any of the marinas on bayou chico there are plenty of fiddlers along the banks, no need to buy.


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## Flatspro (Oct 3, 2007)

Wirelessly posted

If your fishing for sheepshead your gonna want to fish from the bridge along the pilings you will have much more success.


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## keperry1182 (Oct 6, 2010)

This is not a smart ass comment: if they dont bite, its the wrong bait. What I mean is, we always take both, shrimp and crabs. Some days shrimp wins, some days (most days IMHO) crabs win. Try walkin the length if the bridge watching for them and hit all the pillings on the way, like a foot off the pilling. Good luck.


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## fishboy292 (Jan 25, 2012)

Absolutely work the pilings along the bridge. Best if you have a trolling motor to work your way along. Anchoring will do well this time of year when there are not too many fisherman on the pier. You can get to the inside area to anchor between set of pilings.
Water is clear enough you may be able to see them from the boat.

catch em up...


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## minkmaster (Apr 5, 2008)

Dont know why I never hear it but sand fleas work well too.


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## osborne311 (Aug 1, 2011)

Not a facetious statement here but are you sure those nibbles were not missed bites? I learned the hard way that sheepies do not tear up bait. You better be quick setting the hook or its over. Just caught my first sheepies (again, thanks Mike) about a week ago and missed a lot before I finally figured it out.


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## keperry1182 (Oct 6, 2010)

osborne311 said:


> Not a facetious statement here but are you sure those nibbles were not missed bites? I learned the hard way that sheepies do not tear up bait. You better be quick setting the hook or its over. Just caught my first sheepies (again, thanks Mike) about a week ago and missed a lot before I finally figured it out.


Patients and a circle hook, they're crafty little bastards for sure


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## BigSlick (Jun 13, 2010)

osborne311 said:


> Not a facetious statement here but are you sure those nibbles were not missed bites? I learned the hard way that sheepies do not tear up bait. You better be quick setting the hook or its over. Just caught my first sheepies (again, thanks Mike) about a week ago and missed a lot before I finally figured it out.


there's a big difference between a sheepshead bite and a hoard of pinfish bite. i know its pinfish when it feels like a mini machine gun is tearing thru my live shrimp. or if i get a rapid fire nibble and bring the shrimp in and all the legs are missing. and every third hookup is a pinfish on a 3.50 a dozen live shrimp. I do not dispute the fact that some days they prefer shrimp over fiddlers. but i waste a lot less bait by using fiddlers.


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## FishGolfDrink (Apr 19, 2011)

minkmaster said:


> Dont know why I never hear it but sand fleas work well too.


We had a bag of those too, but they weren't eating them. If you're serious about filling the cooler, bring shrimp, fiddlers, and fleas. You can't go wrong then.


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## Charlie2 (Oct 2, 2007)

*Sheepshead bait*



FishGolfDrink said:


> We had a bag of those too, but they weren't eating them. If you're serious about filling the cooler, bring shrimp, fiddlers, and fleas. You can't go wrong then.


 No one has mentioned barnacles, a favorite food of the sheepshead.

Scrape some off the piling with a shovel to chum them then impale a couple on a small hook with a split shot. C2


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## Fisherdad1 (Oct 4, 2007)

One other thing to point out - in the original post he said DEAD shrimp. I agree with everything said here, sheepies love fiddlers, except when they want live shrimp. Either or neither will work sometimes but not always. Clear enough???

But dead shrimp is not going to do the job for sheepies. I'm sure someone will respond that they catch them on dead ones, but generally speaking, it is LIVE shrimp or fiddlers (or sandfleas).

Good luck!
Fisherdad1


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## jamessig (Oct 3, 2007)

Dead shrimp will work eventually but they definitely prefer them live. If you have time constraints or want to catch a bunch of sheepies spring for some live bait.


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## fool injected (Jul 30, 2010)

i've been reading the replies and i agree with the majority.I live in mobile and sheepies are my fav fish to go after,they can be extremely finicky. Sand fleas work great as do fiddlers, but this time of year try breaking the shell of a hermit crab and thread the ugly sucker on a #1,#1/0 hook and hang on! the wAY THEY BITE A HERMIT CRAB IS MORE PRONOUNCED! It requires more effort to steal it. Also we use seed shrimp/grass shrimp when the bite slows down or when they suddenly quit biting the usual suspects......hope this helps...HAPPY HEAD-HUNTING!:whip:


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