Bridge Fishing for Sheepshead
Bridge Pilings are common places to find sheepshead. These fish feed on the barnacles that cling to the bridge pilings. You can catch sheepshead throughout the water column along these pilings. Fiddler crabs and live shrimp are the preferred baits for most anglers. The best bite usually occurs during the high tide.
Dock Fishing for Sheepshead
Fishing the docks for sheepshead can be very exciting. Sheepshead love docks because of the barnacles that cling to the wood pilings. You can find fish throughout the dock from shallow water to deep water, although, most of the bigger sheepshead will be found at the edge of the dock in the deepest water. Some areas have so many docks that it would take you several days to fish them all. If you want to find some of the better docks to fish, you can save some time by scouting out the docks during a low tide. At low tides, the dock pilings will be exposed and you can find the docks that are covered with the most barnacles. These docks will usually hold more fish, especially if there is some deeper water at the end of the dock. Fiddler crabs and live shrimp are great baits for catching sheepshead.
Fishing the Buoys for Sheepshead
The buoys that can often be found in many of the inshore bays can provide some very good fishing for sheepshead. These buoys may not hold as many sheepshead as the bridges, piers or docks, but you can definitely target the buoys and catch some fish. Sheepshead will feed on the barnacles that attach to the bottom of the buoys. Fishing on the bottom will put some fish in the boat, but a bobber may work better around the buoys because the sheepshead are going to be feeding directly under the buoys. Fiddler crabs and live shrimp are the preferred baits.
Fishing the Jetties for Sheepshead
Sheepshead will often be found in large numbers around the jetties and they can easily be caught by fishing near the bottom with fiddler crabs and live shrimp. One of the challenges to fishing the jetties is trying to stay out of all the snags. It’s much easier to stay out of the snags by fishing from a boat, but if you plan on fishing the jetties from the shore, you can expect lots of snags. Fishing with one rod and a drop shot rig, you should be able to keep the snags to a minimum. When your weight gets stuck in the rocks, just pull your line and the weight will come free. Wind in your line, add a new drop shot weight to the extra line that goes below the hook and can get your bait back in the water.
Fishing the Mangroves for Sheepshead
The mangroves will hold plenty of sheepshead. Because the mangroves are great hangouts for snook, redfish, mangrove snapper and many other types of fish, it’s a little harder to target sheepshead specifically in these areas. Fiddler crabs and shrimp will catch multiple species of fish, so you can expect to catch many different types of fish as you search for sheepshead along the mangroves.
Fishing the Passes for Sheepshead
Most anglers target redfish, snook and many other types of fish in the passes and sheepshead are often overlooked. Sheepshead can be found in the passes and they can be caught with fiddler crabs and shrimp. If there are any docks or bridges in the pass, you can expect to find plenty of sheepshead feeding near the pilings during the high tide.
