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Catching Sheephead
Posted on 12/30/21 at 5:06 pm
Posted on 12/30/21 at 5:06 pm
I was given some sheephead fillets recently and they were delicious. Anyone have any info to share on how/where to catch them? I was in Golden Meadow/Catfish Lake area on Monday and picked up some bait shrimp and tried fishing around some pilings and docks but not a bite. The only time I've ever caught them was in that same area many years ago and accidently stumbled upon them and loaded the boat as fast as I could drop my line in the water. I thought they would be easy to catch. When I was growing up they were considered trash fish and we didn't keep them. I know they are harder to clean but would like to put a few in the freezer. Any tips would be appreciated. Thanks.
20
Posted on 12/30/21 at 5:22 pm to labguy
Barnacles or oysters is what we used to use in Florida.
Posted on 12/30/21 at 5:28 pm to labguy
they roam the marshes just like reds do, market shrimp is the key, they like meat on a hook more then anything.
in deeper water they hang around pilings to eat the barnacles but otherwise they just cruise around in the marsh grasses.
when you find them its often a bunch of them in a school
in deeper water they hang around pilings to eat the barnacles but otherwise they just cruise around in the marsh grasses.
when you find them its often a bunch of them in a school
Posted on 12/30/21 at 6:32 pm to labguy
Go find a pile covered in barnacles and scrape a bunch off with a paddle. Drop a live shrimp down and hang on.
Posted on 12/30/21 at 7:03 pm to labguy
Fish right up against structure, as they'll hang tight to it. Live shrimp works, but fiddler crabs = Sheepshead crack. Free line them.
Posted on 12/30/21 at 7:06 pm to labguy
quote:
I know they are harder to clean
They're actually really easy once you figure it out. They've got a built in slot to run the knife down the back. Then just go around the ribs (be sure to go way up the head too - lots of meat where you wouldn't expect).
ETA: this video shows it well.
YouTube
This post was edited on 12/30/21 at 7:10 pm
Posted on 12/30/21 at 7:11 pm to labguy
Sheephead are an underrated treasure.
Posted on 12/30/21 at 7:39 pm to labguy
Sand fleas, small fiddler crabs or shrimp. Fish up against pylons, jetties or other structures in about 8-15 feet of water. They are crafty and can easily steal your bait, so use a fairly light rod and keep the line tight.
Posted on 12/30/21 at 8:12 pm to labguy
Heard they pair well with smoked possum
Posted on 12/30/21 at 8:39 pm to labguy
Posted on 12/30/21 at 9:02 pm to TrueTiger
quote:
Sheephead are an underrated treasure.
I hear so many people eating them now. We used to think they were trash fish, we'd catch a bunch and then sale them on the docks for $5 bucks each to a certain "group" of guys fishing.
Posted on 12/30/21 at 9:11 pm to labguy
Ink pen spring on jig hook, oyster meshed on spring and hook
For the win
For the win
This post was edited on 12/30/21 at 9:46 pm
Posted on 12/30/21 at 9:16 pm to labguy
When I was a kid, we were in the sheephead something thick. Dad told the friend we were fishing with to move on, he did not want to clean all of them. Guy said, don't worry you wont have to clean any of them.
When we got back to dock, friend told us to go home and get cleaned up, we were going out to dinner. We went to the old House of Lee in Metairie. Friend went around the back with an ice chest of sheepshead.
Man we ate like kings that night for no cost.
When we got back to dock, friend told us to go home and get cleaned up, we were going out to dinner. We went to the old House of Lee in Metairie. Friend went around the back with an ice chest of sheepshead.
Man we ate like kings that night for no cost.
Posted on 12/30/21 at 9:39 pm to labguy
I buy the cheapest 1/2 of jig heads i can find. Tip it with a piec of xheimp and get it as close to an old dock as I can. Normally produce a couple sheepheads
My favorite spot is around the locks in Lower Terrebonne.
My favorite spot is around the locks in Lower Terrebonne.
Posted on 12/30/21 at 9:46 pm to OSoBad
quote:
We used to think they were trash fish, we'd catch a bunch and then sale them on the docks for $5 bucks each to a certain "group" of guys fishing.
Sadly U were misled
This post was edited on 12/30/21 at 9:58 pm
Posted on 12/30/21 at 9:48 pm to labguy
You get some nice sheepshead bowfishing the marsh while chasing reds. They’re harder to spot and hit - usually the deckhand is the one shooting them and filling our ice chest with them.
Posted on 12/30/21 at 10:44 pm to labguy
They have soft mouths and big arse incisor teeth, like a sheep, hence the name.
This makes then relatively hard to catch, as they have a soft bite, nothing like a redfish, trout, or bass.
When you pull back your hook with a shrimp tail bitten clean off, that's a sheepshead.
Beautiful white meat though, and absolutely delicious. Better than redfish or trout.
This makes then relatively hard to catch, as they have a soft bite, nothing like a redfish, trout, or bass.
When you pull back your hook with a shrimp tail bitten clean off, that's a sheepshead.
Beautiful white meat though, and absolutely delicious. Better than redfish or trout.
Posted on 12/31/21 at 1:01 am to labguy
One time we accidentally crushed a ton of em on old LA 1 south of Leeville right off the riprap where the ships dock.
Posted on 12/31/21 at 6:40 am to labguy
I fish pilings like you said. Hit some platforms in Caminada Bay a few times. Used just a jig head with a shrimp. Lift the rod until you can feel the weight of the hook. If you feel more resistance than you'd expect, set the hook and hold on. They don't take it in run until you set the hook.
Good luck
Good luck
Posted on 12/31/21 at 8:19 am to labguy
Sheepshead and black drum are vastly underated.
Both are damn good on the grill and if you want to, you can wrap the meat in cheesecloth and put it in a pot of water flavored with Seafood Boil Seasoning just long enough to cook it and impart some of that flavor.
Then pull the meat apart and use it like crab meat in dishes.
Both are damn good on the grill and if you want to, you can wrap the meat in cheesecloth and put it in a pot of water flavored with Seafood Boil Seasoning just long enough to cook it and impart some of that flavor.
Then pull the meat apart and use it like crab meat in dishes.
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