I'd relly appreciate any advice I can get on catching a sheephead. I don't have a saltwater boat. Limited to the cattle boats for now.

Thanks
NoTrollMotor

Sheephead are kind of an interesting fish. Usually if you want to catch a sheephead the way to do it is to use squid or shrimp and leave it motionless on the bottom for a long time. I was on a private boat at Miguel one time and we caught 6 or 7 huge sheephead to 15lbs by flylining whole dead squid in 60 feet of water and just leaving it in the holder with the clicker on. I've also seen guys get them pretty good on shrimp, so if you really want to get one you might bring a few pieces on a party boat if they are anchored on a reef that has some sheephead around. Sheephead don't usually hit fin bait or artificials although obviously you will find someone who got one on plastic or a chovie now and then. I kind of like catching the goats because they fight good and taste pretty good too.

Down here around san diego way we have a few tricks that seem to produce sheepies. The most productive would be to pump up some ghost shrimp and try those on a reverse dropper loop. the goats absolutely love this bait. I do this when I have a feeling that the boats will be headin for an area with sheephead. I have actually had guys try to buy baits off of me after seeing them produce some nice fish. Another sneaky trick I know of is using crayfish tails, or whole crayfish, I wouldn't suggest this on party boats due to the weird looks you are sure to get :). I guess the long and short of it is that sheeps main food is crustaceans, so they are usually going to pass up chovies and the like. I was on a trip out to the coronados about a month ago and I caught 6 sheeps (the two largest fish were about 9lbs) all of these fish came on whole live squid, but the sheeps will eat the dead stuff (I would suggest getting your squid not at a tackle store but at a seafood market, this stuff seems to get more response IMO). On the same trip there was a guy using Tiger prawns (basically huge shrimp) but at $9.99 a pound I would personally try something else :). One last trick I have is using the lightest line you can get away with, some guys might say that this does not matter, or that sheeps live in rocky habitat, so you're bound to get sawed off. I usually fish the 12lb (Pline), I know it sounds crazy but it works, the key to using the light line on any bottom feeder is not to give any slack, and don't admire your hook setting ability, just start winding as soon as you set the hook. If the fish feels like its headin for home try holding your rod at a 45 degree angle (as opposed to a 90 degree with respect to the ocean floor) and winding at the same time (this angle trick works on yellows too). I've caught tons of sheeps and lings on 12lb, while watching guys get busted off on 30, its all in the technique.


Well anyhow there's my .02



Tight lines......................

I like your suggestion about using supermarket frozen squid instead of baitshop squid if you can't get live squid. I had very good results with suppermarket squid in norcal salt. I also had very good luck with pieces of tiger prawn for perch and other species there.

An article in WO magazine recommended half a frozen squid for sheephead. What do you think of this?

Thanks.

Bob

I have'nt really tried half of a frozen squid, but it seems like it would work just fine if not better assuming that you half hook through the back end and thread the hook into the squid head. This way as soon as you feel that distinctive tap tap tap from the goat you can just assume that it already has the hook in its mouth. But as far as the supermarket stuff is concerned, I personally don't think there is much better. I'm able to go to a seafood market down here and pick exactly which baits I want (this is because the squid is in a big pile that has'nt been frozen), so I always get "Perfect Hook Bait"


Tight Lines...............

I agree about the quality of the supermarket squid whether comparing frozen to frozen or fresh(dead) to fresh(dead). I've also found the prices better. At most any Safeway I can get a 3# box of frozen food grade squid for $2.99. At the bait store I can pay over $7 ($2.25/#+tax) for the same amount and an 1/8-1/4 of it will be freezer burned. As for fresh, I've rarely found it at any bait store but, I can get it for usually under $2/# at either Safeway, Albertsons or Nob Hill. Too bad we can't get food grade anchovies and/or sardines for bait from the supermarket. JM$.02.

Tight lines,
Wade

Out of subject here, but since you guys are all talkin about squid, I just thought I'd share something. I buy my squid from those asian supermarkets at 99 cents a box for a 2.5 lb. box and 1.99 for the 5 lb. boxes. I can't say out of the top of my head which store, but another place quite cheap is the 99 Ranch Market. ($1.39 3 lb. box) For those of you guys in OC, you probably know about those little China towns everywhere, yup, cheap bait there. Just go ther once, spend ten bucks, and you got bait for a while. Might be frozen, but the fish don't read the books...

Crawdads--they look like baby lobsters. Seen it on the Dana Point boats. Also, ghostshrimps as CP mentioned. Razor clams, too. If you have the live fresh one razors, just crack them and leave the shell on.

Another simple but productive trick if you're limited to squid. Use the biggest squid heads you can find. Sheephead luv the squid heads. Of course, so do everything else but it will get you some goats as well. I like the Ghost shrimp and Crawdads, too.


GO BRUINS....GO RAMS....GO FISHING....!!!!
FLOWING THROUGH MY VEINS!!!!

MVBRUIN1, that was exactly what I was going to suggest. I have caught most of my BIG Sheephead using squid heads.

Dittos on the crawdads and razor clams...They really do work...

I was on a Kimura's tackle charter and Gary Kimura brings crawdads with him when he knows we will be fishing the rocks and targeting fish like sheephead...It really does work...

The Dana Wharf boats carry a big bucket of razor clams...I guess those old goats are shellcrackers...

Good Luck...

-Mike Chung

tight lines

crawdads work, but after chasing one with a spear for two summers at West Reef, I can say they are crafty. Pretty cool critters- anyone see the artwork at last year's Fred Hall Show the guy had with the skeleton and teeth of that goat? He had lots of cool stuff, maybe it was two years ago- sandy kind of background with the skeletons of fish-