How
About Those Sheepshead On The Sandbars
This is the month that you can
have more fun than you can imagine, catching sheepshead on the sandbars
or the shallow spots in the inlets and sounds.
For those of you out
there that are like me, unable to catch good numbers of sheepshead
in the rocks using fiddlers, here is your chance to catch a box of
these hard tugging tasty fish.
I start by purchasing a few dozen
clams, the bigger, the better. Put these in your cooler with a bag
of ice, so they do not spoil. Bring something to break them open,
like a small hammer or anything that you can smack them with to crack
open the shell. You will also need a not very sharp knife. I use
a dull knife to scrape the meat out and with a dull knife, if you
slip and get your flesh, you wont cut yourself like you would with
your sharp filet knife. I also bring a small cutting board to cut
the clam meat into small pieces. I like a piece about 3/4 by 3/4
of an inch. When cutting the meat try to cut it so you have some
of the foot on each piece. The foot is a half moon shaped piece of
the meat that is pretty tough.
The tackle will consist of about four
Shakespeare seven foot medium to light action rods, Pflueger Trion
bait cast reels, 15 pound test Cajun Red line, a barrel swivel, a
1 to 3 ounce egg sinker, a 2 foot piece of 20 pound test Cajun Red
line as the leader and a Daichii #4 wide gap hook.
Because you will
be fishing in water that is almost free of anything to get tangled
up on or to cut you line, you can scale down to light tackle. With
the light tackle, you get the maximum enjoyment in angling the fish.
If you do this, remember, you are fishing light line with a small
hook, so back off of your drag to give the fish a chance to SCREAM
line from the reel. I love it when I hook a 10 plus pound sheepshead
and it is screaming line from the spool. I am getting chill bumps
just thinking about this.
Now that we have our bait and all of our
tackle ready, we need to know where to go to get some. In the deeper
inlets, look for places on the channel edge that is sandy. I like
a water depth in the Mayport area of 15 to 35 feet. In sounds that
might not have water that deep, fish in about 10 to 15 feet on the
edge of sandbars. If you can find a bar that has deep water around
it, try fishing on the down current side.
I send out as many rods
as I can fish, place them in the rod holders on wait for the rod
tip to bend over. DO NOT rare back and set the hook. When the rod
starts to bend over, pick up the rod, if the fish is there, the rod
will feel heavy. If you feel this heavy felling, JUST turn the handle
as you slowly lift up on the rod. If the fish is still chewing on
the clam, you will have it hooked. Once hooked you will have a battle
that you will remember for a while.
One thing I forgot, you will
need a pair of needle nose pliers to retrieve your hook, unless you
don't mind sticking your fingers in a mouth that can separate your
fingers from your hand.
These are the breeders so only keep a few
and put some back so you will be able to have this same fun in the
years to come.
The
Flounder have turned on pretty good, with big numbers coming from
the creek mouths and edges of rock piles. I have done very well with
an Exude RT Slug, fished on a Carolina rig. I use a 5/0 X-Point worm
hook in the RT Slug and a 20 pound test Cajun Red line leader with
a 1/2 to 1 ounce egg sinker. I chunk it where I think Mr. Flat fish
would lay up looking for a meal and work it along the bottom. The
bite is nothing like using a live bait. It is a slam dunk, I gotta
have it bite. Don't be afraid to rare back and set the hook.
Lots
of trout showing up, one day all nice fish the next all 12 inchers.
Watch out for the blue fish, they are on fire and will destroy all
of your soft plastics and relieve you of your hard plastic lures
that get bit on the monofilament.
Reds in the creeks and river are
hitting pretty good. Try shrimp, mullet, mud minnows or a crank bait
that rattles like the gold and
black Provoker or put a glass rattle in your soft plastic. I like
the Exude Dart rigged weedless. You can slip a glass rattle in this
bait and it makes a world of difference.
Lots of Mahi, Wahoo and a few
Tuna being caught offshore on the edge of the stream. I like a green
chartreuse color Island lure for the Mahi and the new electric red
and black Island lure for the Wahoo. Try a Sea Striker Cedar Plug
for the Tuna.
Remember, moms and dads, take you kids fishing and
you will make a positive difference in their lives. Good Fishing |