Species › North America · Saltwater › Sheepshead

Saltwater

Sheepshead

Archosargus probatocephalus · convict fish, bay snapper, sheephead

Water temp
61–75°F
Peak season
Dec–Mar
Best light
Daytime
IGFA record
21 lb 4 oz (9.63 kg)
Sheepshead (Archosargus probatocephalus (S0966) (12599982853).jpg)

Photo: Smithsonian Environmental Research Center · CC BY 2.0 · via Wikimedia Commons

OverviewWhere & WhenHow to CatchGearRegulationsRecordsForecastCatches

Overview

Sheepshead are deep-bodied porgies with five to seven bold black bars on a silver-gray body, sharp dorsal spines and a mouth full of incisor-like front teeth and molars that look unnervingly human. They range from Nova Scotia to Brazil but are abundant from the Chesapeake Bay south through Florida and across the Gulf of Mexico to Texas. Typical fish weigh 2–5 lb, big ones run 8–12 lb, and the world record of more than 21 lb came from a Louisiana bayou.

Sheepshead live around anything hard and encrusted: bridge and dock pilings, jetties, oyster bars, seawalls, reefs and wrecks, where they scrape off barnacles and crunch fiddler crabs, mussels, shrimp and sea urchins. They bite with a tiny tap that is famously hard to feel, and anglers joke that you must set the hook just before they bite. Late winter and early spring bring huge spawning schools to nearshore reefs and inlets, and the fish are a cold-weather lifeline when other inshore species go quiet. The white, mild fillets are prized despite the work of cleaning a fish armored with heavy scales and spines.

Typical size2–5 lb (1–2.5 kg); 14–20 in
Trophy10 lb+; 12 lb+ is exceptional
Table fareExcellent — firm, white, mild fillets

Where & when

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Sheepshead bite year-round around structure, but the peak is December–March when fish gather in spawning schools on nearshore reefs, jetties and bridge pilings; Gulf states peak in February–March while the Carolinas fish best in late fall and early spring.

Lake Pontchartrain bridges, LATrestle pilings hold big sheepshead all winterSebastian Inlet, FLJetty rocks and spring spawning aggregationsGalveston jetties, TXRock jetties and pier pilings; February peakCharleston Harbor jetties, SCFiddler crabs on the rocks October–April

How to catch

Fiddler crab tight to pilingsHook a live fiddler crab through the back edge of the shell on a size 1 to 1/0 short-shank hook with a 1/2–1 oz sinker 12 in above, and lower it straight down a piling or jetty rock. Hold the rod, watch the line, and set at any tick or slight weight; the bite is almost silent.
Scraping the pilingsUse a hoe or shovel to scrape barnacles off a piling, which starts a chum line of crushed shell and draws every sheepshead nearby. Drop a shrimp or crab bait into the cloud; this is standard on Gulf Coast bridges.
Jig-and-shrimp on jettiesThread a piece of fresh shrimp on a 1/4–1/2 oz jighead and bounce it slowly down the face of jetty rocks, keeping contact with the bottom. Jigheads hang up less than sinker rigs and let you feel the tap.
Nearshore reef spawning schoolsIn February–March, anchor over reefs and wrecks in 20–60 ft, chum with crushed oyster or barnacle and drop fiddlers or cut crab on a knocker rig. Fish are aggressive and large, and a limit comes fast.

Gear

Rod7' medium spinning with a sensitive, fast tip
Reel2500–4000 spinning
Line15–20 lb braid with 20–30 lb fluorocarbon leader

Lures

Jigheads tipped with shrimp or crabSmall crab-imitation soft plasticsCrab fliesSmall bucktail jigs

Baits

Live fiddler crabsFresh shrimpCut blue crabOysters or clamsSand fleas

Regulations

Most Atlantic and Gulf states set a minimum length and a daily bag limit for sheepshead, with a few adding a lower limit during the late-winter spawn; a saltwater license is required.

Records

IGFA all-tackle world record: 21 lb 4 oz (9.63 kg) — St. John Bayou, New Orleans, Louisiana, April 16, 1982 (Wayne Desselle). State and regional records are kept by each fish & wildlife agency.

Frequently asked

How do you feel a sheepshead bite?

Hold the rod with a finger on the line, keep the sinker just off the bottom and set on anything different: a tick, a slight heaviness, or the line going slack. Braid and a sensitive fast-action rod help, as does using small hooks and the lightest weight that holds position.

Are sheepshead good to eat?

Yes, they are among the best-eating inshore fish, with firm white fillets that taste a bit like the crabs and shellfish they eat. Cleaning is the hard part: use a stout, sharp knife and an electric fillet knife if you have one, and watch the dorsal spines and gill plates.

Bite forecast — Sheepshead

Recent catches

Posted by anglers on the live map, filtered to Sheepshead.

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