Hooks Sheepshead

12Dec/09Off

Hooks Sheepshead
what the best bait, technique, and tackle to catch sheepshead?

Hey, i've been trying for several months now to catch sheepshead on pilings and rocks i know their there i just want to catch them. My friends keep saying "you got to set the hook before they bite", they have also told me to feel the bite but its hard i usually can't feel anything but when i reel my bait to check up on it its gone. I keep tension on it I don't know it i mistake it as the drag on the sand or if its the tide pulling it. I use fiddler crab maybe i am hooking them the wrong way for something i am using size 1 hook and a little bit of split shot size 4 when the water is flat or a little bit of current, and where should i place the split shot, and how long should my leader be?
HELP PLEASE!
OH and i forgot i use 20lb leader and i sometimes use shrimp and blue crab

Try a 1/0 Circle hook. Make sure it's a "sharp" circle, (preferably a Gamakatsu brand). Your hook-up ratio will improve about 40-50%.

Also you NEED to use Fluorocarbon line. Fluro has an "invisibility" feature perfectly geared toward shy Sheepshead. Use a 20", 17LB Fluro leader.

Realize, if your using dead shrimp or pieces of crab, most of the time it' not a Sheephead that has stolen your bait; it's a Pinfish.

Other reasons for not feeling the bites- What size main-line are you using? You NEED to use (at least) 15LB Mono- due to Mono's "stretching characteristic's" many times you can't feel ANYTHING when fishing in the surf, (or in a current). What I do to alleviate the "no feel" problem is to go with 8/40 Power Pro Braid. Braid is AMAZING! And with a 20-25" leader of Fluro your "invisible" too!

Try using a LIVE fiddler crab, (and make sure to hide the hook well). Also, try scraping the rocks or pier before fishing. Sheepy's are attracted to the "smell" of fresh shells and oyster's.

Hope this helps ya?