January Offers Great Sheepshead Fishing

January is one of the best months to target sheepshead. Two of the best places to target these striped bandits will be in the rivers and out on the nearshore rocks. In the rivers holes with lots of rock and structure are best. I use a 1/8^th oz. jig head with a live shrimp for bait.

One of my favorite sheepshead spots on the river is a dock that has two shackles that slide up and down a oyster shell pylon with the tides or big wakes. On low tides this creates a chummed area where sheepshead will feed. Some anglers even will use a flat blade shovel to scrape a dock post to chum them. As always, if it's not your dock ask permission. If you are lucky you won't have to scrape all 8 post before the owner will let you fish there.

On the nearshore rocks on most calm days you can drift over the structure and see if there are fish on it. Some days though it can be churned up with bad visibility. On those day's usually a few days after a cold front the sheepshead will bite really well. High profile rocks generally have more fish. The sheepshead tend to bite well out there and a angler can get a quick feel for the bite. I usually let my fisherman know the bite will be a "peck peck" followed be a slow deliberate pull. When this happens set the hook.

For more information about the tackle I use and specific tactics that produce ample fish, check out my sheepshead fishing video.

Captain William Toney

Homosassa Inshore Fishing