![]() ![]() Certain pilings get a reputation for holding sheepshead. Those anglers get to the pier early to monopolize the choice spots. A look at the pier house photos will show only a few individuals catching those big fish. Only one out of 20 to 100 docks will hold large numbers of super-sized sheepshead on a consistent basis and there will only be certain places during certain tide stages at any particular dock where the fish bite the best. The foot is cut into two pieces and the rest of the clam's internal organs are separated, making three baits. Banging two clams against each other breaks the shells. The bigger "chowder" clams are the best sheepshead bait. Clams are subject to harvest restrictions in most places, but any seafood market sells clams that can be used as bait. Some anglers buy or rake clams to use for bait. Obviously, however, before using protected crabs like blue crabs for bait, anglers should check the regulations. Mud crabs that hide among oyster shells and beneath riprap and other hard objects make excellent sheepshead bait. It takes plenty of fiddlers for a day of sheepshead fishing, so many anglers freeze them ahead of time, spending off-fishing days collecting bait.Īny other crab makes good sheepshead bait and there are many tiny species of crabs that work. Some anglers catch fiddlers in the grass when the tide is up and others catch them as they scamper on bulkheads and piers. But if handled gently, they seldom nip hard enough to draw blood. Still, some anglers collect them by hand.Ī fiddler can pinch. A crab dip net will also make massive catches. A fine-mesh cast net can be tossed over a gang of fiddlers. The tiny critters gather in armies at the water's edge in creeks and ditches. "Since they are good to eat, sheepshead are targeted by anglers, so the handling of one after capture creates the possibility of being bitten or poked by their sharp dorsal fin spines.Low tide is the best time to catch fiddler crabs. "They pose no threat to humans unless harassed," Catania added. "I would not hesitate to swim in waters inhabited by these fish," David Catania, the collections manager for ichthyology at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, told in 2021 after a TikTok video describing a sheepshead as a "demon fish" went viral. Even when sheepshead fish have a full set of gnashers they are typically not dangerous to humans, but it's not a good idea to provoke them. and in the Gulf of Mexico, according to the IUCN. Sheepshead fish are safe for human consumption and are commercially and recreationally fished along the southeastern coast of the U.S. Sheepshead fish usually reach maturity at 2 years old and can live for at least 20 years. Once fertilized, the eggs hatch after just 28 hours. Scientists don't know much about sheepshead fish spawning behavior, but females may produce between 1,100 eggs and 250,000 eggs, according to FMNH. ![]() To reproduce, a female fish releases her eggs, which a male then fertilizes with sperm. Related: Under the sea: 50 breathtaking images from our oceans How do sheepshead fish breed? Sheepshead fish swim from the surface down to a depth of 49 feet (15 meters), according to the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama. In late winter and early spring, sheepshead fish head offshore to spawn, according to the Florida Museum of Natural History (FMNH). While sheepshead fish usually live in salt water and slightly salty brackish water, they are sometimes found in freshwater habitats in winter, when they seek out warmer waters where springs and rivers empty into the ocean. Genus and species: Archosargus probatocephalus ![]()
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