The latest cold fronts have not packed that much of a punch. Just a cool day with breezy to windy conditions. The new comer to the inshore bite besides trout and red fish has been sheepshead. Sheepshead usually gear up on the near shore rocks sometimes around Christmas but my clients and I have been catching them on rocky points while targeting red fish. I believe this is a pre spawn ritual that sheepshead will school around structure like docks, rocks and ledges. When I target red fish in the Chassahowitzka area I will use a cork and shrimp on a 1/8 0z. jig head. The jig head will let the shrimp stay vertical under the cork with a fast moving current. A shrimp on a hook will sometimes “ski ” behind the cork in fast moving water not allowing it to stay in the strike zone. When a sheepshead bites on a cork rig the cork will slowly sink sometimes just below the surface. This is the time to set the hook. If you miss the first time, reel up your bait and inspect it. If the shrimp is bit off in chunks most likely its a sheepshead but if the legs are missing most likely its pinfish. If you find that the bait is been bit off in chunks then immediately cast it back to the same spot. A hungry sheepshead will come back to finish the shrimp.
- Nature Coast - March 23, 2024
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