With the most recent cold front bringing the water temp in the Tampa Bay down to 60 degrees, I thought it would be a great day to target Sheepshead. Jason , Bryson (his son) and myself met up at O’Neill’s Marina in St Petersburg Florida where we picked up 8 dozen shrimp and bag of ice for the cooler in case we wanted to take a few fish home for dinner. With the fog being very thick, we took our time navigating through the gloomy and unearthly like conditions the fog had created for us. Once we arrived to our first spot, we could see the Sheepshead chasing each other around on the oyster beds. The water was crystal clear, so I rigged our outfits with 7 ft long sections of 15 lb fluorocarbon leaders and used Owner mosquito number 2 hooks. Being that we were targeting fish in less than two feet of water, no weights or split shots were used. We started off fishing slack tide and the bite was a little slower than desired but Jason and Bryson still managed to boat several nice Sheepshead! While site casting shrimp at Sheepshead, Jason pitched a jumbo sized shrimp under the dock in hopes to catch one of the giant Tampa Bay Snook we saw lurking around the boat all morning. His shrimp wasn’t under the dock for more than 5 seconds before his drag started screaming and his line being broke off on the barnacle covered pylon, I’m pretty sure it was a big Grouper. During the winter months in the Tampa Bay, especially in the area we were fishing, it is not uncommon for Gag Grouper to make their homes in the residential canals under docks. With the bite slowing down, I made a move to the Gulf side to target Triple Tail while we waited on the tide to start moving again. While running stone crab trap lines, we only saw a few Triple Tail and unfortunately we were not able to get any of them to eat. Once we made it back to the flat we were fishing for Sheepshead, I already noticed the Sheepshead acting way more aggressive with the tide rolling off of the oysters. We fished this spot hard for several hours while moving around a little in the general area. We kept seeing the large school of Snook doing laps around us every thirty minutes or so. While pitching baits to them, we only had one or two show interest, then proceed with their laps around the oyster bed. Long story short, we probably boated 30-40 Sheepshead while inshore fishing in the Tampa Bay but only put 7 on ice for dinner. Usually Sheepshead are targeted around docks and structure, but if you find a school of fish in shallow water and can remain somewhat stealthy, you can site cast them as if you are pitching baits at Redfish or Snook, although Sheepshead are MUCH spookier. I suggest very long and light leaders with small hooks for best results. You will have to lead these fish 4-5 feet with your baits as well, they will spook out if you try to land a cast on top of them or right in front of them. Inshore fishing in the Tampa Bay is great year round and there is always something to catch! The temperature was 70 degrees today and once the fog lifted, it was absolutely gorgeous! Book your Tampa Bay inshore fishing charter with Fin & Feather to bend some rods and have a great day of inshore fishing! In the coming up months, we will be targeting Sheepshead, Snook, Trout, Redfish, Black Drum and Triple Tail!
