Sheepshead

Name:

Sheepshead

Scientific Name:

Archosargus probatocephalus

Characteristics:

The sheepshead is a marine fish that grows to 30 in (760 mm), but commonly reaches 5 to 8 in. It is deep and compressed in body shape, with 5 to 6 dark bars on the side of the body over a gray background. It has sharp dorsal spines. Its diet consists of oysters, clams, and other bivalves, and barnacles, fiddler crabs, and other crustaceans. It has a hard mouth, with several rows of stubby teeth, which help crush prey.

Adult Size:

The average weight of a sheepshead is 3 to 4 pounds, but some individuals reach the range of 10 to 15 pounds.

Fishing Tactics:

As sheepshead feed on bivalves & crustaceans successful baits include shrimp, sand fleas (molecrabs), clams, and mussels.Sheepshead have a knack for stealing bait, so a small hook is necessary. Locating sheepshead in a boat is not difficult: fishermen look for rocky bottoms or places with obstructions, and they try around jetties and the pilings of bridges & piers.