Sheepshead

Sheepshead are deep, flat-sided silvery fish marked with five to six bold black vertical bars and armed with human-like incisors backed by strong molars for crushing shellfish. That toothy grin earns them the nickname convict fish.

They relate to structure along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, including docks, bridge pilings, jetties, oyster bars, and nearshore reefs and wrecks, wherever barnacles and crustaceans encrust hard surfaces.

How to catch them

Sheepshead graze on barnacles, crabs, oysters, and shrimp scraped from hard surfaces, and they are famous for stealing bait with a subtle, deft bite. Anglers fish fiddler crabs, shrimp, or barnacles on small strong hooks tight to pilings and structure, setting the hook at the faintest tap. Scraping growth off the pilings chums them in close. Pound for pound they are dogged fighters, and they yield sweet, firm fillets.