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Sheepshead, redfish on angler’s minds now
Welcome to paradise! OK, you are not going to believe this … but some fishermen are looking forward to COLD WEATHER. That is right; November’s weather did not cooperate with the unseasonably warm days. So, last month’s prediction that there would be plenty of redfish on the pier did not pan out as hoped. However, December will not let us down.
Starting with the Pensacola Beach Gulf Pier where the catch of the day have been Flounder, Black Drum, Pompano with the occasional Redfish stopping by for a bite fishing has been pretty good. Flounder have been biting live shrimp as well as small grubs with a taste of shrimp on them. The best time for flounder fishing has been early morning along the pilings.
Pompano have been hungry, making a strong late season showing at the pier and along the sand bars. They have been taking shrimp and small grubs. The water at the pier is really clear so site fishing for pompano is very Mark Clabaugh productive. Black Drum are also being caught along the pilings with live shrimp.
In December, you can hope to see along with the drop in water temperature more redfish and sheepshead. Sheepsheads are showing up now and can be seen now swimming around the pilings from mid pier all the way to the end. They will be caught along the pilings using shrimp and fiddler crabs if you can get them. Sometimes the sheepshead is so fast in taking live bait that it is difficult to hook the guy. So one way to catch this bait thief is to chum an area with shrimp or bits of shellfish. After the sheepshead have begun to feed, cast with a small ¼-ounce jig. They will get him!
 | | Redfish are biting on the Pensacola Beach pier. Here, Tanner Reynolds shows his catch. |
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The sheepshead is a large porgy. It reaches a maximum weight of about 20 pounds. It’s coloration is silvery to yellowish white, with an olivebrown back and five or six dark slightly diagonal bars along each side. It uses its flat long teeth to crush mollusks and crabs and to scrap barnacles from rocks and pilings. The best thing about them is that they taste a lot like Red Snapper to me.
Captain Jerry Andrews of the charter boat Entertainer said that offshore between the weather fronts Captains are bringing in nice Grouper which were recently spared from a season closing, nice triggerfish as well as Amberjack and mingo snappers. As you know the holidays are coming up and getting offshore for some Christmas fishing which is a local tradition. You are sure to have fun and catch some nice fish. He said that with the relaxed fishing pressure the fish are hungry and the bites are usually pretty good.
Inshore and around the docks you can catch some really nice ‘slot reds’ and speckle trout. They are taking all kinds of baits from live shrimp, plugs to my favorite DOA Shrimp Baits. At night I favor fishing with the white one that glows. Casting out along a lighted dock, pop this bait along and redfish and specs cannot resist it. Also, fishing around the docks with live shrimp along the bottom is producing some really nice flounder bites too.
So, I wish everyone a
very Happy Holiday and I hope to see you fishing!
Sheepshead Herbsaint Servings: 4
Ingredients 1 1/2 cups dry white wine Juice of 1 lemon 4 fillets sheepshead (or redfish trout or drum) 1 medium peeled carrot sliced julienne (matchsticks) 1 rib celery julienne 6 black peppercorns 2 leeks 4 Tbs. butter 1 cup heavy cream 1/4 cup Herbsaint 1/2 tsp. white pepper 1 tsp. salt 1/2 cup lump crabmeat
 | | Robert Turpin and wife Tammie enjoy the outdoors with daughters Celia, 4 and Mara, 3. The family chartered Captain Dave Mucci's 29 ft boat "Y-knot?" for a fishing trip. Turpin is the chief of the Escambia County Marine Resources Division and was instrumental in bringing the Oriskany reef project to the Pensacola area. As of press time, the project is still a go, although delayed. |
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Directions
1. In a stainless-steel skillet, bring one cup of the wine, and all of the lemon juice to just barely a simmer over low heat. Add the fish, carrots, celery, and peppercorns and poach for 6-8 minutes. Check it after five minutes to see that it doesn’t overcook (the fish should not fall apart into flakes when done).
2. While the fish is poaching, saute the leeks in Tbs. butter until they turn soft—about three minutes. Add the wine and bring to a boil. Cook for another minute, then turn off the heat.
3. Remove the fish when done to a warm plate. To the poaching liquid in the skillet add the remaining butter, cream, Herbsaint, salt and pepper. Over a medium fire reduce it for about five minutes, until the mixture thickens.
4. Add the crabmeat and cook, agitating the pan lightly, until the crabmeat is cooked through.
5. Place the leeks on the serving plate, put the fish with the celery and carrots atop that, and top with the sauce.
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