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Get hooked on Sheepshead fishing from Pensacola Beach pier
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 had a few cold snaps in it with some mild days. So, last month's prediction that there would be plenty of redfish on the pier looked pretty good. December, well we can just hope that it will not let us down.
Starting with the Pensacola Beach Gulf Pier where the catch of the day have been Flounder, Black Drum, and Pompano with the nice Redfish stopping by for a bite. The fishing has been pretty good at the pier last month. 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. Just a note, the Pe n s a c o l a Beach Fishing Pier does not carry live shrimp, but you can always pick some if from Vic, Darryl and the guys at Gulf Breeze Bait and tackle next to the Waffle House in Gulf Breeze.
Pompano have been h u n g r y making a strong late s e a s o n showing at the pier and along the sand bars despite the rain this month trying to cloud the water. They have been taking shrimp, sand fleas and small grubs. The water at the pier is fairly clear so site fishing for pompano is productive on sunny days. Black Drum is also being caught along the pilings with live shrimp and fiddler crabs if you can get them.
 | | ABOVE: Whether its sheephead or pompano, you're sure to get a catch from the pier! |
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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 crab. 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 1/4 ounce jig. They will get him!
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 olive-brown back and five or six dark slightly diagonal bars along each side. It uses it's 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 Buddy Rogers of the charter boat Reel Eazy said that offshore between the weather fronts the Captains are bringing in nice Grouper, 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 here. 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!
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