Fishing with Capt. George Tunison | Sheepshead fishing heats up as the weather gets colder
Cold weather fires up the sheepshead fishing as well as bait sales so check with your local tackle store before your trip so you can move onto Plan B if needed. Everyone gets “Fiddler Crab Fever” this time of year and yes, fiddler crabs are a top choice to entice a fat sheepie to your skillet, but they’re not always available. You can walk the mud and collect your own or try Plan BEP.
Rigging is simple – a 20-pound test main line tied to a 24-inch, 20-pound fluorocarbon leader then tied to an ultra-sharp #2 hook. Add enough split shot 10 inches or so above the hook to keep the line straight up and down in the current next to the piling you’re fishing. Now take the can opener and open the $2 can of black eyed peas and carefully thread two peas onto the hook covering the point. Carefully lower the rig down to the sheep zone and hang on. Black eyed peas are only one of the off-wall-baits one dedicated YouTuber and sheepshead angler uses to put tasty whoppers in the boat. He also uses live worms, canned corn, live crickets and now, canned peas.
Out of fiddlers and shrimp at the local bait store? No problem. A $2 can of peas provides nearly 200 baits that never need ice or aeration. Sheepshead – 12-inch total length to harvest. Eight per person.
The FWC will announce the open dates for the 2026 Gulf private recreational red snapper season this spring. Although red grouper season is open year-round in state waters, it closes Feb. 1 in federal waters seaward of 20 fathoms or 120 feet. (The word fathom comes from Old English for “outstretched arms.” The measurement originated as the length between a person’s outstretched fingertips, roughly six feet, used for measuring depth by sailors.)
If we get a wind break, distant offshore numbers out to 80 feet or more may put you in African pompano territory where you’re allowed to keep two per person with a 24-inch fork length but no more than two per boat. These often large fish are open to harvest year-round.
Other offshore favorites on the now closed list are fine eating grey triggerfish, open again in March, and gag grouper, which will remain closed till September.
Fortunately, mangrove snapper remains open year-round with a 10-inch length and five per person limit in state waters and 12-inch and 10 per person in federal waters. Safer near-shore reefs should provide action on lane and mangrove snappers as well as sheepshead with Spanish mackerel showing up sometime during your trip out and back. Having a lite rod or two rigged with some long casting GotCha lures will get quick hook-ups when these high speed killing machines drive bait to the surface.
New to Southwest Florida offshore bottom fishing? Make sure to first go to GoOutdoorsFlorida.com to get your State Reef Fish Angler designation, which must be renewed annually.
Continued cold will drive many of our saltwater inshore fish deep into creeks, canals, channels, marinas and upriver seeking relief. On warm-up weeks, find rat reds and juvie snook using the mangroves and river structures, while trout feed over sun-warmed grassy flats, all three wanting shrimp.
Try and locate your great grandparent’s ancient tackle stash and look for a 10-inch-long, slender fish-shaped lure made of copper, handmade in the 1850s and named The Giant Haskell Minnow. The last one sold at auction for $101,200 in 2003. Good luck!
During winter season with crowded ramps, a little courtesy and common sense goes a long way. Never ever load, unload or perform maintenance while in the launching ramp. Completely prepare your boat away from the ramp area, then and only then, back in and down, get the boat in the water, secure it, then move out of the ramp so the next boater can launch.
Capt. George Tunison is a Cape Coral resident fishing guide. You can contact him at (239) 579-0461 or via email at captgeorget3@aol.com.