Sunrise with Two Trophy Sheepshead (VIDEO)

Here's the video of the two sheepshead from this post (link). 

Two Trophy Sheepshead, Spades, Togs, and a Keeper Cobia

A dim glow was slowly creeping across the eastern sky when my kayak set free from the beach.  The water was black and glassy and the glide was silky smooth.  I looked up at the stars, smiled, and whispered gratitude.  When I looked back down, my bow was cutting through thick bioluminescence creating Tron-like streaks on the water.  Each stroke of my Werner Kalliste sent clouds of electric blue swirling by and like the other times I've sat on an expansive touch-sensitive light-up body of water, I was reminded of what it feels like to be a child... giddy... full of wonder and amazement. 

The surreal Life-Of-Pi-esque scene, minus the gazillion jellyfish and jumping whale, faded as color spread and reflected on the mirror finish. 

I dropped my sheepshead rig in four or five spots before the sun was clear of the horizon.  Not too long afterwards, I got my first bite.  The strange yet familiar grinding with a sudden weight triggered that instinctual swing and urgent need to gain line.  Plunges of my rod tip preluded the high friction exiting of said line.  We exchanged possession of that length a few times while I kicked and pushed to get away from the big CBBT pilings.  When its rage wore off, I realized the hook was only holding on to a tiny sliver at the tip of it's lip.  I turned the fish so I could tuck my foot under it's pelvic fin, pinned it against the side of my kayak and pushed up as I pulled on the leader.  It measured right at 24".  

24" Release Citation Sheepshead

About 20 minutes later, I replayed the previous sequence much to my delight.  The 25"er had better hook placement on it though. 

25" Release Citation Sheepshead

It was 7:18 and I doubled up on my goal of getting a release citation sheepshead.  Since the bite was hot, I stuck around the area hoping for a third.  However, my patience ran out quickly thinking about the other goals I had for the day.  I had been wanting to make a print of a spadefish for a while, but haven't had a chance to bring one home.  After a quick paddle to different spot, the first drop down with clam brought on the rod-vibrating fight of a 10" spadefish.  Second drop down produced similar. Then, after 15 minutes of no action, I decided it was time to move on.  I checked off goal number two, as one of the spades went on ice destined to be inked.

The final goal of the day was to give it a good shot for cobia.  The sun was getting high enough to possibly see them.  Keeping a keen eye on the surface, I tried to cover as much water as possible in my Ultra 4.7.  However, when I got to one of my favorite spots, I had to drop a fiddler crab down just to see if anyone was home.

Anyone else remember Beetlejuice from Howard Stern?

After four togs up to about 15" I pulled myself away to resume the cobia hunt.  After a good long paddle, I saw what I was hoping for; silly brown clown circling a piling.  It wasn't very big, but I was definitely still going to take a shot.  It was swimming counter clockwise and I tossed a RonZ past the piling to the right side just as fish came around on the left.  I swam it near the surface and he charged as soon as he saw it.  He hit it but didn't eat.  I bounced it and he started chasing.  It was getting fairly close to the kayak and I was running out of line.  I dipped the rod down, thinking I was going to have to open the bail to let the lure drop, but then he grabbed it hard and I slammed it home.  Up until this point, I had only hooked up to cobia on friends' boats and charters.  I've seen plenty from a kayak, including some monsters, but for various reasons (sometimes beyond my control and sometimes my fault) I just never got a hook up.  So, I took my time and enjoyed this fight.  He immediately took some line, came up to the surface and thrashed, circled around and made a run back toward the pilings.  I was able to turn him and then he sounded.  For a smallish cobia, it definitely had some attitude; which I wanted all gone from him when it came time to bring it on the kayak.  I let him take as many runs as he wanted.  Eventually, he stayed relatively calm and I noticed the hook placement was good.  I grabbed the leader and slowly pulled him up.  

I quickly measured him at 38" and decided to keep it.  Knowing how strong they are and their destructive nature if it were to thrash in my lap, I took the hammer to the dome.  

I could have ended the trip at 7 in the morning and the 2hr drive home would have still been all smiles.  But with two release citation sheepies, spades, togs, and a keeper cobia under the hatch... you could say I was cheezin pretty hard. 
 
I made it back to shore by 2pm to get back home by 5pm as promised.  Cherry on top of it all was taking the kids to their first baseball game.  

That celebratory beer though...

Cheers.

Hopefully I'll be back out soon to upgrade that kayak cobia.

In the meantime, fish prints it is...

Video of the sheepies and cobia coming soon.

17 Boat Beating Champs and a Trophy Shark

This weekend was

LEGEN

DARY.

Plans were to remain on task and search for saltwater trophy specie number 5 of 6, but two days before the Catching for Kids Club Challenge Tournament, I got a message saying a few anglers were not going to make it.  Several weeks earlier, I told Mark Lozier (team leader and organizer) that if he got in a bind, I'd join.  So with blessings from my wife, I signed up and even recruited another skilled angler, Jay Brooks for the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel (CBBT) subgroup of Team TKAA to compete against 7 other fishing clubs... who all used big boats and motors.

There were 17 TKAA members spread through 4 subgroups to target different species at different locations.  The CBBT, HRBT (Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel), Eastern Shore, and Back River were the areas we focused.  The CBBT group, consisting of William Ragulsky, Alex Britland, Joe Underwood, Jay Brooks and myself launched at an ungodly hour to make it to the prime spots by the designated lines-in time of 5am.  And it was worth it. 

Ragulsky 25" - Choi 26" - Brooks 25"  Triple Sheepshead Photo courtesy of Joe Underwood.  And Lee Williams is a badass

It turned out to be an amazing day filled with decent sized triggerfish, spadefish, flounder, spot and four citation sheepshead.  Joe Underwood, who's had some tough luck with his quest for trophy sheepshead finally got his right before we had to head back to the weigh-in.  To top it off, it was the biggest of the 4!  Check out his story and pics(link).

The other groups had great days as well.  Three man group Richie Bekolay, Chip Camp, and Drew Camp fished Back River and were successful in sweeping 1st, 2nd and 3rd in both the puppy drum and speckled trout divisions.  With 2 anglers being MIA, that's pretty darn amazing if you ask me.  Richie tells the story from Back River and explains the point system well on his post (link).  It was truly a team effort as every group had significant catches and added points to our total.... a total that broke the tournament record.  The unprecedented 32 points trumped second place by 13 points.  We swept the puppy drum, trout, and sheepie divisions, got 3 other first places (spadefish, spot, and triggerfish) and the accolades can go on... we pretty much dominated.  

Top row left to right - Joe Underwood, Rob Choi, William Ragulsky, Andy Backowski, Alex Britland, Jay Brooks, Richie Bekolay, James Short, Wayne Bradby, Chuck Wrenn, Jeff Lockhart, Kris Lozier and Tom Powers.
Bottom row left to right - Chip Camp, Drew Camp, Mark Lozier and Joe Maccini.

Much love and respect for our boating friends, 

but after coming close a few years in a row, we got you this time...  

in our dinky little kayaks!   

Before our heads get too big, we can't forget what this was really all about.  The proceeds from the tournament help to collect toys, school supplies and donations for needy children in our community.  In conjunction with Toys For Tots, the organization helps thousands of kids smile on Christmas morning.  

A big thank you to all the volunteers for making this tournament possible and help such a worthy cause.

After a little celebrating, focus was returned to my personal endeavors.  With all the hoopla around shark week and suggestions from good friends, I decided on my next target.

The next morning, Jay Brooks generously put his personal agenda aside to serve as a witness on my citation quest.  We drove over the prior day's fishing spots and launched on the Eastern Shore.  My plan was to anchor up next to a deep channel and put cut baits out.  I've caught 4 to 5 foot sharks before doing just that.  But as we were paddling across a flat on the way there, I saw a big tail thrashing on the surface in 4 feet of water.  With an unweighted whole dead spot trolling behind me, I immediately paddled over.  To try to get a better view, I got up on my knees and slowed down when I got to the area.  Not a minute passed when a little splash behind me caught my attention.  I looked back to see a massive swirl where my bait used to be...  then the clicker screamed at a pitch I never heard before and it was on.  Before I knew it, I was on the fastest sleigh ride I've ever been on.
 

There was no up and down play like my previous sharks.  It was all flats and insane horizontal runs with unreal directional changes.  Their agility and speed can really test a kayak anglers ability to make appropriate adjustments during a fight and avoid potentially dangerous situations.
 

I almost lost my rod once, took a backwards sleigh ride a few times, and almost broke my rod on the gunnel twice.  The shark liked to scream off in one direction, then abruptly turn around and charge back the other way, leaving me guessing as to where it was actually going to end up.  After almost half an hour, I finally got a good look at it.  It was close to the 6 feet I needed.  The Virginia Saltwater Tournament rules states that it needs to be 72" but estimated lengths may be used for sharks.  And technically, I can touch the leader and if a witness thinks it was 6' or bigger, I can cut it and it counts as a citation.  But "close enough" just isn't my style.  So I decided I had to measure the beast.

It took me a while but I finally got my fish tailer looped on.
 

Much to my surprise it stayed calm when I first did it.  But then all of a sudden it freaked out and I came ever so close to tipping over.

 

Got some stank on my face :)

There was a marsh island close by so I decided I had to drag it there.  But the thing is, dragging something that big is miserable even for a relatively short distance… not to mention I ran the threat of killing it.  In my stubbornness, I tried for a short bit then Jay thought that maybe it was worn out enough to lift it on to my lap and take a quick measurement.  I attempted to it try it but about 1/3 of the way up it freaked out again...

Hindsight is 20/20

It was definitely still lively enough so I dragged it to the marsh.

From tip of the nose to tip of the tail - 75" Black Tip

Big thank you to Jay Brooks for helping with pics

After 5 to 10 minutes of reviving it swam off nice and strong.

Citation #5: Check

Afterwards, we went right back to the same spot and caught several 4' to 5' blacktips.

I know sharks are an alluring species to target, but if you are not used to battling large fish, I highly recommend starting with big stripers or red drum before tangoing with grey suits.  It's a different kind of fight.  They are extremely erratic and unpredictable with maneuvers that are difficult to manage in a kayak.  The potential for dangerous situations and bodily harm is very real.  I know I made some mistakes that I luckily recovered from.  I'm not saying don't ever do it because they are a blast, but please do not take them lightly.

Sheepshead Tips and Rig

This post includes additional info and graphics along with the published article from the July 2013 issue of The Chesapeake Angler.

Sheepshead can give one heck of an adrenaline rush, especially in a kayak. The stark contrasting bars that mark their body earned them nickname, convict.  And when hooked, they definitely run like they just broke out of jail.  A trophy sized sheepshead will put your tackle to the test and challenge your ability to negotiate the structures they dwell.  Kayakers who know what to look for can take advantage of the world class sheepshead fishery that is the Chesapeake Bay.  

Starting in mid June through late October, Sheepshead can be found on most structures in the Chesapeake Bay.  The CBBT bridge structures along with the rock islands tend to hold the biggest convicts.  One of the advantages of fishing in a kayak is that we can rub right up against the pilings.  I like to feel for rubble at the bottom and target those pilings most.  Sheepshead are also known to stay suspended and even just under the surface near the pilings.  They have also been known to hang underneath schools of spadefish as well.  

My rig of choice is a dropper loop about 10” to 16” above a 2-6 ounce sinker.  I use 50-60lb fluorocarbon leader and 2/0-4/0 super sharp Owner cutting point J hooks.  I like to have about 2 to 3 feet of flourocarbon above the dropper loop.  I tie up several rigs with swivels at the top for ease of attaching and put them in a leader wallet.  When fishing in thick structure, there’s a good chance you will go through several rigs.  Another rig people seem to like is a carolina rig style set up with a 2-4 ounce egg sinker over a swivel to a foot or foot and a half of flourocarbon leader to hook.  This rig would be good for suspended fish in my opinion.  My main line is 40-50lb braid which is spooled up on a quality baitcaster with tight and smooth drag.  A 7 foot fast action-medium heavy rod, that’s sensitive yet has enough back bone to withstand some serious pullage will do.  I've been using a Shimano Trevala S jigging rod and enjoy the light weight and great balance but have full confidence in it's ability to put on enough pressure.  Lately, my preference for the reel has been a Curado 300 EJ.




Baits of choice are fiddler crabs or mole crabs aka sand fleas.  Fiddlers can either be caught in the marsh or bought at most tackle/bait shops in the area.  My preference is to take the big claw off and send the hook through the subsequent hole and out through the top. I'll save the big claws just in case I run out of fiddlers. I've caught big sheepshead on just the claw. Mole crabs can be caught in the surf using various methods, including hand digging, as well as half a minnow trap sifted through the sand where the water meets the sand, but a mole crab rake is best.  I hook the mole crabs through the apron (small flap on the underside) and send the barb through the top. Convicts will also eat various other crustaceans, including clams, mussels, other crabs, etc.  

I normally start by working the bottom, but if I don't get a bite after a few minutes, I'll reel up 4-5 cranks and suspend the bait. The bite is hard to explain.  They can be quite the bait stealer, but once you figure out the bite, you’ll figure out the timing of when to set the hook.  In the mean time, for beginners, I’d suggest to go ahead and swing if you think there was a bite.  I’d rather swing and miss than bring up an empty hook over and over again.  Sometimes you’ll just feel a sudden weight on the other end without even feeling a bite.  For that situation, definitely go ahead and swing. If you feel a heavy weight, reel as much line in as you can before it realizes what's happening.


The ensuing runs will astonish even seasoned anglers. If you’re fishing around a piling and it starts taking you around the structure; as soon as you feel your line rubbing the piling put your reel in free spool and paddle through then engage again.  Otherwise your chances at pulling that big sheepie back through are slim to none.  

Once you’ve landed a big one on your kayak, beware of the large spikes along the dorsal and anal fins.  They’re gnarly and while flailing, will leave you bloody if you’re not careful.  You will also notice the strangely human like teeth of the sheepshead.

A note about the sheepshead I’d like to share is that once they reach the 20-22” range they take a very long time to grow to trophy size.  Although they are excellent table fare, I urge you to consider releasing trophy size sheepsheads (24” and above) since we would all like to see the specie thrive for a long time.  

 

Slump Busting Convict

"Scoping the rocks"  Photo credit: Joe Underwood

The last month and a half have been more than a little frustrating as trip after trip ended in disappointment.  Near trophy sized cobia and massive black drum came oh so close, but alas, they snubbed their noses at my offerings.  Small triggerfish around the 1st island and lunch break bassin' are cool and all, but just don't cut it.

After 8 outings, I finally busted the slump.  I was out at the CBBT 1st island, soaking bait for big uglies (black drum) while messing with small triggers, croakers, black sea bass, and oystertoads on my sheepshead rig.  I thought I had a trigger bite my mole crab when I set the hook on something big.  The drag run had me thinking it might be a behemoth trigger or maybe...
then I saw the stripes of the convict.

24" Release citation Sheepshead

Trophy Specie #4: Check
Thanks to Joe Underwood for helping with photos

Sheepshead are one of my favorites in the Chesapeake bay, but cobes, big uglies, and a few other species will take priority in my quest for saltwater trophy specie numbers 5 and 6. 

Late Afternoon Piling Hunt

After some back and forth deliberating on whether it would be worth it or not, 

I finally got on the water at 4pm.

Glad I did...

The conditions weren't the best with wind and current making things quite difficult.  However, the little spades were easy for the pickin', along with this little guy...

After switching over to fiddlers, 

it didn't take me long to hunt down a fiesty little tog.

The highlight of the short jaunt was a trophy sheepshead.

CBBT Critterpalooza

After waiting out a storm, and launching over an hour later than expected, the first thing I saw was a cobia thrashing on some bait.  I quickly grabbed the bucktail rod that I specifically brought just in case that scenario presented itself, but by the time I turned back around it was gone.  After searching a while, I switched to dropping mole crabs.

First up, a nice hard fighting 22" sheepshead.  

Next, a not-so-good looking schoolie striper.

Then, after a few croakers, I switched over to clams and tried for spades.  I didn't see any or get any bites at the usual spot and the current was brutal, so I took refuge on the down current side of the island.    It was a good opportunity to look for big black drum that sometimes hang out in the rocks near the surface, but that was also fruitless.  Next, I turned my efforts towards triggerfish and quickly hooked up to a bunch of baby black sea bass.  Normally, I'd be pretty irritated but after remembering that they were on the list, I got to tagging.  Eventually, I got a slightly different kind of hit and slowly reeled in to find a triggerfish chasing the empty jig head.  I rebaited and caught the aggressive little guy.  Sorry no pic.  He was only 11".  Tagged and released.

I kept at it and after a while, noticed an itty bitty little thing just under the surface... something I've never seen before.  

After doing some homework, I'm pretty sure it's a juvenile Banded Rudderfish.  It stayed under my kayak for quite some time, darting out every once in a while.

I love finding new species!

After eating a snack while watching my little buddy peek out from under me, I switched back to mole crabs and brought up something I've never caught before.

Bergall aka Cunner

Like tautog, it's a member of the wrasse family.   

I braved the current again to try jigging for flounder, but only became frustrated.  The water was just too fast.  After losing a few 2oz jigs and not getting any bites, I went back to the island.  Eventually the current slowed down, but only for a little while.  The incoming was also predicted to be very fast, so my window of opportunity was short.  I went back to find the spades.  They were little, but at least I got some.

Even the little ones put a bend in the rod

Wee lil' 8" spade

One right after another

Like predicted, the slack current didn't last long.  And after tagging several of the baby spades, and getting a serious work out from all the one arm paddling, I had to call it a day.

The paddle back seemed to take forever... giving me a chance to think about the tough but interesting day.

First Sheepie of the Year

As soon as I set the hook, I knew.  It was heavy and I cranked as fast as I could knowing the jaw-clenching drag run was coming... and it most definitely did.  All the line I gained in the beginning was back under water and as hard as I tried to keep it away from the piling, it was still strong enough to get where it wanted.  I felt my line rubbing but luckily I was ready with the one arm paddle action.  I made two hard sweeps and got in position to give a good yank on the rod.  I turned his head and started gaining line... only for it to go on another awe inspiring run.  This time it didn't get back to the pilings, but I was still nervous about how much damage my line sustained the last time.  When I got it near the surface, my suspicions were confirmed in the form of a shredded leader.  And of course, in true sheepshead fashion, it got it's head pointed back down and as the tail started kicking I loosened up the drag just in time.  Two more heart stopping runs ensued and I could have sworn I was going to lose that fish.  But somehow I ended up landing my first sheepshead of 2012.

First Citation of the year, too.

Bubba is a tough fighter, but when you play rough, sometimes you lose a tooth.

You'll notice the color difference in the first two pictures.  The longer they stay out of water, the more faded the colors will get.  Please make sure, especially in the warmer months, to get them back in the water quickly and revive them thoroughly before releasing them.  It's pretty amazing to watch their colors come right back and vibrant.

I also caught a 25" black drum that fought well, but after the last fight, definitely seemed a bit on the wussy side.  There are few fish in our neck of the woods that will get your adrenaline rushing like a big ol' sheepshead.

Tidbits of what I used:  Bait, mole crabs (although other crustaceans will work as well, including fiddler crabs).  Rig, 2/0 Owner cutting point hook on dropper loop (1/0-3/0 will work).  3-4 oz sinker (sometimes more depending on current), 40lb leader, 30lb braid (most people use heavier braid and leader and it's recommended).  Stout yet sensitive rod and quality reel with smooth drag is crucial.  Noodley rods will not get a good hook set and you will not have enough power to turn the fish during the fight.  A drag that stutters will also end in disappointment.  

Side note:  Thanks goes out to Kevin, Lee and Jay for confirming our hunch earlier in the week.  Unfortunately, as luck would have it, Jay dropped two.  I'm sure they will be out for retribution soon.