Catch Sheepshead Dauphin Island Fishing Charter

Angler Fishing for sheepshead fish is a very popular type of fish in Dauphin Island Alabama. During the spring months much like bull redfish, they begin to congregate in the Gulf of Mexico outside of  Mobile Bay to spawn, They can be caught around rock jetties and other reefs, but primarily spawn at the oil and gas rigs in the surrounding waters of Dauphin Island. Sheepshead can often be tricky to catch due to the fact that occasionally they can get  "lockjaw".

The best way to put sheepshead in the boat when they will not bite is to put on a pair of fins, a mask and a snorkel, jump in the water and begin to hunt them in the warm gulf water with a speargun. There have been many saltwater fishing trips where Sheephead are the target species to catch out of Dauphin Island, Alabama.  For those who prefer to stay in the fishing boat a rod and reel is the preferred weapon. 

There are a handful of hooks and different bait that Dauphin Island charter fishing captains will recommend to use on their saltwater fishing boats. The most common of these hooks is a small yet extremely strong circle hook baited with live shrimp. Live shrimp however are a favorite bait of many other fish species in the waters surrounding Dauphin Island. My least favorite bait to use when sheepshead fishing is cut bait. One way to avoid catching the unwanted species of fish such as Spadefish, big spawning Pinfish as well as Hard-tails is to use crabs. There are multiple  species of crabs around Dauphin Island, Alabama. I will dive into crab catching techniques in a different post. Sheepshead will eat any type of saltwater crab species you can get your hands on. It is like giving catnip to a cat. Sheepshead fish can be tricky to hook, because often they are quite skilled at stealing bait off the hook. I personally believe it is do to two factors. The first being how they eat their food. Sheepshead fish with crunch their crabs usually twice before inhaling them. If you can pay attention to this pattern you can get a good hookset. Crunch crunch hooked! The second reason sheepshead are skilled at avoiding the hook is their eyesight. As far as fish physicals go a sheepshead will receive 20/20 on the vision test every time. This is why it is imperative when catching dauphin island sheep head to hide the hook in the bait. This is why a smaller hook is prefered. 

Locating a voracious group of spawning sheephead can be difficult. They are not swayed by astrological and atmospheric effects the same as many other saltwater fish. Sheepshead fishing are often aggressive during the day on a new moon and neap tide. This is why to ensure sheepshead fishing success it is important to go fishing with Dauphin Island charter fishing, and I'll explain why. Charter captains in Dauphin Island that target sheepshead, are fishing several if not every day during the week. It is much easier to know what schools of fish are post spawn or pre spawn  and also know where they are located. The best fishing spots in Dauphin Island are those that these saltwater fishing guides frequent, and have dialed in the techniques to catch sheepshead. Book your trip online and catch trophy fish as soon as tommorow!