The Sheep Are Herding!
Who doesn’t go to bed counting sheep, I know I do! The sheep I dream about aren’t soft and white though, were talking about the sought after California Sheephead. These feisty colorful fish are often targeted off our sport boats, and for good reason. Starting off as females pink in color they eventually lose their monochromatic shade and grow a white goatee as they all eventually turn into males.
The pink turns more red and black starts to appear on the front and back of the fish. You can’t help but to be a little freaked out about their teeth, they have large human like teeth which are the perfect tool for breaking apart lobster, mussel and other hard shelled pray the sheephead are well known to gorging on.
These fish can get pretty hefty also, often weighing in from 10-20#s fish in the 30# range are also seen. Often eating lobster and other tasty crustaceans, the meat on the sheephead has an almost crab like taste. They are awesome steamed and spectacular on the BBQ. Dropper loop fishing is the most common practice to wrangle up these exciting fish. Some use shrimp or mussel and others use anchovy or sardines. Whatever your bait of
choice is, when they are biting its game time on the goats. Next time you hear the sheep are herding, grab your rod and reel and head to the ultra productive Channel Islands for your sheephead dinner! For more photos, check out our Sheephead gallery. If interested in booking a trip, check out our online schedule and reservation page.
