January is one of the best months to target sheepshead. Two of the best places to find sheepshead are in the rivers and out on the nearshore rocks. In the rivers, holes with lots of rock and structure are best. I use a 1/8th. jig head with a live shrimp for bait.

One of my favorite sheepshead spots on the river is a dock that has two shackles that slide up and down an oyster shell pylon with the tides or big wakes. On low tides this creates a chummed area that sheepshead will feed at. Some anglers even will use a flat blade shovel to scrape a dock post to chum them. As always, if it’s not your dock ask permission. If you’re lucky you won’t have to scrape all 8 posts before the owner will let you fish there. 

On the nearshore rocks, on most calm days, you can drift over the structure and see if there are fish on it. Some days, though, it can be churned up with bad visibility. On those days, usually a few days after a cold front, the sheepshead will bite good. High profile rocks generally have more fish. The sheepshead tend to bite well out there and an angler can get a quick feel for the bite. I usually let my fisherman know the bite will be a “peck” “peck” followed be a slow deliberate pull. When this happens set the hook.

This weekend incoming tide will be at daylight in the morning. 

Homosassa Inshore Fishing Report from Captain William Toney

To schedule a fishing charter or shore lunch excursion with Captain Toney, visit his website. He is a third-generation fishing guide in the Homosassa area, a member of the Homosassa Guides Association, and he provides the Homosassa Inshore Fishing Report each week to NatureCoaster.com.

To read about our Shore Lunch excursion with Captain Toney, click here.

If you want to learn more about how to catch Nature Coast fish from Captain Toney, subscribe to his videos at https://inthespread.com