# The other white meat ..... sheephead !!



## troutalex33 (Aug 21, 2012)

West bay .... Caught all the sheepies we could hook ...
Lots of fun and limits of sheepies and puppy drum . Did I mention lots of fun !
Cant post pics but you guys know what sheepies look like .
Bait : Live Skrimps ( Bayou Bait )
Water : Sandy Green 
Area : West Bay 
Other species : 0 keepers
God Bless !


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## fish4food (Feb 11, 2011)

Ainâ€™t nothing wrong with that! Theyâ€™ll keep and eat just fine.


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## mccain (Oct 20, 2006)

how'd you rig for them?


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## jetbuilt (May 4, 2010)

My wife and daughters caught a mess of sheepshead and puppy drum in Seadrift this Sunday...they sure made for a good dinner last night!


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## Ethan Hunt (Dec 7, 2007)

jetcycles said:


> My wife and daughters caught a mess of sheepshead and puppy drum in Seadrift this Sunday...they sure made for a good dinner last night!


filet or whole?


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## jetbuilt (May 4, 2010)

Ethan Hunt said:


> filet or whole?


Both filets and whole minus the head and guts. I simply dusted the filets as well as the whole fish (scored to the bone in a few places) and pan fried them in butter. Excellent table fare in my humble opinion.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## troutalex33 (Aug 21, 2012)

*sheephead rig*

Very simple 
I tie a double drop or single out of clear 20 lb test and use small hooks liked a EAGLE CLAW LO42 #2 or a #2 kahle hook so that you can thread shrimp on hook . The fresher the shrimp the better ,so I buy live shrimp and cut head off and thread on too hook . 
Bamm get ready ...these guys fight good on light tackle .


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## ddakota (Jun 28, 2009)

Sweet! I love catching and eating sheepshead. Iâ€™ve got a light weight spinning rig I use for them. Sure is fun!


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## Calmday (Jul 7, 2005)

We wear them out with live shrimp under a cork right up next to rocks. Lots of snags but works great other than that.


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## c hook (Jul 6, 2016)

*excellent table fair*

I've heard sheepshead are excellent to eat, also heard they are hard to clean with a lot of bones. I believe all three, but I sure would like to have a mess of filets. :texasflag


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## Calmday (Jul 7, 2005)

This is how I clean them


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## pocjetty (Sep 12, 2014)

Calmday said:


> This is how I clean them


Including the rubber gloves? 

I've got Winter Texan friends who won't fish for anything else. They motor to their spot, whack five sheepsheads, and head home. That's how they clean theirs, and they make it look pretty easy.

I usually go with them once per season. It's not my favorite way to fish. I don't hate it, but if it's a choice between that and chunking lures, I just lean the other way. Some fine eating, though.


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## Bocephus (May 30, 2008)

All da way down :biggrin:


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## troutsupport (May 22, 2006)

jetcycles said:


> Excellent table fare in my humble opinion.


Probably the best two in the bay.


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## ccketchum (Oct 18, 2010)

i love me some bay snapper . i clean them like in the video


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## Ag03Aj (Oct 17, 2012)

c hook said:


> I've heard sheepshead are excellent to eat, also heard they are hard to clean with a lot of bones. I believe all three, but I sure would like to have a mess of filets. :texasflag


I used to think this as well until last spring break I tried to filet them and cleaned them just like I would a bass. I thought they were just as good eatin as trout and reds. I wont be throwing them back anymore!


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## mullet1422 (Nov 12, 2018)

Great eating! I'm just wondering though, how big is BIG sheepshead?


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## Stumpgrinder1 (Jul 18, 2016)

mullet1422 said:


> Great eating! I'm just wondering though, how big is BIG sheepshead?


Ive caught them up to 6-8 lbs

The Texas state record is 15.25 lbs. Thats a big arse sheepshead !


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## troutalex33 (Aug 21, 2012)

*Big Sheephead*

My biggest ever was pre boat days and I fished seawolf park .. behind the pavilion next to channel marker in corner . I caught a 10 lber . That was many years ago .but here recently our largest the other day was in 5 to 6lb range .


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## SolarScreenGuy (Aug 15, 2005)

c hook said:


> I've heard sheepshead are excellent to eat, also heard they are hard to clean with a lot of bones. I believe all three, but I sure would like to have a mess of filets. :texasflag


Yes. I've heard that there are charter captains in Florida who specialize in catching Sheepshead. The filets are very good eating, but bring a saw to filet them. Hard to do with a regular filet knife.

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2Cool Discounts
Call Mike (SolarScreenGuy) at 713-446-3249


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## Stumpgrinder1 (Jul 18, 2016)

SolarScreenGuy said:


> Yes. I've heard that there are charter captains in Florida who specialize in catching Sheepshead. The filets are very good eating, but bring a saw to filet them. Hard to do with a regular filet knife.
> 
> Solar Screens, Ext. Roll Down Shades, Plantation Shutters
> 2Cool Discounts
> Call Mike (SolarScreenGuy) at 713-446-3249


https://filletzall.com/

heres the answer


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## Tigerhead52 (Oct 9, 2016)

If you are brave enough to scale one, try baking it in the oven. I have scaled them using a small garden hoe. Just lay it on the concrete, step on the head and go to town with the hoe. 

Then cut down both sides of the dorsal and anal fins and pull them out with a pair of pliers. Cut the head off and gut the fish. Score the sides like you would a flounder. Season liberally with Tony's (make sure you get the seasoning down in the scores and in the groove on the back) and put it in a roasting pan with a little oil in the bottom. Scatter some lemon slices and pats of butter on top and slip it in the oven at 350 to 375 deg. Cooking time depends on how thick the fish is, but you can usually figure on 45 minutes to an hour, maybe a little more for a really thick one. When it's done the skin will peel right off the meat and the meat will fall right off the bone. It is delicious! 

Kind of a lot of trouble unless you have a really big one. But if you do, well worth the effort.


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## Stumpgrinder1 (Jul 18, 2016)

Tigerhead52 said:


> If you are brave enough to scale one, try baking it in the oven. I have scaled them using a small garden hoe. Just lay it on the concrete, step on the head and go to town with the hoe.
> 
> Then cut down both sides of the dorsal and anal fins and pull them out with a pair of pliers. Cut the head off and gut the fish. Score the sides like you would a flounder. Season liberally with Tony's (make sure you get the seasoning down in the scores and in the groove on the back) and put it in a roasting pan with a little oil in the bottom. Scatter some lemon slices and pats of butter on top and slip it in the oven at 350 to 375 deg. Cooking time depends on how thick the fish is, but you can usually figure on 45 minutes to an hour, maybe a little more for a really thick one. When it's done the skin will peel right off the meat and the meat will fall right off the bone. It is delicious!
> 
> Kind of a lot of trouble unless you have a really big one. But if you do, well worth the effort.


take the sides off and leave the scales on . Same concept as redfish on the half shell


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## BFI-TX (Nov 26, 2016)

They are not any more difficult to clean than a redfish once you get the hang of it. Just not much yield due to that big ole head and rib cage. Makes for some excellent ceveche in addition to the above mentioned suggestions.


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## Redtailcharters.com (Jul 27, 2016)

I continue to hear if you de head and gut them then put in cheese cloth bag and boil like crawfish the meat will fall off after you peel the skin. The **** asses over here swear you canâ€™t tell the difference between lump crab meat and boiled sheepshead. Iâ€™m gonna try it soon.


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## pocjetty (Sep 12, 2014)

Tigerhead52 said:


> If you are brave enough to scale one, try baking it in the oven. I have scaled them using a small garden hoe. Just lay it on the concrete, step on the head and go to town with the hoe.
> 
> Then cut down both sides of the dorsal and anal fins and pull them out with a pair of pliers. Cut the head off and gut the fish. Score the sides like you would a flounder. Season liberally with Tony's (make sure you get the seasoning down in the scores and in the groove on the back) and put it in a roasting pan with a little oil in the bottom. Scatter some lemon slices and pats of butter on top and slip it in the oven at 350 to 375 deg. Cooking time depends on how thick the fish is, but you can usually figure on 45 minutes to an hour, maybe a little more for a really thick one. When it's done the skin will peel right off the meat and the meat will fall right off the bone. It is delicious!
> 
> Kind of a lot of trouble unless you have a really big one. But if you do, well worth the effort.


I just saw this. Scaling a fish with a garden hoe is a pretty hilarious image. It's things like that that have kept me in hot water most of my life. I think we should make sure your wife never talks to my wife.


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## Tigerhead52 (Oct 9, 2016)

> I just saw this. Scaling a fish with a garden hoe is a pretty hilarious image. It's things like that that have kept me in hot water most of my life. I think we should make sure your wife never talks to my wife.


It works. Those scales go flyin. You almost need to wear goggles. I just wish I could find one big enough to warrant the effort.


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## Calmday (Jul 7, 2005)

Redtailcharters.com said:


> I continue to hear if you de head and gut them then put in cheese cloth bag and boil like crawfish the meat will fall off after you peel the skin. The **** asses over here swear you canâ€™t tell the difference between lump crab meat and boiled sheepshead. Iâ€™m gonna try it soon.


I have heard this from a few people too. I have some fillets in the freezer that I'm going to try this on next week.


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## Tigerhead52 (Oct 9, 2016)

> The **** asses over here swear you canâ€™t tell the difference between lump crab meat and boiled sheepshead. Iâ€™m gonna try it soon.


I wouldn't go as far as to say you can't tell it from lump crabmeat, if you're just eating it by itself. But I've had it in a flounder stuffing and it did a great job in the absence of real crab. Particularly if you throw some shrimp in with it.


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## Paul Marx (Nov 13, 2009)

I've done the crab boil thing . Flake off the meat and set it aside . Zatarain's sells a crab cake mix that's darn good . I've boiled Redfish and had the same results


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