Free Mud Crabs vs. Pricey Tiny Fiddlers - Catch and Cook Sheepshead!

[@kj-y9y]

florida sheepshead fishery looks healthy. so many quality fish!

[@watchingyourvideo8029]

John I’ve been watching you for years, starting with flounder on the beach. I think you have the best videos as far as fishing education. By a long shot.

[@JohnSkinnerFishing]

Thanks for that!

[@charlesmurray1220]

That fish, the one that out foxed you, is as skilled as you are Mr. Skinner. 🤣

[@gm1937]

John in all the years I’ve been following you I have never seen a fish jump out of your cooler

[@ReelTimeCapt]

21:22 Wow! Congrats and WTG John!!!!! Tightlines from Fridged Virginia!

[@Onewayto2024]

Great stuff John! This is one of the many reasons I love about living in FL now. My fishing buddy and I took a ride to a local ocean beach this week. Rainy, windy and (for SE FL) it was a little cold but we banged away on the jacks for over two hours nonstop. They were practically committing suicide. Meanwhile my NY bud is lamenting about the long wait until the spring run 😅

[@vipergeddy]

Right off the bat I love that boat behind you in it's cradle that is my DREAM house keep up the great work john your friend Mike from nj 👍

[@billelia1933]

Another excellent video. Thanks John.

[@mikeknottscreek8183]

Simplicity in cooking is the way I go also.

[@goodcitizen64]

Thanks for taking us along!

[@kirkstubblefield8835]

The more I watch you fishing in the kayak the more I gotta get one. I’m going out to get 10 by the way, good content, man.

[@ArleneKing-ob7xr]

Wow that big fish got away, sorry but it was funny 😅happy and safe fishing day John .

[@rohrbough8]

Hey John, I’ve had great success with mud crabs but like you said they are harder to find. I’ve found that the mangrove tree crabs that are everywhere where I’m flipping rocks work just as good!

[@josephdoran1399]

Enjoy

[@Fish-Erman]

Yum! For a change, try Tony Chachere's Creole seasoning in place of the Old Bay. Old Bay is good, but someone turned me on to Chachere's, and it's so good on seafood, potatoes, almost anything! Now I'm hungry!

[@Ed-qf6qu]

Southern Salt has great Sheepshead content. Used an artificial called Cranka Crab. Worked well

[@erichumphrey4094]

Oh man, seeing that fish fling itself away from your cooler was painful to watch...

[@homeimprovement8119]

😢

[@webmoss]

It wasn’t its time…

[@ReelTimeCapt]

11:15 - Ouch!

[@robbubba8020]

Sad days talking about fiddler crabs... i remember when i was a kid at low tide there would be so many walking through the grass that it would be incredibly loud now you're lucky to see a handful in most places

[@Shearwater20]

Thats a cute cooler you got there. 😅

[@JohnSkinnerFishing]

Yard sale special.

[@artkitzmiller957]

11:05 RUN FORREST! RUN!!!! 🥴

[@NYJETS-uo9rr]

Went and caught two 14" sheep heads on out going tide with sand fleas..

[@pauleohl]

It is not too late to abandon the deep frying. Seasoned, egged, panko is delicious baked in a fast oven too. My aqueous adventure today was swimming. The water was 72 in the pool and I swam 1.1 miles in my full wet suit. I am an estimated ten years older than you.

[@rickstgermain9823]

Hey John. Always greasy to watch your videos both in the NE and here is SW Florida. Tough to watch that big guy get back in the water but you have no problem finding replacements. Any thoughts of dispatching your trophies in the bottom of your kayak and then moving to the cooler?

[@JohnSkinnerFishing]

Just trying to not bloody up the yak.

[@kpwilliams2340]

I'm also a some time a catch and release fisherman

[@tomdenapoli5313]

Thanks John! Do you find sheepshead in ONLY in salt water or have you had luck further up the estuaries on docks?

[@JKDavisjr]

Jail Break!!!! lol

[@andrewcunningham8098]

Never fished for sheepheads before but I caught a monster on a soft bait. I use lures 95% of the time. Figured I would give it a try. Watched videos, baits used mud crabs, fiddlers, barnacles, oyster, mussels and even corn but never any squid. It seems like a match made in heaven. What am I missing? < < <

[@JohnSkinnerFishing]

It's the same for blackfish up North. They eat crabs, clams,... but you won't catch them on squid.

[@shannonryan274]

Is there a kayak launch close to you ? Monroe to far Im having a tough time making it there can i leave my yak at your place?? Lol would be awesome to meet you some day always a great show!

[@JohnSkinnerFishing]

Monroe is only option for this spot, but I launched out of tropical point today.

[@shannonryan274]

​@JohnSkinnerFishing I will have to bring spare battery just in case lol hope to see you on the water some day!

[@JohnSkinnerFishing]

Not sure why you wouldn't just fish the docks just outside Monroe Canal as you go toward 8th Ave. creek. Loaded. Those are farther for me than where I go.

[@shannonryan274]

@JohnSkinnerFishing i have and did ok but way to much boat traffic on weekends

[@joshrussell9460]

Great video John. I'm curious are trout similar or better eating then weakfish?

[@JohnSkinnerFishing]

Definitely better. Nice white meat as opposed to mushy gray meat on weaks.

[@joshrussell9460]

@JohnSkinnerFishing Good to know. I love catching weakfish but I never keep them because of the mushy meat. Thanks john

[@michaelolkowski9060]

John, do you ever run into FWC while fishing? When in Clearwater a few years back, and in need of fiddlers, I asked FWC officers if they knew where any were, and they were able to steer a yankee towards some. Just a thought.

[@JohnSkinnerFishing]

5 winters so far and have never seen FWC on the water.

[@DaveAlderman]

John, how many docks did you fish until you found that one?

[@JohnSkinnerFishing]

I fished two docks this trip.

[@DaveAlderman]

@ did you have prior intel about that location? Or did you pick it out?

[@JohnSkinnerFishing]

I thought you meant only on this trip. The choice of dock was the result of previous seasons' efforts to find sheepshead. I get pretty much zero intel about anything, especially in Florida. If I don't figure stuff out on my own, I don't catch.

[@Fishdogfish]

bold move swinging a trout in. throw the hook every time i tried that.

[@addicted2fishing119]

Is there a lure or jig that works for Sheepshead? I see guys that area use a crab lure with success

[@JohnKlopp]

Bottom sweeper jigs or anything similar work well.

[@JohnSkinnerFishing]

You could occasionally catch a couple on crab imitations, but real bait is the way to go if you want any consistency and numbers.

[@KamArte-x4d]

" That was a good one!".... Even seasoned anglers make rookie mistakes....no worries!

[@PopPopJoe]

When was this filmed ? Just wondering here in NJ EVERYTHING IS ICED UP NOW.

[@JohnSkinnerFishing]

A few days ago.

[@hettro-cv6082]

I think you need a bigger cooler with those fish! Lol! How heavy is your jig?

[@JohnSkinnerFishing]

1/8-ounce

[@fishingforellieandlevi6504]

It’s hard to tell from the video, but are you reeling in slowly the whole time before you set the hook? Or maybe dragging it on the bottom? Definitely looks like your moving line once you’ve reeled in the slack. I find these to be the hardest inshore fish to catch!

[@andrewcunningham8098]

Another great video. Hip waders in a yak, even if you have a life vest on it may be a death sentence. Live to fish another day. < < <

[@JohnSkinnerFishing]

Those are not waders. Deck boots and slickers.

[@YuGo122]

John, have any of the dock-owners ever objected to your fishing near their docks?

[@JohnSkinnerFishing]

Just 1.

[@charlesmurray1220]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/r5rdY2xopNlknLs

[@charlesmurray1220]

A bit of history of southwest Florida. Maybe not what you think.

[@2920ranger]

I understand that if your going to release sea trout you should not touch them so why don’t you the dehooker on them like you do for snook

[@JohnSkinnerFishing]

Because the dehooker works only if they're hooked in the jaw. Almost every trout is hooked in the roof of the mouth.