Using Barnacles as Bait: Sheepshead Fishing

[@martingarza8551]

When the water is clear and sheephead are eating barnacles off pillions they ignore shrimp completely even inches from their face.

[@deckerelam8429]

Martin Garza I wonce caught a sheepshead with a shrimp

[@44studawg]

Barnacles are my secret weapon for sheepshead. They go nuts for it

[@yogiberra47]

Thanks for sharing! As a kid (many years ago!!), I would fish under the bridge that connects Corpus Christi and Padre island, Texas. The sheepshead were always around the concrete pillars.

[@supratuff]

not gonna lie dude, that was a really friggen good idea. nice discovery

[@TheAssaultScar]

not really a discovery

[@VincenzaV1]

Hmmmm never thought to use SH as a po'boy. Dang that sounds good...

[@gaildevera5482]

john smith You are a FUCKING IDIOT!!!

[@redtoo3720]

Brett Bowron Q

[@JohntechFL]

We learn this as kids in FL

[@treycantu5334]

the way he talks is just so calm and mellow i love it.... great stuff bro

[@MrTatts64]

Excellent video, thanks Marty. I know I'm not your "teacher / sensei" here but it makes me feel really proud to not only see you using your instincts to attack your fishing from a completely different angle, but also playing your catch so well rather than trying to simply skull drag them to the surface. Keep it up buddy :)

[@GAM5FAM]

Seen all your videos, keep it up! I'm a fan... You Have to set up some crab traps around your boat!

[@chriswildoner]

I used to live in Tampa and did the same thing off of several bridges. You are right on target with how good the Sheepshead taste! Oh I miss FL! In AZ now. :(

[@ohillbilly]

The road and bridge department should sponsor you for cleaning their bridges. ;-) Looked good and tasty!!!

[@Thewrightstuff777]

Great job Marty! We are coming to visit the kids and grandkids in Port St Lucie in October. We love catching sheepshead.

[@24lancelot85]

I went sheephead fishing with my dad, uncle and cousin near Yulee. Never really fished my entire life but the 3 of them were originally from that area. Used fiddler crabs and couldn't believe the "art" to catching sheephead. One of the best times of my life.

[@TheWolfePit]

That's awesome! Free bait, good fishing and eating!! Thanks! Larry

[@Haydentheangler232]

You mean Marty

[@TFrensdorf]

lived in Tampa for years and caught a lot of fish but never have I fished for Sheepshead. Great tips

[@VanV0rtex]

This is great! I'm going to try this the next time I go to the coast. I've seen some monster Sheepshead on the Texas coast but could never get them to bite. I even tried busting up an oyster but I was never successful. Your method of chumming them is awesome and very doable! Thanks for the tips!

[@TB-xw3vo]

I thought I was a hardcore kayak fisherman. Fishing near the middle of the bridge (boat wakes) in the rain with barnacles. You have me beat.

[@mega91111]

I really love fishing, I started fishing about a week ago 😏

[@quackerman211]

How’s it gone 5 years later?

[@mega91111]

@@quackerman211 wow I forgot I even commented it. Due to health issues I haven't fished in years, but I'm hoping to get started again these holidays!

[@SaltySeaCaptain]

@@mega91111 good luck man I hope you start feeling better

[@cartergeorges9747]

I bought a sun dolphin as journey kayak because I was watching your video and you inspired me to buy it!

[@texasfishingwithdan]

Great Tip! Never really had thought about using barnacles for bait!

[@818deuteronomy]

Nice sheeperz...good technique...I did some scraping in Port Canaveral for a few months...lots of fun and good eating. Another good video Marty !

[@KHtally]

Hey Marty great video. Just an fyi; in Florida, sheepshead need to be 12" to keep. Keep the videos coming and great job!

[@aflextheimpaler6661]

My dad showed me to chum the water with them years ago, but actually using them as bait never really crossed my mind! Used old frozen crab for the most part. great tip and an awesome video! just subscribed and look forward to more!

[@stephenrothman6058]

Some questions for Mr. Zoffinger: I've been having some success on the sheepshead using your techniques, in a small bay in Naples, Florida, but have some follow-up questions. I'm sometimes fishing from the kayak, but can use the same approach from the dock. My neighbors lets me keep a kayak floating dock attached to their dock. I jump down on the floating dock and scrape the oysters and barnacles from the ladder and the pilings. We actually have more oysters than barnacles. I end up opening the oysters and using those for chum and then fishing with the barnacles. The oysters won't stay on the hook by themselves, and using the mesh bags for the oysters seemed to turn off the bite for me. I hooked one monster sheepshead, easily over 5 pounds while standing on the main dock. I had braided line going to 8 lb. fluorocarbon connected with a double uni knot. Feeling the fish's strength and knowing I probably could not just bounce him onto the higher dock, I jumped down onto the floating dock and was able to get him lying right next to the floating dock. I fiddled with my boca grip, figuring to weigh him, but he was moving around and I could not get it in his mouth. If I had any presence of mind I could have just grabbed his tail with my hand, but didn't. Unexpectedly he made another run - I didn't know he had it left in him. I brought him back up again and this time grabbed at the braid, and he surged again and broke me off. The break was probably at the knot, though possibly he wrapped it around a piling. I'll get a net or gaff and keep it on the dock for next time. But here are my other questions: For sheepshead do you recommend braid to fluorocarbon for the sensitivity of the braid? Actually the water is only 5 - 10 feet deep, so maybe there is not enough line out to stretch much. I can't see any braid on your rig and wonder if you are using just straight mono all the way. That would avoid a knot and each knot creates a weak point. Question 2, do you think the fluorocarbon is important for sheepshead for visibility, as opposed to mono. They seem to not come up for the bait, and may be taking the bait low enough that visibility is poor. So maybe I should switch to a spool with 12 pound mono all the way to the hook, if the stretch doesn't matter and the visibility doesn't matter either. Question 3, as you say, the sheepshead go crazy over those little brown crabs you can catch by hand on the pilings (if you are fast enough). But I find those getting stolen every time, more than with the barnacles. Can you do a closeup, slow motion of how you are hooking those crabs. You must have a better way than I am using. Thanks for all your videos - they are great.

[@zoffinger]

Check out this video around the three minute forty five second mark, to see a close up of hooking the crabs kzbin.info/www/bejne/iWPLlpWCmZyegtU As for the line, I find it easier to tie a hook onto fluro (or mono) rather than braid, and I find when I tie a hool straight to braid, the knots tend to slip. I dunno, the fluro just works and I'm loath to change. For better or worse. I don't think stretch or visibility is important. I have footage of Sheeps actually looking at a hook and eating the bait carefully off of it from the shank side. Avoiding the pointy part of the hook. A lucky jerk of the line at the right moment is more important, I think then the type of line. Though, a heavy leader might add a bit of abrasion resistance over the light mainline braid.

[@stephenrothman6058]

Thanks for the reference to the crab hooking closeup. That was perfect. I'll try that next time I'm out.

[@stephenrothman6058]

Thanks for the info. Perhaps because when they filter feed they clean the water.

[@fishingnut1227]

when you do your initial tie with braid and you bring it through one loop wrap it back around through the loop again that's how you tie braid I've never had a slip once with this technique on braid

[@mathewmcfarlane3523]

Hey Marti, I just noticed the type of paddle that you are using. I had one very similar to that before, it actually broke so we got it replace by one that had a much more flat end to it and bigger (it also had padding were you hold it with your hands). I noticed a difference immediately. I reccomend you try one out!! Love the vid Marti!!

[@snookchaser01]

I love what you've got going on with the videos. I am like you, fisherman on a budget. I've put to good use some of your ideas. Thanks for sharing your ups and downs in this thing called LIFE. Tight lines and catch many fish!

[@chesfordham8182]

Nice Marty! I think your channel is the first channel i ever came back and watched every time you uploaded! Hard to believe its been 2 years since i started watching. Back with the poor mans kayak. My favorite vid is when you took that Jon Boat under the bridge and fished sheepshead with your tiny open face reel. Keep up the good work!!:-)

[@johnmilkent9488]

Hey buddy that was an awesome video. I grew up in the Ft Myers area and have done a very similar thing. We would get an old garden hoe and straighten it out and use it to scrape barnacles. We would just use little pieces of shrimp on a little hook. pretty much the same idea. Man I love some sheephead my favorite drum!!! I haven't seen all your videos yet but I would love to see you go after some cobia another awesome eating fighting fish.

[@kaizhang1340]

Wow! Fishing in a rainy day under a bridge on a canoe... alone... that must feel awesome. The world is all yours. so jealous

[@kand4548]

Yum, yum, yum, yum, yum! Lol You the man, Marty! Way to take lemons and make lemonade, first with the chore of barnacle removal, and then again with the rain. Awesome video!!! Thanks for sharing!

[@ZeddsWorld]

love your videos man, can really feel the wisdom from each of them

[@quixotic6644]

I love all the time and effort you put in to these! You're defiantly my favorite kayak fisher!

[@zoffinger]

Quixotic is my favorite word :^)

[@jaimeastin]

Awesome video. Can wait to use the tips. Remind me that I have many snails on my sidewalks... Such a nuance trying ri avoid stepping on them... Then I wondered if they worked well for fish bait... Haven't tried them out yet... Anywho... Great video -JaimeAstin

[@Flores1n21]

I live up in the Destin, Fort Walton Brach area. And i would love to meet and fish for sheep head with you, using this technique. This is awesome! Great videos!

[@eipi5173]

nice catch...i always go to gandy and use a square shovel to scrape them off ,ive hooked into some of those monster black drum 30+ lbs on occasion ! a shot of the teeth of those sheepheads would be interesting to the fans. thxs for gr8 vid

[@SaritS101]

Cool! Fishing with barnacles works! Who would have thought?

[@tomharrell1954]

It's so nice to watch your relaxing, peaceful, good time videos.

[@ctyakfishin1039]

Awesome video Marty! Love the scrape, net and chum attack. Keep it up. Love your videos. Learned a lot from you. Tight lines dude!

[@critterlover4278]

Hey neighbor. I'm from St.Pete, Love your videos and great ideas.

[@nrg_igl656]

Hey man.. Try using a larger pole that can still feel bites... this way you can pull the fish out of the water before the other fish freak out from you catching one too quickly. This especially works with mangrove snapper schools.

[@tollesbury1]

Thats the way to do it !!!! That oyster looked good enough to eat !! Bit of lemon juice...yum !

[@bgdavid228]

your camera skills and shots are great...such a story teller. love your videos...very pro camera work..

[@juannajera492]

thank you for showing us how to fish sheeps.put more videos up. thanks friend

[@slothtv666]

Coolness!! Great video. I like how it shows fishing with what's available. You don't need to spend thousands of dollars to catch fish.

[@victorjosephh]

You inspired me to buy my own kayak and GoPro! Keep up the great videos man!

[@tastethejace]

Great vid!! nice work. what do use to string up the fish at the end??

[@ratdog3055]

Marty, nice fish right off the boat. I caught a 5 lb largemouth fishing off the back of my boat in the marina on lake Erie. You might want to check, but I thought I saw another video (no yours) where the guy mentioned that scarping pilings, etc was illegal. Hope not, cause you seem to have a good chum/bait source there.

[@BiscuitBoyTN]

Great video Marty. That last one is HUGE

[@AimlessAdventuresVlog]

Waste not, want not. Good stuff Marty, adventure on brother!

[@whit3whid0w52]

Hey Marty, great video, I know the weather's been bad, here too, over in Sarasota county Florida. But more videos man, I love them, keep up the work,

[@Thelawncarenut]

Awe man, getting caught in those Florida storms can be pretty nasty. Great tip though, I've got to try the barnacles.

[@nicjoe5212]

Lol Florida is a joke of a state

[@SheepDogReady]

***** I've only been to Florida once, loved it! Can't wait to go back to Miami.

[@HoboJIm117]

+Nic Joe 1v1 me mid and I'll rekt you noob

[@nicjoe5212]

Scrub

[@HoboJIm117]

bet add me u scrub

[@howielane8406]

Those fish have some unique looking teeth. I found it useful to use a very light colored and light weight steel leader when fishing for Sheep Head. Off the Pan Handle of Florida.

[@panhandlepilot9363]

Once again you make it look easy Marty. Dang you man lol Gonna have to come down there for dinner sometime. I will bring my yak for sure :)

[@CathySue911]

I am just amazed how simple you make it look!

[@danbrunski469]

I use barnacles as bait also. I punch a small hole in the back (the side that sticks to the pilings) w/ the point of an old pair of scissors. Then I insert the hook point through that hole and out the other side. It prevents the barnacle from crumbling.

[@NWforager]

was thinking of trying this with blackberries . they are super plentiful on lake shores here. And sometimes even have a little worm in them

[@joshgreene3086]

im so stoned that the slow music and him showing all the creatures on the ladder up close up and said what struck him was bait as he started chislein away and i felt i was watching mass murder lololol

[@jimmywood559]

Jozef Nowack lay off the drugs man! Your brain will think you later in life

[@yungdyI]

It was really cool seeing the rock crabs in with the barnacles!

[@TButch130]

when you were fishing off of the boat at the dock...how deep was the water there?

[@marlonhuff3494]

what is the best place to catch sheepshead and what is the best bait for sheepshead andpinfish

[@canibalcoyotetm4819]

hey Marty, i really love watching people catching and cook fishing videos on youtube. so i want to request a bit more catch-and-cook videos ! thanks man your just got another sub , keep up the good work!

[@Elthenar]

I never used the barnacles themselves as bait, but I do use them for chum, Use a heavy wood or metal pole and scrap a few furrows in the barnacles just below the waterline. Then I would drop a live fiddler crab right there. Worked like a charm, and not too many trash fish go for those fiddlers.

[@adamwkhan8110]

I found this really cool lure online. Search the 3D TDE Shrimp. From what I've seen in videos, it works really well. Trout and Possibly redfish love em! They also have a crab one and if imagine it works really well for sheepshead and redfish. The lure is made from a scan of a real shrimp and crab. If you can, try it out and make a vid! Thanks, keep up the great vids!

[@spottyskunk1898]

*lol* When I lived in Ponce Inlet, one of my buddy['s dads would start chucking out diced clam or canned choppd clam around the fishing pier, and you'd see nothing but sheepshead for the next 15 minutes. Lots of fun. :D

[@jaymacklin8303]

Love it man ,I've watched all your videos I think you made the best choice to live on the boat keep it up.

[@Reeseman4]

Great video Marty.... Do you ever see any snook or Tarpon under the dock behind your boat ?

[@fernandoalvarado5386]

Es increíble amigo, quien diría que los balanos serían tan atractivos para los peces. Buen vídeo!

[@soundsofstardom8431]

It's good to know you can always get sheepshead quick and easily from the bridges:) Nice one Marty!! Mmmm

[@tomreyes4908]

after scraping off those pilings, you continued using barnacles correct?

[@MidwestFishingShow]

Chummin' with barnacles lol. Sure can be tough to get a good hookset on the ice rod. The Zoff strikes again!

[@asox116]

what kind of kayak was that? is it relatively light and easier to carry around if you are alone? thanks

[@dmarco5396]

Awesome video! Love how u fish sheepshead. I bet they are fun to catch. How do they taste? Is the meat flakey?

[@henryphan3126]

Hi, whats your reel and line setup? Love your kayak fishing videos.

[@readyforums9949]

Very nice! I just moved to Tampa from Indiana not too long ago. I need to get a kayak.

[@zoomX240]

innovative as always

[@CM-wt3vn]

Sheepshead are always a fun catch, I remember once down at my dock space, I caught a sheepshead with a dip net, easy dinner for me that night.

[@kalebdavis9083]

Hey.....I know you have to be busy with all the videos and keeping us updated....Love your videos....but I thought maybe running a idea by you.....i don't know how capable you are to get out in the ocean like some of the other kayak fishing channels.....like maybe try after a little bigger fish such as a kingfish, or maybe just try to catch some Spanish mackerel or something....I would just like to see if you could make a video like that.....please reply :)

[@jakeschwab523]

+zoffinger why don't u get little clips that u can glue or somehow attach to your kayak so that when ur fishing in a certain spot u can just clip the paddle in then it won't be in your way. And then when ur done fishing u can just un clip it and keep paddling

[@JohnSmith-ki2eq]

Seeing your leatherman on the side of the boat there made think about magnet fishing, have you tried that in the marina?

[@123456789JVILL]

Always a good day when Marty posts a video 😁

[@nycredneck]

Great idea, looks you have a lot of fun no matter the weather... I like that.

[@autumn007]

When is the best time to fish for sheepshead? I'll be down in Cape Coral next week and I'm hoping it's possible to fish for them in November.

[@daviddavid1097]

The best time to fish for sheepshead is in jun, Jul, and Aug sorry you're a bit too early :(

[@sirdancealot1119]

Bro thanks for the pro tip ,i know for sure im gonna be using this technique myself .

[@danisa7134]

How many sheepshead are you allowed to take home and size?

[@BaconMaster-mz9fd]

Where did you get that rod??? I have one like it, but it doesn't look nearly as nice as that slayer!

[@tommytwotone81]

Sometimes those days where they're biting like crazy but you barely catch any of them are the most fun.

[@tsa1984]

why do you use a circle hook? congratulations for your interesting videos!

[@Huy0035]

Your videos are refreshing sir. Thank you

[@begijnenstraat]

nice video it relax ma greetings from Antwerp keep on fishing !

[@pappapace3437]

You make it look too easy. Have you tried frying them in dry pancake flour? YUMMY!

[@MrCountrycuz]

Do they make a rod any smaller than the one you'r fishing with?

[@dfwsportsmen8166]

Little worried about you dragging around a metal stringer on your kayak.. What if that small percentage of a shark attack on your sitting catch happens? The shark will capsize you due to the metal stringer being attached to your kayak.. Maybe make a nylon stringer with the metal clips in loops that way if it does ever happen the Sharks teeth will separate the stringer from the boat.. Crazy scenario I know... But you being by yourself in the water you gotta think about all the "what-ifs"

[@bradgillis3701]

Loved it..wish youd do more of these types of videos.

[@JigJigPow619]

Sweet! I wonder what I can catch here in Socal with Barnacles.

[@mulletmilitiagsf7836]

nice video boss. come to Galveston and catch some!!

[@jet5178]

i’ve watched this so many times it brings back memories

[@robertscott5124]

Either too hot or its raining here on other side of Florida also. I use sand fleas to catch sheep head they go nut over them. Good video as usual.

[@KayakChris]

Inspiring! I think I'm going to try my hand at some sheepies. I used to catch them a lot when I was younger. How do you rig your setup for fishing sheepshead? It's been awhile for me.

[@triobrothers6950]

Nice man I am a great fan of yours and can't wait for you to post more videos. TIGHT LINES MARTY

[@lavaman8461]

for some reason those barnacles make me feel weird. I get itchy and feel uneasy.

[@motherfuckerjones2695]

+lava man Don't google lotus seeds then, it'll fuck you up :)

[@Gris9605]

Haha me too! I want to scrape all the barnacles off that poor bridge... 😁

[@morgan-on6pb]

Bro, Trypophobia has me dying and my social studies teacher has a lotus seed pod as her computer background, which she projects onto the board every day. IT SUCKS!

[@ezzmaelchannelmiqhail3953]

Hello my name is [Morgan] stupid man

[@morgan-on6pb]

?

[@jovanymontes4032]

Hey can I ask you a question what is that little fishing pole called

[@high_altitudemotorsports1788]

zoffinger your an inspiration. if u ever find yourself outwest stop into colorado. ill get u on a gold medal trout

[@bikenmama]

You did it again Marty, Another great video!