World record sheepshead
By Nick Honachefsky
TACTICS FOR MONSTER SHEEPSHEAD
As a New Jersey based angler, any time I would travel south to Florida or North Carolina, I would always be intrigued by the allure of sheepshead. After all, they certainly weren’t a species caught in New Jersey. Maybe it was the convict-like stripes that attracted me, or the bucktoothed smile that won me over, but whatever it was, sheepshead entered my bloodstream and once they got in, they forever held a spot. Traditional thought is that sheepshead are generally considered a “southern” species, mainly ranging from Virginia to Florida. But in a strange turn of events, sometime around 15 years ago, something unusual started happening in New Jersey’s backwaters. Sheepshead began to get caught among anglers targeting tautog. It wasn’t hot and heavy action, but word would get out that the “exotic” sheepshead were being hooked, and they were not small - averaging 8 to 12 pounds. Fast forward to present day, and Jersey is putting up some of the most notable IGFA line class records when it comes to sheepshead.
A QUICK HISTORY
Sheepshead Bay in Long Island Sound, NY isn’t named as such because it sounds cool. Histor
Todd Elder has been free diving for about 23 years. During those years, he has seen a lot of fish underwater, including sheepshead. That is why he immediately recognized a record-sized sheepshead at the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel (CBBT) on May 10. This fish was a monster. It was much larger than any he had seen before. The fish has now been accepted as a new spearfishing world record by the International Underwater Spearfishing Association.
Sheepshead are inshore fish that are found up and down the East Coast. They have a somewhat humped back and vertical dark stripes against a gray background. They have human-like front teeth that some find creepy. They are strongly associated with hard structure, such as reefs and bridge pilings. In Virginia, they average up to about eight pounds. A 10-pound sheepshead is a genuine trophy and qualifies for a citation (award). Elder’s record weighed 17.4 pounds.
He captured it while free diving, which is just what the term implies. Divers don a mask, fins, snorkel, and weight belt and visit the underwater world for as long as they can hold their breath. Spearfishers add a speargun or pole spear so they can target a meal. As for t
Herding World Record Sheepshead
The Technique
Regarding hooksets with such light monofilament, Schafer offers some tips. “Don’t wail back on the rod, let the fish lay on it, have him hook himself with the resistance from the run. They may rob a lot of your baits before you dial in the bite and how they are feeding. I had Mike “Ike” Iaconelli on the boat, and he had to solve the puzzle with the hookset and slow down and adjust his Bassmaster hooksets accordingly to set the hook depending on how they are hitting the jig.”
"Don’t wail back on the rod, let the fish lay on it, have him hook himself with the resistance from the run."
Records in the Books
The newly added sheepshead species in IGFA’s saltwater line class and tippet categories has dominated the record books with 28 approved records throughout 2022, and submissions are still coming in hot. It is going to be a toss-up between most likely New Jersey or Virginia as to where most of the records will come from for the remainder of 2023. Below are a few of the notable catches since the sheeps became eligible for line class and tippet world records, and off course, the biggest, baddest sheepshead record of
A tie is never as fine as a win. Well, unless you just caught the biggest sheepshead in the state of Georgia. Angler Ben Golden III, of Midway, is a winner no matter what, as he now has bragging rights for the heaviest sheepshead ever recorded in Georgia.
Golden’s massive sheepshead weighed 14 pounds, 14.37 ounces. The striped fish was officially certified by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources as tied with another fish of similar weight caught by Ralph White, of Rincon, in 2002. Golden’s grab information will be added to the Georgia DNR record novel, and he will receive a certificate from the state for his catch.
According to Georgia DNR records, however, White’s sheepshead weighed 14 pounds, 14 ounces. Golden’s recent fish is .37 pounds heavier. So while the declare lumps both fish into the same top spot for sheepshead because of their close weights, it’s a victory for Golden to know he has claim to the best sheepshead ever landed in Georgia waters.
Golden, age 63, was fishing near the sparse community of Sunbury, outside of Midway, located south of Savannah and upstream of St. Catherines Sound. He caught the chunky fish on Jan. 27. The catch fulfilled a longtime am
This 16.6-pound sheepshead is a new Maryland state record.
Brian Summerlin, of Princess Anne, caught his big fish Sept. 17 in Tangier Sound off Crisfield in about 15 feet of water. Summerlin was targeting sheepshead using soft crab rigged on a fishfinder rig with an 8/0 circle hook. He was fishing a spinning rod with 60-pound braid and a 60-pound fluorocarbon leader. He had been catching a mix of black drum, striped bass, bluefish and other species before encountering the record-breaker.
“I thought it was a black drum at first, due to the way the fish was fighting with some big head shakes, but then I saw it was a very large sheepshead as it surfaced near the boat,” Summerlin said. After landing the fish, he checked the fish in for preliminary weight and photographs at Sea Hawk Sports Center in Pocomoke City. He knew the fish was a contender after checking the state’s current state records online.
The sheepshead’s weight was confirmed on a certified scale at Kool Ice and Seafood Company in Cambridge, and it was measured at 26.25 inches in total length. Summerlin’s catch broke the previous record of 14.1 pounds set by Daniel Mastronardi Jr. in August 2020.
The IGFA all-tac