Sheepshead are no different from any other fish; they will take handouts from anybody. In fact, chumming for sheepshead is quite effective inshore and nearshore. The free groceries dropping through the water column attracts sheepshead and often sparks a feeding frenzy.
Food resources around reefs can be somewhat limited over the winter, and free food falling right into their laps will quickly trigger an aggressive feeding behavior among the school. When a juicy fiddler or chunk of marsh mussels comes into sight, sheepshead will not waste any time gobbling up the tasty mouthful of energy.
Barnacles and crushed oysters collected from marshes and pilings offer anglers inexpensive chumming material. Usually, five to 10 gallons will be sufficient on a 4- to 6-hour trip. The chumming material should be crushed into small pieces.
“Chumming really gets ’em fired up,” said Capt. Jordan Pate, who rarely goes after sheepshead without a bucket filled with chum.
While he pitches some chum over the side, he utilizes a homemade chumming contraption most of the time. He takes a 1- to 2-foot piece of 6-inch PVC tubing and drills several holes all around it, places threaded caps on either end and attaches a rope to one end. He fills it with crushed oysters and barnacles, then places it halfway to three-quarters of the way from the surface to the bottom.
“My chumming device allows me to control the affected area better and it will sometimes really concentrate the fish below the chumming tube,” he said.
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