Author Mike Marsh with a big sheepshead caught from classic cover: dock pilings. Photo courtesy of Mike Marsh.

Sheepshead anglers are a peculiar lot compared with anglers who pursue "normal" saltwater game fish. Anglers heading out for a day of flounder or king mackerel fishing usually see sheepshead fishermen along the sidelines. Some know what the sheepshead guys are doing and slow their speed when they spot them, while others don't have a clue to why anyone would risk scraping the sides of his boat against a bridge support.

Sheepshead anglers are low-key, like the fish they catch. However, just because it takes a minimum amount of gear and tackle and only a small boat, or no boat, to catch sheepshead, fishing for them isn't necessarily a low-class sport.

Catching sheepshead represents a unique challenge and there are as many secrets to catching them as there are for any other game fish. Some anglers become so addicted to catching sheepshead they forgo fishing for other species altogether.

The key to catching sheepshead is patience. Many anglers do not have the patience it takes to become adept at tugging sheepshead away from a piling encrusted with barnacles and oyster shells, let alone dealing with boat wakes of the uninitiated washing their boats against concrete or wood.

Sheepshead fishing begins with gathering bait. Sheepshead eat mollusks and crustaceans. That's why anglers who pursue other inshore game fish using fish baits seldom hook sheepshead. An angler fishing with shrimp or squid for other fish species may get a sheepshead strike.

Fiddler crabs are the gold standard bait for sheepshead. Some call these tiny crabs that burrow in marshes "one-armed bandits." The male has an outsized claw he waves to attract a female. They are about 1 inch long, make excellent, easy-to-catch baits and are also easy to keep. Kept inside a livewell, sand-filled bucket, or a plastic container with a tight lid inside an ice chest, fiddler crabs are effective baits.

Low tide is the best time to catch fiddler crabs. The tiny critters gather in armies at the water's edge in creeks and ditches. A fine-mesh cast net can be tossed over a gang of fiddlers. A crab dip net will also make massive catches. Still, some anglers collect them by hand.

A fiddler can pinch. But if handled gently, they seldom nip hard enough to draw blood. Some anglers catch fiddlers in the grass when the tide is up and others catch them as they scamper on bulkheads and piers. It takes plenty of fiddlers for a day of sheepshead fishing, so many anglers freeze them ahead of time, spending off-fishing days collecting bait.

Any other crab makes good sheepshead bait and there are many tiny species of crabs that work. Mud crabs that hide among oyster shells and beneath riprap and other hard objects make excellent sheepshead bait. Obviously, however, before using protected crabs like blue crabs for bait, anglers should check the regulations.

Some anglers buy or rake clams to use for bait. Clams are subject to harvest restrictions in most places, but any seafood market sells clams that can be used as bait. The bigger "chowder" clams are the best sheepshead bait. Banging two clams against each other breaks the shells. The foot is cut into two pieces and the rest of the clam's internal organs are separated, making three baits.