Winter is here, sort of

So i didn't even get 1 chance to try out my new sheepshead rig.

I was going to put a picture of the great sheepshead dish that I have prepared, only nature didn't cooperate and it was too fuckin cold to even think about fishing.  It has been a perfect storm.  First, Sarah was leaving, so our fishing days became packing/planning/reminiscing days.  Then D's sister Jackie was in town for 3 weekends.  Then Hurricane Sandy blew a bunch of rainy squalls over the harbor on my day off, and then it was great out for a week but I could only get one day  off.

During this time, I get this fine new rig, with a rod sensitive enough for those finnicky fish, a rod holder (that was really expensive, btw, $50!), and a reel to match, and then, on my weekend off, it is like 50 degrees and blowing hard.  Goddammit.  And now its november, and the water temperature is dropping, and I fear I have missed the season entirely.  But anyway, as soon as the spring thaw comes, I am catching some goddamn sheepshead.

The reason you need a special rig is the way they feed.  They have almost human looking mouths, and use their big front teeth to chew hard-shelled barnacles and mussels off dock pilings.  They don't hit and run, like a redfish or a stingray, they hang out in the water and nibble.  What you do, is set your rod holder to hold the rod straight out off the pier, with a 2 ounce weight hanging in the water.  The idea is to have the tip of the rod dip just a little bit.  Then, when the fish nibbles at the bait (i've heard they like fiddler crabs, but I cant find them so I use clam strips), the rod wiggles, and you strike.

So that's what I didn't do on my day off.  How was your dinner party?  And also have you ever worked with sheepshead?