We fish the docks from a 14' aluminum John boat. The trick is to try different docks until we found the ones with fish. Some docks do not hold any fish so we move on after 10 minutes with no bites. We use mostly cut frozen shrimp and target sheepshead and snapper, but flounder, grouper and redfish are also found sometimes,
Four days later I couldn't get the barnacles in the water fast enough along the same docks; they were stacked with Sheepshead. Crazy Sheepshead are moving all over the place around here...
I’ve done a lot of dock fishing here in Australia and I love it! I find that casting in on a lower angle stops me from getting caught up in the structure so much. As such, I hold off about 20 feet and sling a lightly weighed bait under. All the piles are covered in razor sharp barnacles so giving the fish an opportunity to go around them isn't an option. I’m only fishing 6 lb line. As soon as I hook up I skull drag the fish out into the clear and back off to play them. With the Black Bream I fish for, you only catch one fish per dock and they go quiet, though half an hour later you can do it all again. I wish we had Sheepshead, I’d love to have a go at them!
During the winter is the best time to target Sheepshead. They are transitioning to the major inlets to spawn in March. They taste delicious too when eaten fresh.
You are legally allowed to fish under a dock as long as you don't touch them. If you scrape the piling you can be held accountable for damage due to Toredo worms.
Use a #2 hook and hook them through the hole or through the flat side where it was attached to the piling. The larger barnacles are the ones I don't chum with, but put on the hook. Sometimes the hook just gets wedged inside of the barnacle and other times it can be push all the way through.
