Put an END to CPR’ing!

Now that I have your attention, I’m talking about sheepies.
(I don’t really advocate killing them, and I return them to the water). After the last trip to Pool 4 last week we were amazed at how large the sheepies are. Really huge. I remember when I first started fishing Lake Pepin the sheephead were pretty small like crappies, but now they are running about 10 lbs and seem to keep getting bigger. Does anyone know if this impacts the fishery at all? All of ours bit on #7 cranks in perch color. I’m suprised that there are any perch left in the lake as everything we caught hit the perch cranks.

No, they don’t adversely affect the fishery…. they’re a part of the fishery. Catching big sheepers is a hoot so please let them go in good health if you don’t plan to eat them.

Try eating a couple

I heard they tasted good so when my dad and I caught a few that were worth cleaning he kept 3 and said he loved them. We decided to tell his wife they were freshwater drum because she has heard of sheephead. Now she no longer only eats walleye. She was very impressed. I don’t care to eat much fish but I thought it was decent. Those big sheepies are fun to catch though!

I also wonder about the effect having so many large sheepies in areas.

Arent they considered rough fish and illegal to return to the water once they are taken?

I can’t believe that it is illegal to return them to the water. They really are quite pretty and do put up a fight. I remember a few years ago on the Wolf River in Wisconsin I saw a father standing on a dock beating a sheepie to a pulp with his young son watching and cheering. That was the most disgusting thing I have ever seen. Not my kind of role model.

It hasn’t been illegal to return roughfish to the water since a long time ago, if that ever was a rule. Quite honestly I doubt it was but it may have been back when there was a bounty on muskies and northerns because they eat “more desirable” fish. There are laws against “wanton waste” in both MN and WI. Basically it is illegal to kill a fish and throw it on shore or back in the water. The smaller ones are pretty good eating if you want a meal. They also eat mussels (like zebra mussels) and have been swimming in the ‘sippi for as long as the Walleyes have been so they are a pretty intergated part of the ecosystem. Stop the hating of roughfish, besides roughfish make good bait and are easier to hook than a walleye.

It is (was?) illegal to return rough fish if they are harmed.

It is not currently illegal to return any fish to the water unharmed, and it is infact illegal to “waste” fish or game (as in killing them and tossing them in the water or on shore). I was told by someone that once upon a time it was once illegal to return roughfish to the water alive but I really think this is probably false. This is a rumor that seems to still exsist in some areas amongst people who can’t seem to understand that sheepies, doggies, gar, suckers, bullheads and buffalo are a part of the ecosystem. Carp are another story all together but it is still illegal to “wantonly waste” them.

Long as theyre alive when returned your in the clear, not that i suggest knocking them out first hehe

I think there was a law that pertained to releasing carp in the mississippi at one time.

That could be seeing as carp are not a native specie. The problem comes when people confuse the native buffalo with carp, two completely different fish (buffalo are suckers and carp are minnows) that look fairly similar, and if that once was a law it is no longer. Not that anyone should release a bighead carp or a silver carp, those should go straight to the nearest DNR office for reporting.

Aldo Leopold – the “father of modern conservation” was quoted as saying – and I am paraphrasing – but said something like – “the first rule of intelligent tinkering is to keep all the pieces” – he was referring to the similarities between watch making and conservation of species we didn’t understand. Sheepshead are a part of the system and as a result – who are we to judge against them when they have survived the test of eons on the edge of the knife of natural selection – or survival of the fittest. They eat well for those who don’t turn up their nose before they try them – and the walleyes and other game fish eat lots of their fry. They are a part of the Mississippi and so should be treated as a valuable member of the river community – to do less than that is a dis-service to all it members. Chuckles

Rather than type my position on this subject (sheepshead in the Midwest) yet again, I will just post the link to one of several earlier threads on this issue, including my position.

Sheepshead get a bad rap

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Arent they considered rough fish and illegal to return to the water once they are taken?

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Please tell me your trolling…

I am all about selective harvest… smaller drum (genetic kin to the saltwater drum people pay $$$$ to eat down South) are actually quite good, I wouldnt pan fry them in butter or anything, but they are fine with shore lunch…

Ive fried them up and fed them to friends who would “never” eat them and had them not only not tell the difference, but actually like them.

Geez… from my perspective, its easy… these are fun to catch, especially if you are having a tough day! Besides, how many guys are in tournaments when one of these grabs your lure, and just for about 20 seconds you think… “I’ll be collecting the big fish pot!”

Also noteworthy, its my understanding that the Sheepshead is the only natural predator of the Zebra mussel. A few years back when the Zebra mussel population crashed on pools 6-10, the Sheepies were on the feedbag looking for anything… it was fun! (Frustrating on Tourney Days, but fun!)

That’s a nice silver bass you have there Reel Guy. I bet you took 1st place in that tournament….

Kidding aside that is a huge Sheepie…I love to catch them things. I hauled in a 10#er the other day. I was fishing for panfish with my ultralight. Imagine my supprise when I caught that thing.

I grew up on the Wolf River, and have always been told sheepshead are bad for the river system. Their mouths are like little vacuums for smallie eggs. I usually when I catch them, but around this area it seems like sheepies are fan favorites. Based on the other sheephead thread, a lot of you guys like to eat them. Different strokes for different folks I guess.

I love catching those big drummers. I try to make it out once or twice every year with crawdads to catch a few big drum. They can really put your equipment to the test. I don’t keep them nor do I kill them. I had plenty of sheephead to eat as a youngster. I do know that up at Black Duck Lake (north of Bemidji) there are huge drum in the lake that actually are colored much darker and greener than the sheephead from the Mississippi. We caught several up there in the 20Lb plus range. I released them but the resort people told me that the locals like to eat those big drummers out of the lake. They have several photo albums with fishing photos and I would guess that 1/3 of the photos were of people holding 18Lb to 25 Lb sheephead. I suppose that they smoke them. I can’t imagine eating one of those huge fish any other way.

Eyehunter

One of these days I guess I will keep one and see how it tastes. (maybe I’ll just try it on the family ). I remember when I was a kid we used to go to Hayward WI every year and the whole resort would go out one night and catch bags full of bullheads. The camp owner and all of the men staying there would clean them and then smoke them. The party a couple of days later was great and the smoked bullheads were really good!! I can still taste them.

The best comment on this post. Nature tends to have its way and Sheepies are part of that.