October, 1918 
FOREST AND STREAM 
593 
THE RAPIDLY VANISHING SHEEPSHEAD 
FEW MORE DELICIOUS MORSELS OF MARINE LIFE CAN GRACE THE TABLE OF AN 
EPICURE, YET THIS FISH IS NOW SCARCELY KNOWN IN NORTHERN WATERS 
By LEONARD HULIT, Associate Editor of FOREST AND STREAM 
L IKE so many other subjects of fin, fur 
and feather the sheepshead is rapidly 
becoming extinct in our northern 
waters. Many places which produced them 
in abundance but a few years since now 
know nothing of them. 
That it is owing to scarcity 
of their favorite food is 
not to be considered, as 
there is no lack of 
such commodities, 
mussels, shrimps 
and all the lower 
orders of Crusta¬ 
cea being their 
natural prey. It is 
most rare at the 
present time to 
find one on sale at 
any of the market 
places where in 
former years they 
were plentiful, and 
rarer still to have one on the hook. This 
condition Seems to prevail down to and 
including the Chesapeake, while south of 
there they are in all their former abun¬ 
dance. This particularly applies to the St. 
John’s river and points south. I have met 
with them in great abundance in the Hali¬ 
fax river and in conversation with fisher¬ 
men along all the points they are not 
aware of any growing scarcity of the 
fish. There are multitudes of present 
day anglers who would scarcely recog¬ 
nize this species were they to take one 
on the hook, and but few are aware of 
the method necessary to their successful 
taking by the salt-water anglers. 
What, then, is the question natural as to 
the growing scarcity of this most desirable 
species? The answer is most difficult; and 
contemplate it as we may, the only solu¬ 
tion seems to lie in the fact that the tre¬ 
mendous increase in netting all along the 
seaboard may be the answer. While like 
all of the salt water tribes the sheepshead 
has its natural enemies, still it is scarcely 
to be conceded that this has caused the 
great diminution. We should look rather 
to some more potential reason. It is a 
well-known fact that the sheepshead will 
not remain in water cooler than about 60 
degrees as old-time fishermen all agree 
that when unusually cool weather came on 
early in the autumn the sheepshead always 
disappeared, not to be found again until 
the following season, which would indicate 
that they are extremely sensitive. It is a 
great pity that so glorious a fish both on 
the table and on the hook should be grow¬ 
ing extinct in northern waters. 
Twenty years ago the oyster reefs in 
Barnegat Bay was a favorite place for 
their capture as well as all similar points 
along the New Jersey coast, and to the 
market men they were always most wel¬ 
come as they commanded a high price 
and the demand for them was always 
greater than the supply. 
T HERE is quite a diver¬ 
sity of opinion among 
observers in relation to 
some of their habits, par¬ 
ticularly in relation to their 
ascending streams above tide-water. Some 
assert positively that they do so, while 
others—the great majority of fishermen 
both amateur and professional—do not 
agree with the above statement. Person¬ 
ally I have never met with one above the 
salt-water limit. That they do ascend to 
a considerable distance from the inlets is 
well known; I have met with them as 
much as twelve miles from the ocean and 
am assured that they ascend to much 
greater distances. In fact, wherever old 
wrecks of vessels or piling are to be found 
in streams which they inhabit, they with 
confidence may be looked for. 
As to its spawning habits in northern 
waters but little or nothing is known and 
I have yet to meet with the first observer 
who has information on the subject. It 
is well known, however, that when they 
first put appearance in the northern waters 
they are quite thin and flabby of flesh, but 
soon recuperate in these waters. This fish 
takes its name from the close resemblance 
of its head to the mouth and teeth of the 
sheep. Its incisor teeth are identical; these 
they use to great advantage in cutting loose 
barnacles from sunken materials as well as 
the young of the oyster family, of which 
it is especially fond. The sheepshead is a 
stockily built fish having much the same 
lines as the common sun fish, and ranges 
in weight up to about eighteen pounds, 
although one of more than twelve pounds 
is considered a large fish. In color it is 
gray, with five distinct darker bands of 
grayish black encircling its body. The 
immature members of the black or gray 
drum have been frequently taken for the 
sheepshead as the former when of from 
five to eight pounds in weight have similar 
bands, although always seven in number. 
They are easily distinguishable by the ex¬ 
perienced as the head formation is entirely 
unlike that of the sheepshead and the dif¬ 
ference in the number of black 
bands is another guide. Should the 
mistake be carried as far as to per¬ 
mit the drum to 
reach the dining 
room then the 
mistake would at 
once be most ap¬ 
parent, although 
in justice to it, it 
should be said 
that the young 
drum is a most 
excellent chowder 
fish. 
Considering the 
limited supply of 
this fish it might 
seem idle to fol¬ 
low out closely its 
habits and the proper method of its cap¬ 
ture by the angler. In controversion it 
must be urged that in view of the ever 
changing habits of fish it may return to 
northern waters in future years in all of 
its former abundance, when it will be a joy 
to the novice as well as most heartily wel¬ 
comed by the veteran who so well knows 
the delights of his capture. 
This fish is one of the very few which 
is known by one name wherever it is met 
with so that both north and south when 
the subject is mentioned there is never 
confusion as to what species is under dis¬ 
cussion, although the southern custom of 
pronouncing it “sheephead” is quite uni¬ 
versal. Owing doubtless to grounds over 
which it feeds the southern fish quite com¬ 
monly take on a distinct yellowish or 
creamy tint. 
As the method of taking them on the 
hook is the same whether in northern or 
southern waters no special distinction will 
be made. They are occasionally taken by 
the angler from the beach, but in latter 
years it is of rare occurrence. 
T HE best authorities are agreed that this 
fish never passes to the north of Cape 
Cod on the Massachusetts coast and 
are rare at that point, but as more south¬ 
ern waters are visited their abundance in¬ 
creases. In all the inland tidal waters 
where good depths are to be found there 
the sheepshead may be met with, provided 
oyster reefs are present or where old 
wrecks are sunken or any debris of a 
permanent character lies where the cur¬ 
rent can create an eddy. It seems to be 
quite useless to try any bait other than 
shellfish for them as they subsist entirely 
on such food. Having located the fish the 
angler should, if he has the time, select 
(continued on page 612) 
