There are all sorts of theories on how best to catch a sheepshead, arguably Northeast Florida’s most notorious bait bandit. Captain Mike Morris of Jacksonville practices a method that’s every bit as subtle as the sheepshead bite.

Rob Vokus snuck up on this redfish in Pellicer Creek.

“Never set the hook on a sheepshead,” Morris preaches. “When you feel some resistance, just lift up on the rod and the sheepshead will hook himself. Jerk it hard and you’ll lose lots of fish.”

Morris’ approach works. On a trip last February to the jetties at Mayport, Morris and David King combined for 42 sheepshead. On another trip to the St. Marys Inlet jetties in Fernandina Beach, Morris estimated his party tallied more than 200 sheepshead. Talk about counting ’heads.

Like some other anglers in the area, this skipper eschews the traditional sliding-sinker sheepshead rig in favor of a 1⁄ 8-ounce jighead that he makes himself. A lightweight jig sweetened with a fiddler crab bait is less likely to foul in the rocks than a heavier egg sinker. Also, light jigs have a relatively slow sink rate that can sometimes trigger a bite before the bait reaches bottom.

Typically, Morris eases along the jetties with his trolling motor, staying 15 to 20 feet from the rocks. He pitches the baited jighead into the shallow rocks, then slowly maneuvers the rig plastic-worm style back to the boat by raising and lowering the rodtip while taking up slack line. “It’s sort of like walking the bait down a flight of stairs,” said Morris, who fishes the jigs on straight 12-pound-test monofilament.

Finding sheepshead haunts along inlet jetty rocks is a hunt-and-peck game. Rockpiles festooned with algae growth and barnacles are often an indication that sheepshead will be nearby. Most anglers prefer higher stages of the tide when fishing for ’heads at the big Mayport rocks at the mouth of St. Johns River.

The Mayport little jetties, at the confluence of the St. Johns River and Intracoastal Waterway, also hold sheepshead, as will close-in wrecks outside the inlet.

Inlets aren’t the only places to catch a sack of sheepshead this month. Like a bum in a buffet line, sheepshead will gnaw along the perimeter of oyster mounds in the Intracoastal Waterway and its feeder creeks. Clear water and high sun make them vulnerable to sight-fishers. Flip a shrimp on a bare hook to the base of the shell bar, or use a small float to suspend a bait over the mound.

Fiddler crabs are king when it comes to sheepshead baits, but they’re not often available in winter. A small live shrimp threaded onto a hook is a worthy substitute, as are clam and oyster baits. Sheepshead can be an exasperating target for artificial lure lovers, but a featherweight fly in a crab pattern or a dark-colored Spoonfly will sometimes connect.

This month and next should offer up some of the largest sheepshead of the year. At the annual El Cheapo Sheepshead Tournament last February out of Mayport, the top three fish bombed the scales at 11, 10.4 and 10.1 pounds.

Elsewhere inshore, redfish will be schooled up and seeking the comfort of oyster bars and radiant warmth of mud flats on sunny days. These reds can be frustrating, though. Sometimes they’ll feed like it’s their last meal, crashing a topwater plug or chasing the mud puffs left by a rapidly retrieved Clouser Minnow fly. Other times they’ll refuse to eat even a live shrimp dragged over their backs.

When you encounter a school, try different techniques. The old wintertime wisdom of small baits worked slowly will often get a redfish’s attention. Some anglers cast a shrimp or mud minnow on a jighead into a school and just let it sit there. Others pitch a gold spoon beyond the school and wind it back with a slow, steady retrieve. When all else fails, rip a topwater past the school. The worst that can happen is the fish will spook, and then you can regroup and look for another, less grumpy, school.

Trout are off-limits this month, but catch-and-release is always an option. On milder days, throw crankbaits and plastic-tail jigs around deep bends in creeks. Or drift a live shrimp with a slip-bobber rig in deep water adjacent to structure such as rocks or sandbars. When you’re into a school of trout, bend down the barbs on hooks to facilitate release. Handle fish with care and try not to remove their protective slime coat.