Finally our redfish get some good press.....

The sheepies made the news, so they must be worth catching........
 
http://www.post-gazette.c...-easy-to-catch-695375/
 
Very underrated fish.  They are a blast to catch, they pull hard, and often bite when nothing else will.  What's not to like? Don't know why they get such a bad rep, especially on Erie.
 

Same here! The very first one I ever caught was actually caught fly fishing on the Rocky River in Ohio, but other than that I'm not really sure of any good places to target them on the fly.  I've gotten them below a lock and dam on the Ohio River so that might be my best option, but it's more spinfishing friendly.  Also got one before down low on a trib to the Ohio but I'm not really sure how the population is there. I guess I could always just use a sinking line and a lot of split shot and fly fish Erie!

Fast action fish in the Beaver and Ohio sytem. Easy to catch, night crawler, sinker & a hook. Doesn't get much easier than that ! And they are fun when nothing else is bitting.

I've herd guys say they boil them in salt water and then do another flavor and it kinda is lobstery but idk...  Not really something I'd want to try...

[Edited Troutguy's quote]
 Don't know why they get such a bad rep, especially on Erie.


Troutguy, surely you know. They are essentially bottom feeders and are considered to be a trash fish, hence the reason for getting a bad rep as you wrote. "Essentially" bottom feeders, but that doesn't mean entirely as they will target small fish, crayfish and other things to eat, just like our common carp. I didn't write my belief is that they are a trash fish and in fact agree with what everyone else on this post has written. They are plentiful, pull hard and are not particularly difficult to catch. Supposedly, they taste decent [but not like walleye] when taken from clean waterways and just like carp, remember to cut out the lateral line. I don't know the best manner to cook them and have not cooked either, but would give it a shot if someone told me how to prepare them. I'd be open to trying them. Wouldn't it be great if they were palatable? Once again as nearly everyone else has written in one manner or another, "What's not to like"? They possess many attributes that should make them desirable for anglers. To finish the answering of you questioning Troutguy as to why they get a bad rep... very simple... prejudice. That's unfortunate as some anglers will miss out on a potentially great day on the water.   

Big Steve
The ones from Erie smell 10x worse than those from the three rivers.  Erie sheephead smell takes lava, toothpaste and lemon to shake the smell off your hands.

 
x2!!

I agree with the other folks' opinion on the sheephead being fun to catch... but wow they can sure smell up the boat!
A couple of weeks ago we got into them in a big way while walleye fishing.  They hit the lures off of the boards like crazy and they were the biggest we had caught all season.... what a blast!!  Largest that day was 10lb or so and pulled like a freight train.
 Many probably give them the bad rep because they can be very hard on equipment and if you are fishing just to fill the cooler they can make your day a lot longer.   We actually have been having more time lost this year due to white bass than sheephead... but they all keep the day interesting!

Unfortunately BlueLagoon, there are quite a number of Erie fisherman that kill Sheephead just to kill them because they aren't Walleye or other desirable species. Many of the guys on charters talk about it when then get back to the docks, when in the restaurants or when in the campgrounds, bragging about the numbers of Sheephead killed. Fisherlady mentioned "they can sure smell up the boat". While very true, I don't think I've ever smelled anything stinking up a boat as much as the Salmon did when we used to go to the Genesee River in New York and had our limit of 6 [3 for each person]. We would take the boat through a car wash twice, scrub it with brushes and soap and although it was better, it still would gag a maggot.

troutguy
I don't know about you guys, but I don't think sheephead(either from Erie or the rivers) smell any worse than say walleye or steelhead. But then again, I never actually tried smelling a fish before lol
 
For the people who go out "to fill the cooler" I kinda see why they may not like drum, but that gives them no excuse to treat them any different than perch or 'eyes. If you don't want to eat it, release it to fight another day. For the people who fish to have fun and get away from the stresses of life, where bringing fish home is just a bonus if you do decide to keep some, drum are a blast.
 
Fisherlady2, interesting that you mentioned the white bass. On Erie a lot of people also consider them "trash fish" but on the inland lakes and rivers they're a prized sportfish. I don't get it, but there's a lot of things I don't get lol...

White bass are a blast to catch, especially when perching.  Largest we have caught on the lake was probably 14 or 15 inches and really puts up a fight. We have kept some for the table, not as good as yellow perch but still pretty good if you bleed them and cut out the lateral line.  You have to respect any fish willing to go after lures 3/4 of it's own size! LOL