Finally did itā¦ well sorta.. Not really, but almost.. Hereās ya quick lil diddy.
Yesterday with the massive amount of water inshore making sight fishing for reds nearly impossible, I figured Iād hit the bars and try to fool one these big uglies again. Thing was, they never really showed up. Had a few come by but not many and they werenāt intrested in anything, but the sheepās were pretty thick. So of course that quickly became the goal. To my surprise they werenāt being super spooky lil a holes, they just werenāt all that intrigued with my fly. After many shots and failed attempts I finally get one to play though. Perfect setup, he tracks the fly, heās fully committed, eats the fly, I strip set, feel the tug and he takes off, and my line goes slack. Of course. Thinking the hook just missed its mark, I retrieve my line and get ready my next attempt only to realize I no longer have a hook point on my fly... Some days youāre the bug, others the windshield.
You know, when I first started reading, I thought back to some of the fisherman I know who fish in the Keys, specifically Key Westā¦and I was thinking you meant giving up on the fishing and go to a real bar, and I think you can get the gist of what I was thinking, lol.
Mike, I can empathize. I had a nice ass Sheepie on a few years ago and fought it right to the boat. As I got ready to net it, my mind was wandering to the beautiful pictures Iād get later and how nicely that thing would fry up for dinner, when the bastid popped off. I was throwing a Dupreās spoon and while heartbroken, kept fishing for a while longer. Reeled the fly in to move spots and when I went to hook the fly up, like you, I found the hook was broken. That bothered me and I checked all my hooks for rust/strength. A year or so later I read over at the other place that Sheepsheadās teeth are so strong that it is not uncommon for them to break hooks. Made me feel a tiny bit better and hope it begins the healing of your fresh wound.
The first sheepshead I ever caught on the fly, when I landed him, he wasnāt actually hooked. The hook shank was stuck between his front teeth. Donāt know if it was like that the whole time.
I wouldnāt use this as justification to continue fishing with a broken hook, though.
Iāve seen a sheepie smash a treble hook flat on more than one occasion. One was a 6.5 pounder my buddy caught on a pink Skitterwalk while wading before daylight. He thought he had a 30ā troutā¦it smashed the treble as he was unhooking it. They have some crazy powerful crushers!
. Some days youāre the bug, others the windshield. 
