Shark fishing is something that all fishermen do every now and again. For others, like myself, it goes WAY beyond the occasional change of pace. Some fisherman look down on, or belittle shark fishing at times. I always say they haven't hooked into the right shark with the right tackle. Sharks offer everything from epic tug-o-war battles, drag burnings runs that would make all other saltwater species jealous, jumps that would put a Tarpon to shame, and face it, when you come back from a vacation or fishing trip and tell the folks at the office "I caught a 9 foot shark," they usually have a much different reaction than when you tell them you caught 20 Snook.
Many people enjoy and target sharks on a regular basis. However there are several misconceptions and mistakes that are so commonplace they have become widely accepted as good practices. Every fisherman has their own way of targeting each species, and every fisherman thinks his way is "The Way." That being said, give these little tips a shot, and avoid some of the pitfalls mentioned on your next trip and I think you will find it more successful, enjoyable, and fulfilling. As always, please try to release your sharks promptly and unharmed to fight again another day.
Tips, Tricks and Common Mistakes to Avoid:
Tackle: Absolutely, positively, the most common mistake made by novice shark fisherman is over gunning sharks. This is true for everything from rod and reel down to hooks, leader and baits. Its so overwhelming I think that tackle mistakes should be broken down even further to make it a little easier to digest.
Rods, Reels, & Line: There is no doubt that sharks are large, powerful creatures that can grow to gargantuan proportions. Locally in Southwest Florida there was a 1282lb+ Hammerhead caught just a few years ago in Boca Grande. There are also numerous accounts from reliable sources of hooking into Hammerheads that were estimated over 1500lbs! Without targeting these giants specifically, chances are the sharks you will tangle with will be much closer to the 100-350lb range. Even a 350lb shark will give a good angler a run for his money on even the best tackle, but most of the time people greatly over estimate what is required to catch large sharks. Typically nothing over 40lb-50lb mono is required, and I will use 20lb on most occasions. I personally know people who fish with nothing less than 80lb test and have never caught a shark over 200lbs. I have landed several Bull sharks in the Florida Keys weighing up to 250lbs from the beach on 20lb spinning gear.
Here is a simple test if you have any doubt: Take a good quality, well maintained rod and reel with a high end 20lb mono. Tie a 100% break strength knot (loop less bimini twist is one of my favorites) to a good quality ball bearing swivel. Attach the swivel to 1) something immovable 2) your bumper hitch (don't blame me if you break something or get hit in the head with your rod!). Tighten the drag down to about where you would normally have it set when fishing 20lb test. Firmly hold the rod at about three or four o'clock where you would normally fight a running fish. Slowly walk backwards away from the object or move the truck slowly away. Now tighten the drag down 1/2 turn (on a spinning reel) and repeat. Keep trying this until you actually break the line somewhere other than just above your knot (if it breaks there, you did something wrong, or tied a non-break strength knot). I weigh over 200lbs and I can say its HARD to break 20lb test using this method on a good rod and reel. Don't try this with 40lb moi moi diamond or you might get hurt! Line is much stronger than you think it is, it just takes good quality equipment, maintenance, good line, and very good knots. Most like breaks from some weak point, not from actual breaking strength issues.
Understanding the limitations for line are much higher than you might think means you can fish with much lighter line, even from shore. This means your reels will hold a lot more line so you can downsize those as well. If you do the prep work, you can really put a lot more pressure on a big shark to stop those huge runs. Mono has lots of stretch, and the more line that is out the more stretch it has. This gives it the ability to absorb a lot of shock, shock loads are what usually will break lines. When you need stopping power to prevent being spooled, you will have a LOT of line out. This means it will absorb large shock loads from tail thrashing, shaking, and jumps.
One thing to remember is that drag pressure is a cumulative effect. I generally start out with my drag set where I would normally fish under standard conditions (I'll avoid the use of drag lbs because I don't know anyone other than me and a few other guides that actually measures these things) If you have 300yds of 20lb test on a spinning reel and are fishing from shore (a scenario I have perfected from many lazy nights in the Keys) and have about 75yds out from a cast and hook a large Bull shark that starts ripping line off the reel. The standard reaction is to let it run and then when you have 50yds or less of line left tighten the drag or cup the reel. This will usually lead to a break-off, or getting spooled. When I set the hook on a shark and line starts peeling off the reel, I calmly and slowly start to tighten the drag in about 1/4-1 turn increments (it depends on your reel, I generally and going at about 1/2lb increments, but move it about 1/8 of the breaking point with that setup is). I keep doing this until I get to about 1/4 to 1 turn from the breaking point, or the shark starts to slow. 99% of the time one of these things will happen. You cant stop a shark when you want to, but if in the first minute or a 5minute run you have upped him to the maximum drag pressure without breaking him off, he will slow down and turn before he gets to the bottom of that spool. That's what is meant by cumulative. If you look at the realistic breaking strength of that set-up (where the line broke in our little test) as 100% drag pressure, you will realize that 100% drag pressure is not enough to stop even a small shark if you just cupped the reel. however, 80-85% drag pressure is enough to stop a 300lb shark if he is running against it for 5 minutes. That being said, make sure that as soon as he starts getting closer, you back down on the drag. Your goal is to be back at your standard drag setting (If you got to this by feel as an experienced fisherman, you will find it to be about 30% of what its really capable of) by the time that shark is 75yds from you. This allows for more margin of forgiveness should he jump, run, thrash, etc. again.
Having a better understanding of the capabilities of good quality mono will help you to downsize your gear a LOT making it less expensive, more challenging, and more fun. I cant stress the good quality reel, line, knots (do some research, a clinch knot, surgeons, Polomar, etc wont work here) and most importantly rod. the rod does 75% of the work tiring the fish out, so make sure you are set up with a good quality rod. Also, you will need to replace your line regularly if you are pushing it to these extremes. I can say that on MANY occasions after landing a large bull or lemon from shore I have pulled out about 10 feet of line and it falls perfectly straight off the reel. It has lost ALL its stretch. At this point the entire spool (if its a spinning rod, or as much line as you had out on a large conventional reel) is useless. Carry some spare spools, reels, or reline before hooking up again. Here are some setups that I find useful for sharking. These are just my personal preferences for their quality, durability, and moderate cost. I have caught MANY sharks on these outfits both from shore and from boats, many of which are larger than sharks caught by folks on outfits 4x the size who thought they were pushing the limits.
Spinning outfits for sharks up to about 250-300lbs:
1) Shimano Baitrunner 6500, Star Rod Handcrafted series 7ft 15-30lb spinning (or the 6'6" stand up version in a 12-20lb or 15-30lb if you prefer a shorter, standup style rod. I use all of the above), your favorite 20lb mono (Moi Moi Diamond, Ande Premium etc)
2) Shimano Saragosa 14000, rod and line same as above.
Conventional outfits for sharks up to 300lbs:
1)Avet LX 4.6:1, Star Rod Handcrafted series 7ft 30-40lb conventional, your favorite 30lb mono.
2)Avet JX 4.6:1, Star Rod Handcrafted series 7ft 20-30lb conventional, your favorite 20lb mono.
Terminal Tackle:
The other portion of the tackle equations that people oversize to a fault is the terminal tackle. Leaders and hooks definitely don't need to be as large as most people use. Every novice shark fisherman has those 12/0 (or bigger) double J hooks on heavy cable leader tied into a 15lb bait. This is great when you are specifically targeting (and likely catching) very large sharks over 500lbs. For almost ALL of your shark fishing, you will be catching sharks under 350lbs (even a 7-8ft Hammerhead is under 350lbs). Using these giant hooks and heavy braided cable leaders greatly reduces your number of hits and your hookup ratio. A little anecdote:
I spent many nights, after a long day of fishing, targeting shark from shore (laying in a lawn chair no less) at our family home in Islamorada, FL. I learned much of what I know from those nights. I am the type of person that does controlled experiments and uses logic to try to learn better ways to catch fish. Shark fishing is no different. I once spent 3 nights in a row fishing for sharks next to a group of people from Jacksonville (I think it was, if this is you I apologize!). They were some of the few people I have ever met that knew there were sharks in the bay at night (I have a hard enough time convincing people I am actually fishing for sharks, they usually don't believe me until I land one) so I warmed up to them right away. We started chatting a bit, telling fish stories when one of their 5 rods went off (mind you I am alone fishing with 1). They let the shark run, gave it a good hook set and had it on for 2 minutes, then pulled the hook. This happened one more time before it was my turn. My rod went off, I snatched it up and stuck the fish. I was hooked up. 45 minutes later I landed a nice lemon about 175lbs. I put my rod back out and repeated this process two more times while they received one more hit and pulled a hook. I was getting a bit tired so I headed for home and gave them my remaining bait.
The next evening we were all out there again. They said they received two more hits, fought one shark for about twenty minutes and lost it. The other they landed (a small Nurse). This night I shared my bait at the beginning of the night. The night went about the same, with me landed four sharks out of four hits (up to 225lbs) and them landing one out of three (150lbs). This happened in exactly the same way for one more night. Finally at the end of the night they asked how I was having such a huge hookup ratio (I hooked up every fish that hit for those three nights). After all we were fishing the same bait, in the spot, casting the same distance, etc. I asked to take a look at their terminal tackle and kind of chuckled to myself. They were using a double J-hook rig of 12/0 long shank hooks on about 10 feet of 250-300lb braided cable with double crimps. I showed them my rig and told them I had made the same mistake when I started out years ago. What I showed them was an 8/0 short shank Owner offshore J-hook (the offset) on about five feet of 81lb single strand wire and a shock leader of six feet of 100lb mono. They couldn't believe how small it looked. I am not sure if they took note and changed their ways or not, but this is something I still run into on a regular basis with people sharking (especially from shore). So not only did my wimpy little rods look small, but to them my terminal tackle looked better suited to grouper fishing than to catching 200lb Bull sharks.
There are two parts to this. Leader and hooks. As far as hooks, there are a couple things to remember. You cant set a 12/0 J hook with 50lb test on a standard length rod (much less on a stand-up rod). Double hook rigs are great for trolling, but they will be much less likely to get a good firm hook set when sharking with dead or live bait (counterintuitive to most, but the truth). You want to use the smallest hook possible to get a firm hook-set in the jaw of the shark (pick what you think is right for shark fishing, then downsize it four sizes! (that work for most situations). The big thing is to match the hook to the tackle. if you are fishing a seven foot rod from shore (or from a boat honestly) you cant set a large hook effectively. What you end with is a half-set large hook. My relatively small 8/0 short shank was driven home easily by my stout rod and 20lb test every time. I also like the offshore, offset hooks from Owner. I have had a 6/0 hook come in the side of the mouth and out the skin on the outside (that's TOUGH on a shark) on a 200lb+ Bull shark using 20lb test with 75yds of line out. Match the hook to the tackle! I seldom use a J-hook over 9/0 for sharks under 500lbs.
**For circle hooks and braided lines see the notes at the end of this article**
Bait & Chum:
One of the most often talked about aspects, and absolutely the most important, is bait and chum. Personally I think there is nothing more important than bait when it comes to shark. Depending on your location, whether you are on shore or on a boat, the tide conditions, the type of sharks you are targeting, and how many you really want to catch all come into play when deciding about bait and chum. I fish exclusively for shark from a boat, so I chum 100% of the time when I am shark fishing. How I chum, and what I use varies drastically. Chumming from shore is usually not effective and not necessary if you are in the right location (more on location later).
There are several styles of chumming that are appropriate to shark fishing: Frozen chum blocks or box chum, scent or "Key West Style" chumming, and chunking. All are effective, and you can even combine all three!
The most common, and easiest form of chumming is using frozen chum blocks. These blocks are readily available at bait and tackle shops. The contents of these blocks vary greatly. Some are made from high quality ingredients and some are made from what ever old scraps and by-catch are left lying around the fish house. If you are going to use boxed chum, opt for a high quality, 100% ground Sardine or Menhaden chum. You will see a big difference in your success rate when using a higher quality chum. Make sure to pick up a bottle of pogy oil or menhaden milk when stocking up on chum. This is a great additive to the frozen blocks and helps to push your slick just a little bit farther. For fishing in warm waters, I like to plan on two 10lb blocks of chum per hour that I will be fishing. If your chum is not pre-packaged in its own chum bag, get a medium mesh chum bag as well.
My personal favorite method of of chumming for sharks is "Key West Style" or scent chumming. This usually consists of a large, oily fish such as a King Mackerel, Barracuda, or Little Tunny (Bonito) that is filleted in a "banana peel" or "butterfly" fashion and is hung from a cleat on the boat. This method of chumming does not disperse as much particulate into the water, but simply creates a scent chum slick that be effective for miles and miles. This is by far the most effective method for generating a huge slick that brings in lots of sharks. Simply fillet the fish from the tail to the head, leaving the fillet attached at the head. Cut about 1/2 to 2/3 of the fillet off each side to save as bait. Hang the remaining carcass from the boat so that it just below the waters surface. This method is very effective in combination with a little bit of chunking. Be very cautious as this style of chumming is very well known for bringing sharks so close to the boat, they will grab the chum carcasses right off the boat!
Chunking is just what it sounds like. Dispersing lots of small chunks of bait out into the water column to generate a scent, and food source for the sharks and other prey species. Bonito make terrific chunking material. I like to cut them into about one inch cubes. Cut a bunch (a couple gallons in a bucket) before you start so they are easily accessible. Start with just small hand fulls about every few minutes depending on your water depth. I generally only chunk in very heavy current, or in water over about 20 ft. deep. You want the chunks to disperse over a wide area, with the highest concentration being just near the back of the boat. A large slingshot will make short work of dispersing your chunks in areas of slower current or shallower water. Keep up the chunking every few minutes, even while fighting a shark, as you will likely draw in fresh sharks due to both the scent and commotion caused by the fish you are fighting.
All methods of chumming are dependant on moving water. If the current isn't flowing, your chum is just sinking. Try to pick an area with at least a little water movement. Very strong currents will require additional use of methods such as chunking or box chum to keep the chum steady. One of the most important things to remember is to keep your chum slick active and intact. If you start, don't stop. Sharks follow the slick to the area of greatest concentration, if the concentration drops they will turn. If you keep your slick constant, the area of greatest concentration will always be closer and closer to the boat. This will lead the sharks right to you.
Freshness of bait and chum makes a HUGE difference. You will have the best success with baits and chum caught in the last few days, or the morning of the trip. This is obviously not possible with box chum. Don't despair if you cant get fresh bait, you still should great luck. I have had some of my productive days with old bait. Fresh bait just seems to bring the sharks in a lot faster, and will make them more active if they are being somewhat tentative.
Shark bait is an area of constant debate among hard core shark fisherman. The number one rule to remember is pretty much the number one rule in fishing: Match the hatch. Try to get an idea of what the sharks in your area are feeding on. For most shark fishing in Florida you can count on Jacks, Mackerel, Amberjack, Barracuda, Ladyfish, Bluefish, Bonito, and rays or skate. When I target large migratory sharks such as Tiger sharks in Southwest Florida, I know these sharks are here feeding primarily on the oil-laden King Mackerel. For this reason I use King Mackerel almost exclusively when targeting these behemoths. Likewise, Hammerheads are suckers for a big injured ray or skate.
Part Two coming soon.
