Shark Fishing

So you want to shark fish right? You now need the formula that will create success. There are a couple questions that you may be asking yourself. Questions such as:

• What tackle to use?
• What bait to use?
• What rod and reel should I use?
• What will I do once I catch a shark?

For starters there are many different species of sharks and you can actually target specific species by using different baits etc… There is a good general rule of thumb that I use. If you plan to fish for sharks in the 4 to 6 ft range, then a Penn Senator 6/0 spooled with 50lb test will be plenty sufficient. Equip this reel with a 6’ 6” to 7’ stout rod. Good rods that I personally use are the Calstar models and Chaos rods. If you plan to fish for larger sharks 6 ft and up then you are going to need heavy tackle. A 9/0 Penn Senator will be sufficient for most circumstances but for pier fishing, you may want to up it to a 12/0. I spool my large reels with 130lb Dacron line. I also use a heavy rod with roller guides.

Depending on what bait to use should be determined by what tackle you have and what species of shark you are targeting. For example if I was to fish for LARGE bulls or tiger sharks then I would float out a WHOLE live stingray with one of its fins clipped. Big baits equal big fish. If I was to fish for black tips then I would float out a whole mackerel or a whole lady fish. You can’t always know what shark will pick up the bait but the majority of the time it will make a difference. If you wanted to try and catch the greater hammer head then you could float out half of a tarpon (If you have a kill tag) and so on.

Once you catch the shark, what do you intend on doing with it? If you plan to keep it then you must handle with care. I wouldn’t recommend eating a fish over 6 ft, they are full of mercury. One of my favorite fish to eat is the black tip shark. If prepared properly and cooked correctly it is very tasty. The best times to fish for sharks is at sunset and a few hours after. I find that most of my hookups come between the times of 8:00pm to 2:00am. Remember when using large baits (stingrays) to let the shark run until it stops, this is when the fish will start to swallow the bait.  For leader material I use 230lb test wire for black tips and 500lb leader for bulls etc… I normally use 1070 forged hooks for black tips and 16/0 forged hooks for the larger sharks. I hope these general tips help you catch more. Until next time tight lines.