Shark Fishing Guide
The real SHARK FISHING GUIDE has moved!
EQUIPMENT
Rod and Reel:
Since you found this guide your obviously interested in catching a shark. The equipment used to catch a shark is quite important. Sharks are extremely powerful and have sandpaper like skin that can shred fishing line in seconds. My personal recommendation for a beginner shark pole is a Penn Senator 113. This is a rod and real combo that can be purchased for around $99. It will hold 300-400 yards of line which should land any 6′ shark. If you happen to hook up with one of the big boys this rod MAY or MAY NOT be enough. You better hold your mouth right and pray to the good Lord that you made the right rod selection.
Considering using that surf rod you bought at Walmart for $29.99? This is certainly an alternative but when you do hook up with an average size shark the drag will probably melt down on the first big run. If this happens please send me a picture so I can update this section of the guide. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!
Main Line:
Once you’ve purchased your rod you’ll need to buy your main line. This is ussually a monofiliment line that is somewhat abrasion resistant. The Penn 113 will hold about 350 yards of 40 pound test line. A spool of good line will cost anywhere from $15-$50. If you want to use your Penn 113 to fish for the big boys you could spool this rod with a microfiber line and get upwards of 500 yards of 40 pound test. Microfiber is more expensive but the line diameter is smaller which allows more line with equivalent stregth. My recommendation for the beginner would be the cheaper monofiliment line and when you get spooled by a 10′ bull shark head out and buy a bigger rod and bigger line. If you get to this point there’s no doubt that you’ll be HOOKED!
Leaders, Weights, and Hooks:
Now that you have your rod picked out and some good abrasion resistent line lets move on to the leader line. The main purpose of the leader line is to give you a better shot at landing a shark. When a shark is hooked he gets pretty angy pretty quick. He does a lot of twisting and spinning which could lead to him wrapping himself up in your main line. I guarantee any shark over 3′ that wraps himself up in your main line will snap it with ease. With that said I recommend a 70-130 pound monofiliament leader. You can purchase a 100 yards of leader material for around $10. I personally use a clear 100 pound leader, and I try to keep 15-20 yards on at all times. To date I’ve not had a shark break me off.
The more expensive leader is the stainless steel cable leader. This leader takes all the abuse when catching a shark. This leader will get upclose and personal with the teeth, jaws, and skin of the shark. I suggest a 400 pound 7X7 stainless steal cable leader. The 7X7 defines the number of strands of cable that are used to create the overall leader. This leader is nearly indestructable by a 6 foot shark but can become useless if enough damage is done. I’ve seen several strands of cable broken by a single encounter.
Also attached to this leader is the weight used to keep the bait somewhat stationary. Spider weights are great for this type of fishing as they bury themselves in the sand and keep the bait out. If the current is too great you may need to use a couple of these. However at $3 a piece this leader is becoming quite expensive.
The last bit of equipment attached to the leader is the hook. There are differing opinions on the subject but the most commonly used hooks are the J hook and the circle hook. These hooks should be in the 10/0 to 14/0 size range and cost anywhere from $1 to $10 depending on material and type.
FINDING A LOCATION
This may be the first time the age old addage “Location, Location, Location†doesn’t apply. Obviously some spots on the beach are better than others but in general if there is water there are sharks. I’m of the opinion that as soon as you step into knee deep water you’re in the domain of the shark. You would be surprised how many sharks are in no more than knee deep water at any given time. Be alert when hauling your baits out!
One thing to keep in mind before setting up is that shark fishing on the beach is illegal in many counties. Why you ask? Here in Florida our economy if fueled by tourism and if the general public knew just how many sharks are in the surf they would probably bring a kiddie pool to enjoy the water on the beach. With that said, if you don’t have much of a choice where you’re going to shark fish here are a couple suggestions to keep the authorities drinking their coffee.
* Try to find an area of beach where there aren’t many people. After you set the hook a shark could easily run 100 yards up or down the beach. You don’t want your line crossing paths with anybody that may be in the water. If there are people in the water try your best to get them on the beach till all is clear.
* When Bill Bob and his two sons are walking down the beach and ask if you’ve caught anything don’t tell him you landed a 6ft blacktip. In fact don’t even tell him your shark fishing. Just mention you caught a couple whiting or any other bait fish you may have managed to catch.
* Don’t chum! When the shark spotters fly up and down the beaches and see a high concentration of sharks where you’re fishing its not going to be pretty when they find out you’ve got a nice chum slick going.
* Fish early in the morning and late in the evening when most people aren’t in the water. Sharks are closer to the beach during these times which means you’re more likely to hook up.
Daytona/Cocoa Beach Area:
* Ormond Beach: Nice Beach. Not many people and a fair amount of sharks are caught here each year.
* Cocoa Beach: Fishing here can be difficult. Lots of tourists and surfers in the water. Early morning or late evening are ideal. Fair amount of sharks can be found during the warm months.
Jacksonville Area:
* Atlantic Beach (11th street): If you want to target smaller sharks this is a great area. Its not uncommon to catch Sharpnose, Scalloped Hammerheads, or Blacktip sharks.
BAIT
Catching bait is generally pretty easy to do. Buy some frozen shrimp and/or a bag of FishBites and setup a dual hook rig with a weight and cast out in the surf. Usually within 20 minutes you’ll have somthing you can use for shark bait. Probably the most popular bait is whiting. It’s abundant in the surf and shark don’t seem to mind it. Better baits are Ladyfish, Pompano, Stingray, or Jacks. These are premium baits that are almost going to guarantee you a shark run. These are a little more difficult to catch but certainly not impossible.
Now that you have your new rod spooled with some 40 pound test line and some good 100 pound leader its time to tie on that fancy steal leader with an extra large hook. Catch a nice whiting or other bait fish and your ready to start shark fishing for real.
Whether you’re using a J or Circle hook the theory is the same for rigging bait. Insert the hook directly behind the gill on the side of the fish. You’ll want to feed the hook as far down as possible. You should be able to get an inch to two inches under the skin. Here comes the most important part of rigging. Take a piece of string, twine, rope, and feed one end through the eye of the hook. Then wrap the other end of the string around the fishes body and feed that end through the eye of the hook. Turn the fish over so the hook is in the sand and tie an overhand knot as tight as humanly possible. This should keep the hook protruding out of the fishes body so a maximum number of hookups are acheived. A second piece of string should be used to secure the other end of the hook for the same purpose. This will also keep the shark from stealing your hard earned bait!
CASTING
Casting can be quite tricky and infuriating if you’ve never casted a bait casting rod. They will bird nest very easily and can cause hours of frustration trying to get the knots out. My first suggestion would be to tie on a weight and practice on the beach for several minutes. Once you feel comfortable add a little more weight. Remember a 6oz weight and a 20-30oz hunk of meat weighs a lot! You’ll eventually get the hang of it and it will be quite easy to cast.
If you have major issues with casting I have another suggestion. Loosen the drag as light as it will go and throw it has hard as you can. With the drag enabled at all times it will not birds nest at all. I’m not sure if this is good on the reel though, so its best to learn to cast properly.
Another option is a kayak. This is a great way to haul out those large baits at high tide when your not able to hit the second gut. Also if you get serious about shark fishing and buy a extra large reel you can haul out your baits several hundred yards and go for the big boys. Additionally they are quite fun to play in the waves when the fishing is slow.
My last suggestion is quite far fetched. If you have a couple crazy friends have them paddle your bait out on a surfboard. This may seems crazy but then again we are talking about surfers here! I only suggest this because I have two close friends who actually did this for me.
Once you’re happy with your placement you can walk back to the beach and place your rod in a holder. I recommend a 2-3†PVC type rod holder about 4-5′ long. This way once its in the sand it will keep the rod up and out of the water. Also having the rod this high will keep the line out of the sand therefore prolonging the life of your main line. Once its in the rod holder be sure to loosen your drag. You want it tight enough so the waves don’t pull it out, and loose enough that a shark won’t realize he just picked up a burger with a hook in it. The last thing is to enable the clicker (sound maker) so you know when a shark takes off with your bait.
FIGHTING
Your clicker screaming yet? If not hold on another hour. The ol’ blacktip is bound to come around sooner or later. Once he does that clicker will start up. Try not to get too excited. Count to ten as slow as you can. After hitting 10 tighten the drag as fast as possible to about 20-25 pounds. The clicker will probably not stop at this point but you’ve got to set the hook. With your rod at the 10 o’clock position and with the line tight whip the rod back to the 1 or 2 o’clock position. At this point you may see the shark leap out of the water. Your job at this point is to hold on and keep your line tight at all times. If he turns and runs at you, you must reel the line in as fast as possible. If you can’t keep up you’ll need to run backwards up the beach to keep the line tight. This could go on for 10-15 minutes until he starts to get tired. Once he does tire, and he will, the tug of war begins. You’ll probably get him in 100 yards and he’ll rip another 50 yards off your spool. You’ll be tired and your arms will hurt but you’ll have a grin from ear to ear. Once you get him the shallows you’ll need to land the shark. Extreme care should be taken for your safety and the safety of the shark.
The landing and release of the shark are no doubt the most dangerous aspects of shark fishing. Somehow you’ve got to pull a 100+ pound shark with razor sharp teeth up on the beach to retrieve your hook.
More than likely you’ll be able to get your shark into about a foot of water. Once he’s in this shallow he will be much less mobile. At this point you will want a friend to help you out to keep the release as safe as possible. Tighten down the drag and get a hold of your leader. This will give you much more control of the sharks head and keep him from turning on your friend. Once you have control of the head have your buddy swing around and grab him by the tail. If everything goes right your buddy should be able to pull the shark into a couple inches of water. I don’t recommend pulling him all the way onto the hot sand becuase injury to the shark could occur.
LANDING
Now that he’s out of the water its imperative that you work quickly to minimize the stress and shock on the shark. If this takes to long you will want to splash some water on his skin and over his gills to keep him alive. If the hook is buried deep in his mouth it may be better to cut the leader and let him have the hook. Otherwise you’ll probably want some big 16†channel locks to get the hook out. Whatever you do DON’T get your bare hand anywhere near his mouth. If he gets hold of your hand you will NOT be able to get it out without drawing massive amounts of blood. Once the hook is loose snap as many pictures as you can and get the shark back into the water.
The longer it takes to bring in a shark and get him back in the water will affect how long it takes to revive him. If the shark is completely exhausted it could take several minutes to get him swimming back into the deep.
RELEASE
Ultimately you want to get him pointed toward the water and wait for a decent wave to get him moving into deeper water. The best place to grab him is behind is pectoral fins and push/pull him into deeper water. When pulling him back into the ocean you don’t want to pull him backwards into the water. This will allow sand and debris to get into his gills and could hurt the shark. If he isn’t wanting to swim when you do get him in deeper water you’ll have to keep him upright until he starts swimming again. If he’s this tired you don’t really have to worry about him turning around and having lunch.
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