Catchin Sharks
To catch these
toothy fish you need to get a pattern, a game
plan going, I like to cover all of the bases, So
let’s start with your chart I use the 15-F from
water proof charts, what I need is to see the
bottom contour, where the in-roads for the
sharks would be, I look for deeper troughs along
the bottom I the harbor or ledges in the gulf,
Once I find the bottom I like be it a deeper
trough on the bottom or just a place between 2
reefs on the gulf. When I get there and once my
boat is anchored. Oh and the tricky part of
anchoring is that I use a couple of crab trap
floats tied to my anchor line So I can cast it
away without having to bring it in the boat, No
time for that with a big fish on peeling off
line like your hook up to a Chevy and I know it
is hard to imagine 300 yards of line being
ripped off your spool but it can happen in just
seconds, several species of sharks can reach
speeds of 360 feet per second So time is
important. The last bit of advice is to use a
loop knot over the cleat, instead of tying the
anchor line to the boat.. So the line can be
tossed away from the boat and I can chase the
fish.
Now that the anchor is out I want to put my chum
bag over the side, over the back really, often I
use the chum already in the bag, it is easy and
when I am done I can just throw the bag in the
garbage. The trick to using this type of chum is
not to let the bag float on the water. I shorten
the line up enough to keep the bag up-right, so
it is hanging from the cleat. this way every
time I walk or a wave hits the boat it sloshes
the bag up & down dispensing the chum, if it is
just floating on the water it will not dispense
properly. Now that I have all that I put out my
first line.
My first rod out is a 40 size spinning reel,
with a med/heavy rod the same as I would use for
Snook or Red fish, 12 pound mono or 15 pound
braid line. As the sharks I am trying to land on
this rig are 2 to 4 feet, for tackle I use a 4/0
A.F.W red leader. On the hook is a half of a
sardine. and most important a bobber on this
line. This will be the farthest away from the
boat, the longest line out, I let the currant
take it at least 75 or 100 feet away from the
boat, and the bait is 3 to 4 feet below the
float.
Now the second line is free-lined out and placed
in the back left corner of the boat with no
float or sinker, it will adjust itself to the
currant lay on the bottom during a slack tide,
or as the tide picks up and starts moving
faster, the bait will come up off the
bottom. Same hook, leader and bait, the ole
trusty sardine. Now with the first rod on a
float and the second free-lined there is almost
no way for them to tangle.
The 3rd and 4th rods both go in the holders mid
ship. these are the heavy rods, the 3rd one is a
6500 Live liner with 65 pound test braided line
and it has a 3 foot 100 pound test steel leader
with a 7/0 hook and 4-finger size chunk of
mullet on it, with a 4 once sinker to keep it in
place, preventing tangled lines, cast this out
at a 45 degree angle from the boat towards the
back.
The 4th rod a 9/0 or bigger Penn conventional
reel, loaded with 80 pound mono line, I use mono
as it seems safer to me I can tell when it is
about to break and dose not bury into itself as
easy as braided. This has a 6 foot 250 pound
test leader with a 12/0 hook and a big chunks of
bait, like half or whole mullet maybe a lady
fish but big 3 pounds of bait, the smaller
sharks may push it around, but it will take a
big shark to pick it up.
Use a heavy sinker 8 once or bigger to hold the
bait out and away from the other lines, even
though it is heavy the currant pushes hard a
such a large piece of bait hence the big weight.
Again I cast this at a 45 degree angle back of
the other side of the boat.
So now I have a line with a float covering the
sharks running near the surface. Free lined with
cover the middle depths of the water and finally
ones with sinkers on the bottom.
The smaller baits on the first 2 will entice any
black tip or smaller sharks 3 foot or less to
bite, the larger rods with big baits will get
the big Bull or larger sharks t eat.
One all of the rods are set, you have to wait
now, I usually figure on about 45 minutes for
the chum to really start working, that is why
the chum is the second thing I do after getting
in the Anchor set, that way the clock is
running,
another tip is that makers hold bait and make
for good shark fishing but I do not get close as
the sharks will tend to run around the marker
and break off, so if I am fishing a marker I am
about 100 yards away letting my chum bring them
to me.
I hope this helps you in the quest for some
heart pumping fishing excitement, which once you
know a few tricks, you will be able to do. Just
keep in mind this is a apex predator can you
could just as easily become it’s prey so be
carful and as a last thought, you are not
allowed to shoot a Shark, So again be carful &
above all have fun.
Fishin Frank