Anybody done any shark fishing recently? Heading to Sullivan’s after work Friday and was wondering if anyone had any luck recently.
i tried a short time a couple nights ago and had 2 hits on what id guess were sharks, both hits being on half a whiting. the 1st hit made my bait clicker scream but bit through the line above my leader when i set the hook since idiot me only used a 30" pre made leader because thats all i had at the time so that one was probably a big one if it could gulp that all the way down and the second was probably a sharpnose. had the 2nd hooked a couple seconds but reeled back half the bait i started with and little tooth marks all over what was left. using cut whiting for a sharpnose on easter i was pleasantly suprised with a 36" red, but havent caught a thing on the rod with half a blue crab or 5.0000000001" live blue crab on it yet.
The water temps are looking good for sharks. I have already put one on the beach a few weeks ago and can’t wait till the end of May when I can get back down there. On my casted reels I use a 7ft piece of coated cable in the 250# to 480# range. It is usually a remnant of a longer bite leader that I have been using. A general rule of thumb is to make this leader 1.5x’s the length of shark you are targeting. My hooks are 16/0 or 20/0 Mustad circle hooks. I open the gap slightly on the 16/0. Bait caught in the surf works well for this rod because you will be fishing close to the surf zone or just beyond the breakers. I have caught many sharpnose on this casted rod but I have also caught blacktips up to 6.5ft My reel is spooled with 80# braid and a 50# mono topshot.
Went yesterday for the last 3hrs of high and first 2hrs of low tide. Buddy caught 3 rays and had something bite through his 40lb steel leader. It took a bunch of line and he fought it for 10 mins then broke off. I caught a small sharpnose pup. Everything on live shrimp. Couldn’t catch any other bait for the sharks.
Sting ray make excellent bait for sharks.
beachpirate has put some very impressive fish on the beach, and gives good advice.
nuke, as he alluded with the leader rule, yours probably rubbed the mainline with its tail- denticles do their job very well… when fishing offshore (more vertically), it’s less of an issue, but from the beach with the fish horizontal and straight away having a long leader makes all the difference.
bought a spool or 124lb leader wire so ill make my leaders a fair amount bigger to solve that problem. i plan on trying again at least once if not twice this week and ill put one rod out for sharpnose with a small piece of cut bait and since i dont have a kayak and id imagine casting a 6 foot leader might be akward im gonna swim a fish carcass of some form i saved in the freezer around 200 yards out for bigger ones. hopefully this time the big one doesnt get away!
Swimming a bait out is hardcore!!! Be safe.
Single strand wire leader material is a little difficult to use for casted baits but will work. I prefer cable because it is more pliable and allows me to hang the hook and bait off the leg of my spider weight. When I attach a leader to the mainline I use a heavy 250#-500# snap swivel and add the weight here. I can then just hang the bait off the leg of the weight to cast. This puts all the weight in the same place for casting and eliminates the helicopter affect and shortens the leaders. 3-3.5ft is easier to cast. The bait will separate from the weight on the decent into the water and allows the weight to set properly. My weights are either 4-5oz sputniks or 8oz spider weights with 10ga copper legs depending on currents.
shark rod/reel 4 sale in classifieds
OUR GOVERNMENT HAS BECOME THE ENEMY OF FREEDOM.
caught a baby sharpnose in the 1st 20 minutes on a small chunk of whiting and that was all. got there at low tide and fished 3 hours of incoming and didnt swim a bait out today since a few steps after i was waist deep i was in chest deep water so i figured that would be enough. current was strong too so no matter how far i casted out it still got thrown sideways to the edge of the dropoff. i like the idea of looping the leader around ill have to try that next time rather than trying to sling a 7 foot leader.
here’s my daily noob question:
do ya’ll usually keep the sharks you catch? i’m into shark steaks, but have never caught one myself. if you do decide to keep it, what’s standard practice for getting it off your hook, dead or alive? i like my fingers. quick club to the head? just curious…i plan on gearing up for some shark fishing this summer. want to be prepared if something bites.
if i’m eating it: grab it or net it (see below for grabbing), then bleed immediately by severing head from throat side up to the skin at the top of the head, and same at base of tail. do not remove head, fins or tail until you’re going home with the fish (the law says “landed with head and tail naturally intact”, but i err on the side of caution). allow to bleed out for 5-10 mins then ice as quickly as possible. i once home, i usually fillet mine, if they’re big and you don’t mind dulling your knife, steaking is cool too. once you’ve got meat, soak it in milk/buttermilk/baking soda solution/etc to neutralize the remaining urea in the flesh. overnight is good for milk, sometimes change it once or twice if i don’t feel like i bled it well.
after that, it’s up to your imagination. it’s firm meat and goes very well on the grill or chunked and fried. italian dressing is my favorite marinade (low-fat so the oil won’t cause flareups on the grill). i was once the grill man at a friend’s party, and one of his relatives swore to me for an hour that he had eaten chicken, not bonnethead. i don’t think they’re that similar, but it’s firm and delicious when treated right.
if i’m not eating it and it’s under about 4’, i will usually grab the leader, then possibly the shark- one hand right behind the jaws from the top, and one hand in front of the tail… and hold on tight. if the hook is visible and it’s not a sandbar, i will try to remove it. sandbars are smart, angry, and strong, but most of all they’re smart- they will wait until you’re in range and then bite. if the hook doesn’t look easy or it’s a big fish, i donate the hook, call it a win, and tie a new leader.
I caught a couple of nice bonnet heads the other day on cutbait.
seems like i got off topic above skillet, sorry- i was thinking about fried shark nuggets. the last 3 sentences still apply.
i use pliers to remove hooks when possible- i try not to kill stuff i don’t intend to eat (or use as bait), so i’d rather leave a hook in and keep the encounter safer for us both- sharks are very tough fish. if you think you’ve got a shot recovering your terminal tackle, here’s a pro tip:
the barb of a hook won’t usually “back out” of the tough skin of a shark (especially with the odd removal angle of a circle hook), so make a small, shallow cut on the barb side of the hook with a very sharp knife- it will slip right out if the barb can pass.
if its a bonnethead or sharpnose ill grab it behind the head and unhook it with pliers just like anything else. the biggest thing ive played with is a 5 foot sandbar shark and the answer how to unhook that is with pliers and very carefully…long as the hooks not deep in its mouth and its well played out and not thrashing all over the place. if its still hot and or hooked deep then im cutting the leader. as for keeping im the only one in my house other than people coming over that will eat it so a sharpnose, bonnethead, or if i get a blacktip or other legal shark not too much over the minimum length ill keep it, however i have no use for all the meat that would come with a 6+ footer so back it will go.
thanks very much Barba and Nuke for the super helpful information. And Barb, I’m always in the market for a new recipe! Much appreciated.
Where are people surf fishing for sharks at?
i am always down for some sharking:)
i got the gear to put them on just no one to really help fish/run baits.
beachpirate can vouch for me… im always down to put them on and make one hell of a leader man.
Hey SC-shark where’s a good place to try and land some sharks from the surf?
You can land sharks from the beach just about anywhere. The surf will be loaded with sharpnose and blacktips this time of year. Fresh bait caught in the surf will work fine. Just watch for swimmers and anyone else enjoying the water ie, kite boarders… I have caught a few over the years and they will mess your lines up quick. Best to fish early morning or evening and through the night unless you have a beach that has little traffic. Know your beaches, some are more fisherman friendly and shark friendly. Just pick a spot and have at it. Good luck and report back in with an update to let us know how it went.
If you want to increase your chances at landing a shark make sure you have a bite leader that will not get cut through when you hook up. This can be wire, cable or heavy mono (4-500#). I personally use coated cable in the 480# range and the smaller sharks don’t seem to mind.
On my next trip, I will take pictures of my gear as I rig everything up to help anyone who is interested.