Heading down to the Keys in a couple of weeks. My oldest is dying to hook up with a “big” shark. I have a Penn 320 GT on a pretty stout rod with #50lb test braid. Is it better to make your own leader or buy ready made? Any thoughts, constructive input on leaders and shark fishing in the Keys appreciated.
“Apathy is the Glove into Which Evil Slips It’s Hand”.
Pm sent, i have a couple leaders that you can have.
2006 23 SeaCraft, 2008 Suzuki 250.
Sharks are easy in the Keys. If you chum the reef line for a while they will come, and if you don’t chum, bring a good book.
I try not to catch them, myself. But when I did, I made my own leaders. About 120 lb. plastic coated stranded wire, as long as the expected shark that I was willing to deal with. Crimp on 8/0-10/0 circle hook and big barrel swivel. Almost any live bait that you catch in the chum slick is good. Float one on a balloon close to the top, and keep catching yellowtails and mangoes until they show up. They will come.
Want to swing by and pick me up on the way? I’m jealous 
Capt. Larry Teuton
Swamp Worshiper
Thanks Drippin, I responded to your PM.
Larry. Caught some small hammerheads and a nurse last year but Connor is achin’ to hook up with something bigger. I think he’d be happy if he got to fight a nice sized one for a while. I’d love to take you down, I am sure there is a lot I could learn from you. I have always wanted to try out balloon fishing so we’ll give that a try.
Thanks both!
“Apathy is the Glove into Which Evil Slips It’s Hand”.
DF y’all have fun
“Enough hijacking, this is a major thread”
Thanks Peapod, looking forward to it. Haven’t had that “epic” day yet but, we get a little better at fishing the reefs each time we go.
“Apathy is the Glove into Which Evil Slips It’s Hand”.
quote:
Originally posted by DFreedomThanks Drippin, I responded to your PM.
Larry. Caught some small hammerheads and a nurse last year but Connor is achin’ to hook up with something bigger. I think he’d be happy if he got to fight a nice sized one for a while. I’d love to take you down, I am sure there is a lot I could learn from you. I have always wanted to try out balloon fishing so we’ll give that a try.
Thanks both!
“Apathy is the Glove into Which Evil Slips It’s Hand”.
Those small hammerheads were most likely bonnethead sharks. Only hammerheads I’ve seen in the keys have been 6’+.
As far as leaders go, I use 18-24" of 80-100lb single strand wire for all my sharking. Haywire twist your swivel on one end and a 8/0 J or circle hook on the other. I like to use two hooks so I put a second on another piece of wire about 6-9" long that is haywire twisted through the eye of the first hook AND the other wire. No weight needed if you’re on a flat. You can use balloons and weights to target different parts of the water column in deeper water.
I use chunks of cuda, jacks, tunny or carcasses for bait and do pretty well.
CHUM CHUM CHUM with chum blocks and fish carcasses. Preferably the fresh cuda, tunny and/or jacks you’re using for bait as they’ll get fired up on that scent and be seeking that smelly bait out in particular.
If you go back country…I like to position my boat in 3-6’ of water so that my chum slick goes across a 3-6’ deep flat, down into a main channel or into the mangroves of some islands. The lemons and black tips and spinner should keep you busy if you put in a day of it.
If you want to get a bit more advanced… I like to catch blue runners/hardtails and fly them off a kite for sharks. You can also use chunks of meat if that’s all you’ve got. It can