Other Species Bucket List

[Bluebasser86]

Most any fish I haven't caught yet is on my bucket list. Oddly enough, the fish that don't really appeal to me are the ones that a lot of people dream of catching, the salmons and the billfish. I wouldn't be opposed to catching them, just not high on my list. I'd rather catch the big uglies, sharks, groupers, white sturgeon, Wels catfish. A Golden Dorado looks like a blast, so does most fish in the Amazon river. A GT has to be on my list somewhere for the strikes if nothing else. 

[Joshua van Wyk]

12 hours ago, soflabasser said:

You should be able to catch sharks in North Carolina as well but they tend to be smaller on average compared to sharks in South Florida. You can surf cast the bait or kayak your bait out for a better chance at catching a bigger shark.

I was planning on fishing a nearby pier as well, is this a good idea?

[crypt]

for me it's a big salmon in Alaska.....on fly tackle.

[soflabasser]

5 hours ago, Joshua van Wyk said:

I was planning on fishing a nearby pier as well, is this a good idea?

Make sure to not let the shark go under the pier and be careful not to let the line get cut off by the pillings or other structure. Landing small sharks ( under 3 feet) from a pier is relatively easy, medium to large sharks are hard to land from a pier. Many people fight the shark from the pier and walk down to the beach to properly land the shark. Make sure to release the shark as soon as possible once you catch it so it doesn't die.

[Joshua van Wyk]

44 minutes ago, soflabasser said:

Make sure to not let the shark go under the pier and be careful not to let the line get cut off by the pillings or other structure. Landing small sharks ( under 3 feet) from a pier is relatively easy, medium to large sharks are hard to land from a pier. Many people fight the shark from the pier and walk down to the beach to properly land the shark. Make sure to release the shark as soon as possible once you catch it so it doesn't die.

Thanks for the tips,  do you think 350 yards of line would be enough?

[gim]

I recently took a 4 day saltwater fishing trip this past spring to Key West, FL and caught some of the fish people have on their bucket list like tarpon, cobia, and barracuda.  Its something I won't forget.  I well tell you another fish that fights like a truck is a Jack Crevalle.  I've never fought a fish that long in my life.  The power of these saltwater fish is incredible.  There is just no comparison in freshwater.

 

I would like to go sturgeon fishing sometime.  There is an open season every April on the Rainy River which isn't more than a few hours from the Twin Cities.

[soflabasser]

On 7/22/2018 at 3:33 PM, Joshua van Wyk said:

Thanks for the tips,  do you think 350 yards of line would be enough?

You are welcome. What pound test line you plan on using? I would advise against using braid since it has poor abrasion resistance against structure and would recomend mono as your mainline.You can get lucky and land a shark with 30 pound braid and no leader but that is rare compared to using thick mono with a wire leader.I like using 50-60 pound test mono mainline,5-8 feet 100 pound test mono topshot, and 3-5 feet of 120-200 pound test wire leader when fishing for medium sized sharks(4-8 feet long). I use heavier line/wire leader when targeting bigger sharks (8 feet and above).

[Joshua van Wyk]

1 hour ago, soflabasser said:

You are welcome. What pound test line you plan on using? I would advise against using braid since it has poor abrasion resistance against structure and would recomend mono as your mainline.You can get lucky and land a shark with 30 pound braid and no leader but that is rare compared to using thick mono with a wire leader.I like using 50-60 pound test mono mainline,5-8 feet 100 pound test mono topshot, and 3-5 feet of 120-200 pound test wire leader when fishing for medium sized sharks(4-8 feet long). I use heavier line/wire leader when targeting bigger sharks (8 feet and above).

I have 20 pound mono with 4 feet 80 pound mono leader with 3 feet of steel leader