Shark fishing

[mjhutch1116]

This is a little off the beaten path.  I am going shark fishing off the coast of maryland in 2 weeks, I have never fished for sharks before, what does shark fishing entail?  Any tips or information anyone can give me would be of great use.  Thank-you for your help.

Matt

[T-rig]

This would make good sharkbait! ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

[Siebert Outdoors]

years ago I went shark fishing and all we used was cut bait.  We were not fishing for anything big though.  Caught a few about 15lbs or so.

Just remember dont lip em ;D

[MskSlyr]

Hey Matt,

In years past I have done quite a bit of shark fishing for many different species. My uncle was a Captain out of Montauk many moons ago and we primarily set chum slicks and used cut bait when I went. The cut bait varies depending on other variables (time of year, migrating species, etc) but once everything is set it is typically just a waiting game. Thresher used to be common going out of OC in MD with quite a few to several hundred pounds and the state record at 613lbs. My largest thresher to date was 387 pounds. Good luck and watch the tail if you get a thresher. Take basser89 along to use for bait    

[GrandSlamBasser87]

I normally go shark fishing every summer on the OBX of NC but never offshore.  We normally get scraps from the marinas for bait with our favorites being Tuna heads and any type of Mackeral. My best from the surf so far was an 8 footer last summer. The Key is Lot's of line, atleast a 200-400lb mono leader for handling a fish in the surf or at the boat, a wire bite leader, and a Large J-Hook.  On a boat you can get away with smaller reels with less line capacity as you can chase the fish, but for us on the beach, we use reels anywhere from 4/0 to 12/0 sizes, even fished with a guy once who had a 16/0 reel!!! Talk about huge! Sharkin' is a ton of fun for those who love a fight but SAFETY is the key and no hook is worth a limb!!!! Be safe

[tkite16]

So here"s my Shark story. We were bottom fishing for grouper and what not off Key Largo . Well I hook a grouper and I'm reeling him up when the rods pulls down real hard strips some line then goes limp. We'll the guide starts laughing and says you know what happened there? He said you hooked a decent grouper till the shark ate it. I didn't really believe him but he asks if I wanna catch it. I said yes so he gets in the ice chest and pulls out a seven pound tuna that my wife caught and was very proud of , (We have pics of the tuna ) and puts it on big hook on a bigger rod with a steal leader.

He had me put the reel on free spool and let it fall to the bottom(150 foot down). The weight hit bottom and I reeled up and it was already on there . I set the hook and held on for the hour. He estimated it at 300 lbs and he got it across the back of the boat and it was just short of being as long as the boat was wide(13 feet). So I call it 12 foot 300 lbs. I thought I was gonna die from being so tired afterward. Here is the pic.

 

[jeremyt]

I also fish the OBX every year. We usually stay in Avon. I have had good luck with tuna heads from the days charters. We usually use about  12-15 oz of weight with a 12/0 hook along with a 400 pd steel leader. It works better from the pier when you have a soul brave enough to kayak a bait out about 100 yds. A 6/0 penn reel will work, but atleast a 9/0 is optimal. We have caught some 250# +  sand tigers. Make sure you know the laws on sharks, if not most of them will cary a federal fine. Good luck and tight lines

Jeremy

[Red]

i just went last week in the gulf of mexico(galveston) we used dead shad, big ones about a foot long...no weight and a balloon about the size of a softball tied at about 4-6 foot up the line...we would pull behind the shrimp boats draggin their nets and drift the bait right in the shrimp boats wake...got one just about everytime...we caught 3 over 100lbs...spinners and black tips...tons of fun

Cliff

[Big T]

Cliff,

That's funny that you mentioned following the shrimp boats down in Texas, I was just reading an article in the North Carolina about doing the same thing. They were using spanih mackeral and dead cigar minnows. Like you they wer catching Black Tips, spinners and a varity of sharks. I believe a couple of them went over three hundred pounds. I plan on chartering a boat dwon here to show me how to do this kind of fishing, as I am hopefully going to get a bigger boat this winter.

Tony

[deerhuneter02]

I've always wanted to go salt water/shark fishing but have never had time or money.

[Loudy]

chum it and use wire leaders heavy line heavy pole and circle hooks and a red bull might help

[Popeye]

"Saw one eat a rockin' chair once" - Quint ("Jaws")