Shark hooks

[Dynamo]

Nice hooks. The rig with the green leader is a ray rig, I assume? I primarily use J's, I'll have to give circles a try.

[Dynamo]

Nice rig, Shark Hunter! Sharkoutlet is awesome. Your next weak links are the hook and the cable. A large tiger or hammer can bite through 1000 test cable easily. And Mustad circles are great hooks, but can straighten.

[Shark Hunter]

Well, what do you use then? You seem to be an expert on every post. Lets see what you got!
When I hook a fish that straightens out a 20/0 Mustad, I will Congratulate him!
I also have some tooth proof 22 wire when I get serious.

[Dynamo]

Use #22 wire and you will be set for monsters! Really #19 is all you need, though. Single strand is superior 'cause each time that bull, tiger, or hammer swings his head, he cuts through a tiny strand. In no time there are no strands left. One big strand is a lot harder for the shark to cut through. And i'm not "Mr. expert", I have just seen way to many cables severed by big sharks. Sorry if i seemed arrogant! The Mustad should last but under heavy drag they will bend. Look into the Lindgren-pitman 18/0 circles, they are smaller but quite a few shirkers use them with much success! They can be found on Ebay for a 10 pack. They are unbendable. Currently I'm only fishing for tippers with my 9/0, so I'm not hunting giants. I use about 5-6 feet of #15 wire with double 9/0 j's, again this is only for the smaller sharks. Not much in the Bay, sadly. For you I'd recommend 6 feet of 19 wire then 12 feet of 500 lb test cable. Cable is recommended instead of heavy mono because it is impervious to tail whips. A 12 ft tiger will obliterate 600 lb test mono with one swipe! 1000 lb test will last longer, but not much. If bridge fishing then use 15 feet of wire to tail whip section of 20 feet of cable. Hooks? Either the LP's i mentioned would be perfect or try some big J's. Many scorn the large j hooks nowadays, saying they kill sharks, but they are wrong sharkers kill sharks. You come from Sharks on the Sand, correct? A vast majority of sharkers there use circles. If you decide to use J's make sure they are sharp and thick, at least double strength. 11/0 and up. Don't worry about the sharks mortality, sharks are gutt-hooked with circles and many people have sharked their whole lives using just J's, never a single gut-hook. Use double hook J rigs and you may find your hook-up ratio increases. Good luck whatever you use!!

[Dynamo]

Forgot to say that your rig is still very strong, but the next weak links are the two mentioned. You should be able to handle a decent to nice shark, (7-12 ft), easily with the Sharkoutlet leader. You can catch nice sharks on both, I'm strictly talking about Monsters! Go out and catch 'em!

[Shark Hunter]

I dabble in Sharks on the Sand, but this is my Home. If you need some help here, you will get it!  ;)There are a great bunch of guys here. SOS seems to be more of a"look at me!" site. There are some words said on there that are really turning me off. I didn't mean to sound arrogant either, but constructive criticism is better worded than to just point out the flaws. I am sure we can learn a lot from each other. The Tiger leader from sharkoutlet was a gift from John Hebisen to get me pointed in the right direction.
I am learning to make my own leaders. This is my standard setup. 12' 480lb nylon coated cable, for the tail whip factor. 25' 400 lb mono with sliding trace and 6/0 rosco barrel  swivel with a 20/0 straight Mustad circle. I realize the cable can easily be bitten in two, but if the circle works as it is suppose to, his teeth will never touch this cable. These are very inexpensive to make versus buying new ones. Plus, they roll up nicely in the leader bag. The wire does not. I make them on the beach. I Will check into those Pitman hooks. They sound like the hot setup. Again, sorry for my arrogance as well.

[Dynamo]

You're not arrogant, lol, and I agree, this is my favorite site yet! The people here are just plain awesome. Just taking a look at the crap that goes on at other sites makes me realize how thankful I am to be a part of this forum. I'm a lucky guy, and as you say, life is good! But seriously, there are some good people on Sharks on the Sand. Some of them might be a little short-sighted on occasion, but they are a nice bunch of folks. I don't know if i'm allowed to post a link, so you can just search "Lindgren-Pitman circle 18/0 10 pack" into the search bar at Ebay. They should be right there. Also take a look at the All-catch 20/0 circle hooks on Ebay and Amazon, they look like the Lindgren-pitmans, but they have a thinner tip which slides into shark flesh easier. Don't be afraid to try out J's too, you might be pleasantly surprised.

[saltydog]

I have been fishing for big sharks off the beach since 1984 and have commercial fished for them since my great uncle used me for a cutter(gut and de-head) on his shark boat so the leader question has alot of play everywhere. When I fish off of a boat for them I use a 3 foot leader of #15 wire and whatever hook does best to minimize the electrical signal the shark will pick up tied straight to my 30' 80# topshot of mono and have never lost a fish due to wearthrough of the mono or the wire breaking,now I have had them cut me off on the oil rigs, other boats, other fish, my boat, and accidental jumping fish spinning up in the line and it get in the muth, GONE.

Longline fishing for sharks we used 20/0 circle hooks on 200 to 300# mono leaders with no wire to catch sharks with 99.9% of the leaders never bitten through or a 20/0 straightend out, and I guarantee you a 5 mile long line puts out more drag pressure than any reel ever could.

For beach fishing with the guys I fish with we use 7' of #15 wire and 20' of 200# mono with different hooks matched to the bait and we have caght many large Tigers and Hammers and have never had a tail pop the line or leader in half in over 30 years.

Most of the shark sites I have visited and been a part of always turn into a self gratifacation or braggart sites and I have little time for that, I always try to help anyone who asks for it and that is a major part of why I am a member of this site because the men and women of this site always try to help and give contructive criticism, and lots of knowledge is here to be mined if only one is to ask. Thats why I love this site, if you have a question people here do there best to answer it to the best of there knowledge or try to point you in the right direction.

William

[Shark Hunter]

Well said William! That pretty much sums it up Buddy! You are now the Man!

[Dynamo]

Precisely! People here are always so helpful, gracious, and humble. That's why I joined this site. Back to the shark leaders, I use smaller J hooks and 6 feet of #15 for smaller sharks such as tippers, bulls, and sandbars. I use a mono tail whip section for them too, it works fine. Circle hooks are great as well, but I have seen stock Mustad 20/0 circles bent out by a goliath and 50 lbs of drag, if a goliath can bend it what could a 1000 lb plus hammer do? And many hard-core sharkers fish with extreme drag. And we all know those sharks exist. And they are catchable with the right gear. Shark Hunter is satisfied with average sharks too, but he wants a monster. And Monsters can do crazy things, so i'm just trying to suggest the gear that is used for monsters, that people use to catch monsters. Regular Mustad circles bend, Mustad triple strength 14/0 tuna J will not. Mono tail whip leaders will not last against a prize shark, cable will. Not part of this discussion but 50w you will get spooled, 130 class reels you have a better chance. I do not doubt the type of leader you and I use for everyday sharking works, but monsters will find the weak link in your gear, and they will make you pay for it.

[Bunnlevel Sharker]

I ain't a mustad circle fan, I like two of the smaller ones. Circles have to turn just right to set, Js set anyways. #15 wire can catch anything, I prefer heavy mono to cable as cable kinks up and reals from tail whips

[Dynamo]

Yeah, #15 is probably enough, but kinks a lot easier than #19. Cable might kink up when whipped but I'd rather have a kinked tail whip leader than a broken one. Just my two cents......

[Bunnlevel Sharker]

When and where have you seen broken heavy mono from whips, good AFW #15 doesn't kink easy, and I h be some killer J hooks that won't bend. Commercial tuna hooks and 9/0 giant tunas, the giant tuna hooks will be going out in a sharpnose in Florida this spring if it goes right

[saltydog]

If you want real strong hooks go get you and old gas heater that has those ceramic bricks inside and make you a heat treatment kiln out of it. Then heat treat your own hooks, weld the eyes and get them good and sharp.I used to have one when I used to make my own harpoon heads and alligator snagging heads when I used to work for one of the state alligator trappers in south Fla. and also used to have lots of fun with those little jewfish.Just thought I would post this little fish for all those who say a 114H stock has no guts, this was when Jewfish was still legal to take so nobody get upset.He was caught on a stock 114H with 50# mono and a 6' peice of #15 wire and a 14/0 circle hook ,and the rod was a custom sabre 50# standup.He was 90" long and had a 73" girth and weighed 599# by formula and probably went a little bigger.

[Mandelstam]

Awesome fish!

I've always thought jewfish looks just like a supersized little aquarium fish. Like if you didn't have frame of reference beside it, it could just easily be two inches long. So you're either a very tiny person Saltydog, or that fish is enormous.