Shark fishing

[Jeri]

Hi All,

Nice fish, and they show from the dialogue how different even something as simple or straight forward as shore shark angling can be in different parts of the world, and how the anglers approach the matter. A lot of the differences come from the prevailing conditions, as well as local accepted practices.

I build a lot of rods for sharks for folks around the world, and it always seems that I need quite a few emails just to get a handle on how they are fishing, whether it be Australians fishing off high platform and rocks, guys in the southern States using kayaks or electric RC boats, or folks in southern Africa just casting. All the rods are different, and equally all the reels are different – at the end of the day we have built purpose designed shark rods from anywhere between 7' and 15' long.

The biggest single issue that we all seem to overlook is the factor of leverage, especially with the long rods. The guys on boats long ago learned the benefits of stand-up rods, and how such short rods would reduce the fight time on big fish, due to being able to increase the pressure on the line – it did lead to a few problems with reels and drags, but that was overcome.

We did some experiments with the long surf rods and found that even the biggest of guys could only pull 10.5kgs (23lbs) through a 14' surf rod, and this was only for a short time. We then tried the same guys with a prototype 11' surf rod, and the maximum load they could pull jumped straight up to 15.8kg (nearly 35lbs)!!!! We then looked at the casting practicalities of the shorter rod, and apart from when 'sliding' was used, the rod came out equalling the long 14' rods which were the accepted local norm – we were getting 20oz bait and sinker combinations out as far as 150m on a test field – no different to the 14' long rods.

Since then I have been using various rods around the 11-12' length to great effect, but the one thing that we very soon found was that the reels that were previously more than adequate – were beginning to fail. Now we are using modified TLD 20 and 25 models for casting and pulling in the big sharks – more drag and lower gear ratios. A couple of clients that we took out managed very respectable sharks in quite short times – a 15 year old lad had a 122kg (270lbs) on the beach in 55 minutes, and an 82 year old had an 87kg (190lb) on the beach in 22 minutes.

I have long learned that we all need to think a little 'outside the box' when we get to the upper end of tackle usage, look beyond what is the accepted norm, and have a look at other angling practices to see how they are overcoming similar problems, as someone somewhere around the world has come up with a solution – probably coming out of a garage or small workshop. It perhaps is the beauty of this web forum, such a diverse group of people from all round the world.


Cheers from sunny Africa

Jeri

[CapeFish]

my rods are all on the shorter side, I only have one of 14 and not my go to shark rod,  those are about 13. those are very valid points I have heard of your 11 ft rods. I don't fish league so I slide often hence won't go much shorter. regarding the jigmasters, out of the box you are really going to struggle with them. they are hardly even sold here anymore. I know you can pimp them but none of those aftermarket products are available here and by the time you are done you may as well have bought a saltist or a torium. Same with the Senators, although the Baja may well be a good option but not available here. the jigmaster's line swallowing is also an issue.
I am intrigued by your use of the tld Jeri. I know they are solid but never would have thought they will do well casting. Do you prefer it to say a Trini 40?

[Alto Mare]

Leon, you're a young man, but your thinking with 1950 mentality . Have you held a squidder or jigmaster lately? I have some and can't squeeze a .1mm sheet of paper between the spool and ring.

[Tiddlerbasher]

Hi Jeri,
I couldn't agree more about shorter rod lengths. I have been preaching this very thing to my friends. If a shorter rod can hit the necessary distance why use a longer one?
Simple maths - A 6' rod with a fore grip 2' up gives the fish a 2:1 lever on you. An 8' rod with fore grip 2' up gives the fish a 3:1 lever! That's a 50% increase in leverage for the fish.
Or to put it another way - For a 6' rod - If you apply a force of 20lbs (at the fore grip) the fish only gets 10lbs. The 8' rod, for the same force, the fish only gets just under 7lbs
I guess its a case of less is more 

[saltydog]

I am a firm believer in the shorter rods when you have to get maximum leverage, when you can get away with using them.

And I agree with the point that a rod from 7' to 12' is the best when casting from shore and a few other applictions. It really all depends on what you are fishing for, where you are fishing, and when you are fishing for certain species of fish.

The differences you find in rod building will boggle your mind when it comes down to how many different ways you can set up a rod for different fishing situations and types of fishing

Now for the jigmaster 500 I have not ever ran into a braid eating machine ever. I guess it has to do with the size of braid being used but for it to be small enough to be eaten by one you would have to be using under 50# and you would spend a bucket of money on filling that up.

My jigmaster 500 holds around 400 yards of 30# BBG mono when full so that would be equal to around to something over 500 yards or 80# braid depending on it's diameter. Now for me that is plenty of yardage when either fishing for tuna or sharks from boat or beach. Now I know that mine is hotrodded but if you look you can find them around for very little. Another thing is that for casting I prefer bushings over bearings because in a surf environment that is one less thing to fail. I am currently working with a machineist to get bushings made for casting for the 113H, 114H, and 115 because I have a few friends that cast those bigger reels and we feel it would be better for casting big baits and lead to bigger sharks like Tigers and Hammers from the jetties here in Texas.

As you can tell I am a Penn guy, but I do own many other varieties of reels for other fishing situations.

[Shark Hunter]

Lets stay on track guys. This post is about Shark Fishing. I don't want to get a debate going on Tackle selection and rod length technical stuff. (Words of Wisdom from the Boss)
I think I'll start a new post on this Subject. Its in "Setting your reel up to go fishing". Lets see some more pictures!
Here is a good pic of My Big Blacktip right after I got the hook out. He was very well mannered as I did this. After dehooking, He was like, OK, I'm ready to go now! ( He is giving me the evil eye here)

[Alto Mare]

Well said Daron , sometimes we all forget.

[Three se7ens]

This was my biggest so far, 10' tiger shark. Caught on an okuma Coronado 80.  This was a 4 hour lesson in why graphite frame spinning reels have no place offshore...  We were fishing for seabass on an artificial reef, and getting close to our limit, so I put out a shark rig hoping for a 4 footer to liven the day. Not 10 minutes later, I hooked that guy. We unhooked the anchor, and this shark pulled the boat over a mile and a half from where we dropped the anchor(with a bouy of course) over the course of 4 hours.

[bluefish69]

I think that you need a Bigger Cooler.

Mike

[Bunnlevel Sharker]

Or a better release method!

[Shark Hunter]

I'm not into killing them, nor gaffing them. If they die by mistake, (Gut hook or just plain fights to the death) That is different. I don't fish like this. They are an Apex Predator, and should be treated accordingly. Its not 1970 any more.

[Ron Jones]

To me a fishery is a fishery. I like eating shark and if the fishery is sustainable then I don't have an issue with it. I have no idea what the tiger shark fishery is. I understand that everyone has a different point of view.

Ron

[saltydog]

In the states when there was a Tiger shark fishery it was for there liver, jaws, hide, then the meat to use as crab bait cause very little of it was very palatable and mostly sold to crabbers for bait. I can remember when a set of jaws was worth more than the entire shark, and that was a shame but when that one shark would feed and my family and pay the rent for a month it was worth trying to catch him. Great catch on the reel you were using, those aren't an easy fish on any reel.

[Bunnlevel Sharker]

To me a fishery is a fishery. I like eating shark and if the fishery is sustainable then I don't have an issue with it. I have no idea what the tiger shark fishery is. I understand that everyone has a different point of view.

Ron

Well the taste pretty bad when there over 8ft(ask me how i know), it was a great catch but i can catch 4 tippers and feed a family for a while

[Three se7ens]

That one made lots of dinners, and the meat was quite good actually. I don't make a habit of taking big sharks though.