Shark fishing

[Shark Hunter]

I didn't mean to come off like some tree hugger or anything.
I guess since you put him to good use, Its OK with Me. I just hate to see Sharks killed for the fun of it.
Catching them from Shore is a challenge for me. No Boat, No Charter. Just me and my Penn Senator!
No pimping either! It is bone stock down to the handle. The only upgrade is HT-100's.

[Chris Gatorfan]

I feel the same. If we catch a small black tip then we will make dinner with it. But i do tagging for NOAA and the National Marine Fisheries Apex Predator Program so basically every shark we catch is tagged and released.

[Ron Jones]

I wholeheartedly believe in not killing big sharks. First their flavor and texture is less than desirable and second they are the important breeders. Probably my favorite shark is 60-80 pound mako. Used to get those a lot out of Oceanside, Ca.

This is why I love talking to sportsman, it seems that we can come up with fishery management solutions that work. Probably because we want to keep catching the fish!!
Ron

[Bunnlevel Sharker]

Thinking Ora barely legal BT fried up in nuggets makes my mouth  water!

[jimmymac]

Nice pictures!  Thanks.  I don't get to fish for sharks much living here in Pennsylvania but I do love it.

[Shark Hunter]

Nice Jimmy!

[jimmymac]

Thanks!  My boy caught that Lemon shark in the tidal pool you see behind him.  I was up there in the morning catching bait at low tide and discovered a couple Lemons that purposely trapped themselves in the pool to feast on mullet.  I took my son back up there in the evening at low tide to see if we could catch one.  I cut up about a half dozen mullet and tossed them in the pool, then cast out a whole mullet on a 10/0 big eye circle.  Game was on quick.  Happened almost too fast.  Good time!

[floating doc]

That must have been an interesting fight with the fish trapped in the tidal pool. How deep was the water?  Did it run back and forth, sulk on the bottom, or what?

[jimmymac]

The water was 4 or 5 feet deep.  The shark was swimming back and forth and fought hard.  I felt pretty good about our chances though.  I knew he wasn't going to get spooled. 

[Shark Hunter]

I think pound for pound, those Lemons are some of the meanest Sharks! They thrash and try to bite you!
The Blacktips come in as second meanest in my book. That 6 footer was thrashing so hard, he was coming at least two feet of the sand! Once he settled down, I got the hook out quickly. (a 20/0 Mustad Circle) He was back in the water in less than a minute.

[jimmymac]

That's interesting.  I haven't had too much trouble with decent sized lemons I've managed to beach although the one in the first picture made life interesting a time or two.  Those blacktips on the other hand scare me some once on the beach.  Unpredictable and quick.  I love the way they hit a bait in the water though!  Freight train!  My main problem is that I'm usually fishing alone which isn't real safe when dealing with sharks of any size.

I'm a complete novice with these sharks though.  I'm sure there are guys on here that have forgotten more than I ever knew!

[Shark Hunter]

I am fairly new to the game myself. I've only caught a couple Blacktips, but I've seen several others caught. I found out the trick to catching them is with a sliding trace rig instead of a fixed sinker.
Last year I had a bunch of good hits, but when they felt the weight, they would drop it. I'm using a 30 foot section of 400lb mono before my cable or wire leader and it seems to be working. Those Blacktips are sneaky! The Veterans of the sport call the fixed sinker a Mouse Trap. The sliding Trace is a Rat Trap.
I'm also leaving the hook exposed instead of hiding it in the bait and my hook up ratio has vastly improved.

[Bunnlevel Sharker]

Smaller lemons don't fight to hard on hevier tackle, but my lord on the beach......the 4 footers you winch in on a 4/0w are the worst And nice fish Jimmy!

[mgoose]

Congrats to you and your son Jimmy!   Makes me want to head South to get back on some more sharks in Texas!!