Fishing slump

Water temps near 90 degrees or above makes sharks look for deeper waters so water temp is the primary factor but think of external factors that may have contributed to a slow down in the Gulf and BP comes to mind.There are scientist trying to gauge the long term effects of the BP oil spill on the Gulf of Mexico ,,,,,hopefully they are not influenced by PETROL DOLLARS.
Once the water starts to cool off and the schools of mullet start moving through th fishing should certainly improve so hang in there good buddy.

I think they are waiting for more stricter fishing regulations on shark fishing....... I'm sure they won't have to wait to long.

Dont worry Will im in for the long haul. I may not be as experienced as some of you at shark fishing but im learning quickly. Actually i have learned more just by winging it trial and error trips that having some one cram his style down your throat.

I don't really think the fishing has been too bad this year..I just haven't got what I've been looking for, yet..just tired of catching lemon sharks. I think it is safe to take em off the protected species list it is making it harder for the kong sharks to find my baits. Anyways, maybe this will help motivate you..I reeled this in early this morning, and this wasn't from any damn lemon shark..this is the midsection of a 50-60# stingray...he just missed the hook too I had it in the tail.

Now thats what i like to see

Definitely looks like a Tiger bite to me.

here kitty...kitty...kitty

Every year is different...I remember reading what Mike Palmer wrote on another forum a few years back. From his experience the sharks come in cycles, certain species may show up thick every 4 years while larger sharks may move through every 6-8 years, or some years it may be required to paddle your bait out til you see the hub on your 14/0 to get the bite, etc...all of this is obviously relevant to location and variations in conditions over the years but the point is there is probably a pattern these sharks stick to. And the only way you learn the pattern is to have years and years of experience fishing your area. I live in the same area as you and in retrospect, this has been a great year for me..7 sharks over 8' including 4 over 9'. Not that impressive for the east coast but for the SW coast that's more than respectable. And that's not even putting baits out that often. The sharks are around..you just have to spend more time and effort to catch them. Change tactics, change beaches, change baits, and as cliche as it sounds, think outside the box.

Every year is different...I remember reading what Mike Palmer wrote on another forum a few years back. From his experience the sharks come in cycles, certain species may show up thick every 4 years while larger sharks may move through every 6-8 years, or some years it may be required to paddle your bait out til you see the hub on your 14/0 to get the bite, etc...all of this is obviously relevant to location and variations in conditions over the years but the point is there is probably a pattern these sharks stick to. And the only way you learn the pattern is to have years and years of experience fishing your area. I live in the same area as you and in retrospect, this has been a great year for me..7 sharks over 8' including 4 over 9'. Not that impressive for the east coast but for the SW coast that's more than respectable. And that's not even putting baits out that often. The sharks are around..you just have to spend more time and effort to catch them. Change tactics, change beaches, change baits, and as cliche as it sounds, think outside the box.

agree if one bait isnt working drop something out and a different depth/length is always something to be thrown into the mix.

Every year is different...I remember reading what Mike Palmer wrote on another forum a few years back. From his experience the sharks come in cycles, certain species may show up thick every 4 years while larger sharks may move through every 6-8 years, or some years it may be required to paddle your bait out til you see the hub on your 14/0 to get the bite, etc...all of this is obviously relevant to location and variations in conditions over the years but the point is there is probably a pattern these sharks stick to. And the only way you learn the pattern is to have years and years of experience fishing your area. I live in the same area as you and in retrospect, this has been a great year for me..7 sharks over 8' including 4 over 9'. Not that impressive for the east coast but for the SW coast that's more than respectable. And that's not even putting baits out that often. The sharks are around..you just have to spend more time and effort to catch them. Change tactics, change beaches, change baits, and as cliche as it sounds, think outside the box.

Great post Doug! I couldn't agree more. First of congrats on a good year for you thus far as those indeed are impressive catches and numbers on your part. I agree that we all need to sometimes think outside the box, or study our spots and know them as well as possible. Know when the Sharks are there and what species may be more abundant depending on the time of year. Know when to fish a certain spot and when to move to another. This may have been a slow summer for most, but keep in mind this year the Spring came early and MANY BIG BULLS have been caught this year. I'm calling it the year of the BULL Sharks. I think close to 15 Bulls over 8ft have been posted on this site and we are not even in the Fall yet. During this summer I haven't caught anything big, but we have managed to find a couple of spots where the Lemon Shark bite was/is hot. Of course we are always targeting the Big Boys but I'll take a Nice Lemon while we wait for that Big One to come around one of these days. Them Big Bulls will be back soon and I will get another one soon. I can feel it.

I was reading some replies and I hope you didn't think I was talking about you when I last replied. I was talking about the sharks waiting for stricter regulations then they would swim closer to shore. Implying thats the reason for the slump......
Sorry, I hope there wasn't a misunderstanding.

Sharks are here all over swfl. Had at least 12 runs the other night, blacktips, spinners, bulls. Puppy drum, cow nose, and mullet worked well.

I feel like this fishing slump is only a summer thing and the fishing will most certainly pick up into an epic amount of sharks very soon.

Along with many big bulls being caught, you have to remember the number of tigers and hammers caught this year already, I even know of big hammers and tigers caught during the BHC by people that aren't associated with the club or the BHC, i'd say this spring there were a dozen or so tigers and a dozen or so hammers most of them sizable.

Also on the last day of January I got a 10ft tiger and there was a 12-13ft hammer circling the pier. Then a week later a tiger the exact same size was caught on the same spot and a 10ft hammer was landed on a 4/0 wide.

The last shark with teeth I caught was the small tiger in early july, one thing that I noticed after the last shark I caught were the increased amounts of JELLYFISH. The sharking has been weird ever since these little pink or white round blobs started infesting our waters on the east coast, I was told that increased amounts of rain increased the amount of algae and these type of jellyfish eat that kind of algae.

Even worse than shark fishing, is certain areas in the bay for anything-fishing, when the incoming tide starts and the first JELLYFISH rolls in, the snook, tarpon, cuda, and jacks leave the saltwater canals leaving them barren with only jellyfish and minnows to catch.

My theory on these JELLYFISH is that their harpoon like spores fall off of the jellyfish naturally and in and around the area they are swimming and when a fish passes that water through its gills it stings just as bad as when we get stung by them.

I figure this because my friend was washing the engine of his boat and the water stream from his pressure washer hit an area of water near one of the evil JELLYFISH and splashed up and hit my friend in the chest and face, he ran inside itching and jumping and asking for vinegar or pneumonia and jumped in the shower faster than anyone I have ever seen.