Since two word responses are frowned upon, I figured I would put up a post promoting some interesting discussion. Everyone has a secret something or other that involves fishing. It might be a secret technique, way to rig a bait, bait catching rigs, whatever you guys can think of. Share it with your fellow shark fisherman so everyone has a better chance at catching a monster.
No arguing, or badmouthing other people's ideas. Lets keep it positive and help out our fellow fisherman. If you guys don't like this idea, that's fine, but for anyone who wants to participate, realize you're catering to what I believe is the core beliefs of this site and club...helping eachother to be better at what we do!
With that, I'll start. I like fishing by myself, it gives me time to just think about stuff. Landing fish on your own is can be tough, but one way to get around this is to use metal conduit for rod holders and make sure they are atleast a couple feet into the sand. Reel the fish as close as you can and when you're ready to leader it, just put the rod in the rod holder and go out and get him. With a metal rod holder that deep in the sand, especially semi-wet sand, it will hold drag pressure over 20 pounds. No worries about the fish taking off with your rod and on top of that you're keeping your expensive reels out of the sand. Keep your landing stuff by the rod holder and getting that shark back into the water isn't so bad. Just make sure you have something to set your camera on to take a picture while you pose with your shark.
Here's a couple solo caught bull sharks.
you can still catch the monsters of bahai honda
on the keywest side the side with nothing on it go down to the corner of the sea wall paddle your bait out between the 2-3 pilings the paddle south about 300 yrds you should come across a patch reef that rises out of the channel ( you can see it clearly on a nautical chart ) you MUST fish this on an out going tide drop your bait on the side of the patch reef ( this should be the side that is facing the park ) then hold on you should be able to have a shot at one of the bahia honda monsters ( also i found that if you get a bunch of cheap dog food IN CANS stab a bunch of holes in them and drop them 50 yrds up current of your bait they sink and the current rolls them along the bottom releasing there oily goodness along the way found it works good there )
good luck thats my secret way of fishing bahia honda to get the monsters
This is a Very Prized Secret,
The First week of May if anyone is looking for a MONSTER Hammer be at Boca Grande Pass in the mornings on an incoming tide with a live ray. This task takes 2 people one on the beach to man the rod and the other out in a kayak drifting the live ray off the kayak. Remember to stab one hole in one of the wings of the ray. Good luck to whom ever dares to tries this. I'll see you guys out there in the pass. 
Push yourself to fish with intense passion, push yourself to be on that beach while your buddies are out at the bars or night clubs,push yourself to go shark fishing and take your girlfriend or wife with you so you can kill two birds with one stone.While your buddies are out having fun or getting blitzed and acting like jackasses don't participate in that non-sense --- push it all that out of your mind and get some shark baits out at your favorite beach because you will increase your chances of catching a Monster by putting in "more time on the beach" while the others are wasting there time on dangerous activities .GO FISH,,,,,,,That's the Secret!!!
SOUTH FLORIDA SHARK CLUB -President SFSC-Founding Member est 1983 SFSC-Website Administrator BIG HAMMER SHARK TOURNAMENT -Founder Rene Memorial Sharkathon -Founder NMFS Shark Tagger
Couldn't say it better Will. The secret is ACTUALLY FISHING! There are hundreds of things you can learn by reading the internet, but almost all of those go out the window when you hook your first 11ft hammer at night on the beach. If you are by yourself, u have no chance. Look at who always produce big fish:
Ernie Polk: Puts in more time fishing Panhandle than anybody on Earth
JD Hammer: Fishes all of Florida literally almost everyday
Will: Always trying new spots and traveling to the location that he thinks holds the monsters that week
Shannon: Fishes the keys and many other florida spots all the time
Raymundo: Fishes all seasons and lands big hammers throughout the year
THE PEOPLE WHO CONSISTENTLY PUT IN TIME LAND BIG FISH!
Will I believe that is the best advice ever you can know every secret there is to know and if you don't get out to fish they will do you no good.
Be persistent and in the panhandle cut a long fillet of bonita or king for winter water when there are few crabs and use half a large king stuck in a nylon stocking (panty hose) for warm water.
Live bait, live bait, live bait, everytime I use live bait for sharks the results are amazing, just compare it to using live bait for other fishing, in most cases a live bait will get hit before a dead one, although many dead baits are also very good, I have seen many big fish and sharks hit the following baits live: mullet, ladyfish, jack, bluerunner, bluefish, stingray, bonita, moonfish, cuda, mackeral, and im sure there are many more.
Another reason live bait is good is for a fisherman like myself, fishing on very low income; no car, no kayak, and rarely an onshore wind to get my bait out. But if you bring your jigging rod, a lure and a few jigs, you can catch a fish and put him on your shark rig live. With a little practice, some luck, and alot of patience, you can get a live bait out a couple 100 yards without even needing to get wet!
I believe highly in live bait for any type of fishing, but there are a few very rare times where you will find picky fish that will only eat on particular bait, like sometimes at the piers the snooks get choosy and only want a squished cigar minnow.
Just an average fisherman.
Good topic and good responses, and Will I think you should have a talk with some of my friends 
I really don't believe there's any secrets in fishing, the surf or wherever else you fish isn't trying to hide anything from you..you can find out what you need to know through time put in.
heres my number one shark spot in the keys take sugerloaf blvd south til you get to a stop sigh then turn right