Recently I've gotten a lot of questions regarding my interest in shark fishing. So I've decided to make a quick little FAQ. If I've missed something here or if you have a question you'd like answered, I'll do my best to do so.
Q: Why do you want to catch sharks?
A: It's fun. Seriously, it's a blast. But honestly, I've been fascinated with sharks since I was just a kid. They have always been my favorite animal. It just took me 38 years to get to this point and I'm not getting any younger so I might as well have fun while I'm still able to!
Q: Do you keep and eat the sharks you catch?
A: No. I catch, tag, and release. Shark numbers are dropping due to over fishing for commercial purposes. 1/3 of all shark species are threatened with extinction. I want to promote conservation. Also many of the sharks we catch are protected and cannot be kept!
Q: What types of sharks do you catch?
A: We catch a variety of sharks. Blacktip, lemon, nurse, bull, and hammerhead, just to name a few!
Q: What is this tagging that you do?
A: I participate in the NOAA Apex Predator Tagging Program. Data from this tagging program helps to provide valuable information on migration and the extent of fish movements. You can find out more here: http://na.nefsc.noaa.gov/sharks/
Q: Does tagging the shark hurt it?
A: Sharks generally heal very quickly from wounds relative to other animals. Also, they are tough. During the mating season we often see large cuts on their backs and dorsal fins, where they give each other "love bites". To us they seem like very deep cuts, but in a matter of week they appear much less so. And a month or so after mating season, virtually no traces of the bites remain (no scarring). In comparison, the small dart that we insert below the skin seems like a tiny splinter.
Q: How hard is it to reel in a big shark?
A: Very! I've only caught them up to 6 feet so far and it was much more challenging than I had expected. Battles with larger sharks can take hours!
Q: I see you use giant reels and rods. Isn't that overkill?
A: Yes we use large gear to catch sharks from the beach. If we were in boats, we could use much smaller rods and reels, as you can always follow the shark with the boat. On the beach, you don't have that option. So we need a lot of line, typically 1000 or more yards of 100 pound or higher test. We also need the larger reels with stronger drags to help get the shark in as quickly as possible to ensure a healthy release!
Q: Why kind of gear do you use?
A: We use conventional style reels with either star or lever drags and heavy stand-up style rods in the 50-130 to unlimited class. I personally use a PENN Fishing International 80 VSW and a Penn Senator 12/0.
Q: What is that funny looking belt you wear while fighting the shark?
A: I wear a specially designed "bucket" harness. The harness helps me to hold onto the rod while fighting the shark as well as use my weight to help fight the shark. It's similar to a fighting chair on an offshore boat.
Q: Is this an expensive sport?
A: Yes! To quote my friend Andrew, "A drug habit might be cheaper!"
Q: Can anyone do this?
A: Yes. Just please please please please take the time to learn how to do it safely and properly from someone who has the experience! I can't stress this enough!
Q: Do you ever catch stuff besides sharks while fishing for sharks?
A: Quite frequently! We often catch goliath groupers and sometimes we even catch a tarpon!
Q: I see you use a kayak, do you catch the sharks from that?
A: No way! We use the kayak to deploy the bait. The leaders we use are very heavy cable and have lots of weight to keep them in place. Casting the bait out just isn't an option. So we kayak the bait out and drop it while the rod and reel stay on the beach.
Q: What do you use for bait?
A: It really depends heavily on what the sharks are honed in on at the time. Some times they will eat stingrays, sometimes mullet, sometimes bonita. Sometimes you can thrown everything at them and they will turn up their noses and keep on going....and other times they will eat anything!
Q: Is fishing for sharks from the beach safe for the other people at the beach swimming?
A: Shark fishing from a beach does not put at risk swimmers. In fact, a hooked shark has never attacked a swimmer. We do not attract sharks to the beach ,they already live and thrive there. If you're swimming in the gulf, you're swimming with sharks all the time. We drop our baits 100 to 500 yards away from the beach.
Q: If I see you reeling in a shark at the beach, can I take pictures?
A: Sure. The only thing that I ask is that you keep way back while we are fighting the shark. This is not only for your safety, but also for the angler's and the shark's safety. We need to work quickly once the shark has been landed. If we get distracted someone could get seriously injured or the shark could die. We don't want that!
I hope this has answered your questions! If I missed
anything let me know!
Great source of quick information! Great job on it, amazing detail and it hits almost all the things I could think about off the top of my head
Nice write up!
But why did you say a hooked shark will never attack a swimmer?
They are agrivated, trying to bite through that thing in their mouth and survive. I would think if they got close to a swimmer that was splashing and acting quite lively it would bite
Nice write up!
But why did you say a hooked shark will never attack a swimmer?
I said a hooked shark has never bitten a swimmer. Look at the shark bite stats, it just hasn't happened.
You gotta figure, it has a hook in its mouth and is being pulled towards the beach. All that shark wants to do is break of that line and get the hell outta there.
Very well written. Excellent information. Has anyone ever asked you about Shark rash or getting hit in the leg with the tail?
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TEAM GETCHA GETCHA SHARKON
Very well written. Excellent information. Has anyone ever asked you about Shark rash or getting hit in the leg with the tail?
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No one has asked me that yet. But we've all had it happen!
THANKS FOR TAKING THE TIME TO POINT OUT COMMONLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT THE SPORT ,IT IS WELL WRITTEN AND PRECISE.
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
THANKS FOR TAKING THE TIME TO POINT OUT COMMONLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT THE SPORT ,IT IS WELL WRITTEN AND PRECISE.
Thanks, William!
Excellent write up!
Grat write up. A lot of common Q&A. Very well done!!
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Good write up. It still kills me when German tourists feel that they have tow swim around my lines. There are hundreds of yards of beach around me but they have to swim over my lines. we shall soon test that theory on biting while hooked.
You should print out a bunch of copies and keep with you when fishing. When yet another person comes up starting with the same routine questions u could hand em a flyer, save some breath