Hello everyone! My name is Tom and I'm somewhat new to fishing...but I've been obsessed with sharks since I was a young kid. I guess it probably started when I saw Jaws for the first time.
I grew up in Philadelphia and moved to Port Charlotte in 92. While in PA I did some freshwater fishing, mainly channel cats and trout. On vacation, as a young kid, we would head to Ocean City, MD...here I got a small taste of saltwater fishing and sharks. We would go to the Oceanic fishing pier and catch all sorts of stuff...never any sharks though. I would always drop what I was doing and sprint down the pier to go see a shark being reeled in by others and wished it was me.
When I moved here, I really didn't know much about the waters here and how to fish for what lives in it...so I haven't fished for the 21 years I've been here. That all changed when, after years of wanting one, I purchased a kayak. I originally set off to buy a kayak suitable for overnight camping trips...what I ended up with though was an Ocean Kayak Trident 13. After a friend at work saw my kayak, he insisted that I should try fishing from it. So I went to Fishin' Frank's and bought a rod and reel and paddled out Gottfried creek to the flats by Stump Pass. I was amazed at how many fish I was catching...I was (pardon the pun) hooked!
In July, I took the kayak out to Boca Grande and decided to paddle around the back side with some chum and some pinfish for bait. That's when I caught my first shark. I reeled in a 2.5' blacktip. I was stoked to say the least. I tossed him back and a few minutes later, I had a 3 footer! Since then, I've caught a few bonnetheads and a 4 foot nurse off the Boca Grande pier. It's finally me catching the shark instead of watching someone else!
Now I want to get into catching something a bit bigger than some baby blacktips. Some friends, and SFSC members, suggested that I come here to learn. So here I am. Excited as hell and can't wait to catch a giant.
Right now I've got a healthy collection of lightweight and ultralight tackle, but nothing really huge. My largest setup is a Star Rods Stellar Light 7'6" paired with a Penn Spinfisher V 6500LL, spooled with 350 yards of Power Pro. I'd like to get something bigger when funds permit.
So that's my story! Thank's for reading!
Welcome to the forum, Tom! Fishing with SFSC members will put you on the fast track for that monster you crave! 
Great to have you with us Tom.I got a kick out of reading your story it reminds me that I was also a kid OBSESSED with sharks .Hope to see you get bigger and bigger sharks--looking forward to seeing the reports.Thanks.
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