This is a question for shark fishing veterans only?

well i know this question was for the older guys but i just had to chime in

the reason most of the guys cut out early is because they are soft not hardcore like most of the old timers

an hell we dont have like you guys did where you could fish a beac h allday an all night long

Thanks Norman for your insightful question ?Your points are very valid .I have been at this for 35 years without letting up much and i can say thet for sure there are less coastal sharks then there were back in the 70's when i started .I see it in the winter and i see it in the summer and spring,,,,,we used to get alot more winter time bulls and tigers and in the summer we used to get many more sharks on an average night then we do today.The coastal sharks migrate and will be caught in longlines off Mexico and other Central American nations in the Caribean as well as the Florida fleets that still longline for sharks sometimes close to shore as is the case around Ft Pierce -Jensen Beach area.I think there are more shark fisherman fishing today because of the rise in popularity of this sport on the internet that has shown the average Joe that sharks can be caught from any typical beach .Something that I do see today that bothers me is the amount of BSing that goes on in some of the shark fishing sites,,,,,,,,people who sit behind a computer and do nothing but talk trash and never actually get out and fish .Too many computer geeks not enough hard core fisherman like back in the day.The culture unfortunately has changed and most youngsters are not taught to say "Yes Sir" ,"Yes Mam" ,"Pardon Me", and "Good Morning". Disrespect and trashy behaviour is the norm for many young fisherman . They are quick to bash when a shark is harvested and don't respect the effort that is needed to make some of these great catches.We live in a changing world and I hope that the shark fisherman will learn to help each other out and bring the much needed respect and recognition to this sport.

Hi William:

Yeah, that's the point of the thread. To get people talking and especially thinking. When we lived down in Texas we basicly just put our rigs up November through March. The Climate down there in So. Texas is similar to Gainsville, Fl. It does get cold and occassionly they get a little snow, not often, but once in a while. While I didn't mention names of veterains, but you were one of those I had in mind. I know there are a lot more out there.

Shark migration. Yes, I am aware of that. I was mainly talking about the effect the big factory ships were having on the world population. I know that some operations are somewhat close up to our coast however, they are small potatoes when compared to the big foreign world wide operations.

Yes, I can see some areas where there is definately less. Take the Sawfish. That is one fish that has gone downhill , that I could see, during the time I was fishing. And the BS. Yes, I have seen that also. Sometimes I want to respond but, that won't get anything accomplished. I think you are right about computer nerds. I think you know I'm into photography and I see the same things on photography forums.

I hope this question will bring some real deep thoughtful discussion and maybe we'll all learn a thing or two. If you think that this question belongs in another forum, please feel free to post it. As you know, I am new and I still haven't visited all of the forums yet. I still have a lot to learn!

Tight lines,

Norman Bateman
Cape Coral, Fl.
ncbateman1@aol.com
http://www.batemanphotography.net

great post norman i am not a veteran as will and defentlynot in your class but i have shark fished for 20yrs but only serious the last 5 will made some great points i will touch on a couple others that you mentiond .i have seen rigging from alota differnt teams and it is crazy how differnt they all make leaders and evan rod choices and ean line choices but i think it has alot to do with location ..mr bateman i also like the quistion about how far to drop baits in my area i am stuck dropping my baits less than 200yrds due to the reef ..also when the bite is on its real hard to padle out bait to far i normaly have a small crew or kids and girlfriend so its me and maybe one other doing the padling ..mr bateman in texas did yall mainly use jon boats with outboards or padle let us know your set up and fom what i under stand over in tex u realy had to get the baits far out do to more than one sand bar ....and all that said i just got done fishing the shorebond tourney and i did horible same method that i have used in the last 4yrs and evan did some new tricks but i just couldent get bites we fished our asses off evan though i am still getting over back surgery 9 weeks today my doc is chewing my ass but i am doing great .but luck,location and bait plays the biggest roll i had the bait i tried the loction but once again my luck wasent there ..

i think its like will said its the age we live in we cant stay to long gotta do other things and we worry about what everybody else is doing ..just put it all aside and go fishing

Hi guys:

It's like, Wow. I have a lot of answers and opinions now to my question. Please keep them coming, and thanks so much for being civil and giving straight forward answers. Hard and true shark fishing does take a big toll on us. We strive so hard to comply with all of the changing laws, and still have a good weekend on the beach or jetty with our family and friends. I'll try to answer all of your posts tommorrow. Believe me, your posts do mater toward catching more and bigger sharks.

For tonight, tight lines,

Norman Bateman
Cape Coral, Fl.
ncbateman1@aol.com
http://www.batemanphotography.net

Thank you gentlemen:

I really do appreciate your responces. I can tell they are well thought out and reflect a lot of hours spent on the beaches and jetties. I think all of you are the backbone of of the true shark fishermen. I see a few newby's answered with some extraordnary insight into the question. Prehaps I should have left that part of the question about "veterains only" off the question?

There were a few people that brought up vehicle traffic on the beach.....well, that's one area that I had completely overlooked. I suspect there may be something to that statement?
I wish I lived in Texas so that I could see this beach traffic as compared to traffic 40 years ago.

I think that you and I are starting to see some patterns evolving from some very good shark fishermen's experiences. Please keep posting your thoughts here. I know that I for one am learning and I hope that all of the younger and newer shark fishermen will pick up on some of these tried and proven methods.

Thanks again guys and keep them coming,

Norman Bateman
Cape coral, Fl.
ncbateman1@aol.com
http://www.batemanphotography.net

mr, bateman,
I for one believe it is a multi-symptom problem,first there is the problem of what a shark is,untill the last few years no-one was willing to stand up (in the marine community) and say that the circle of life in the ocean depends highly on sharks,the beliefe was the less the better,then they got on TV,the wasted carcases,finless skeletons of myghty beast.we cannot have a predetor on earth that has evolved better than man.(even man dies).the crowds where o.k. with every shark kiled,every record broken,It should of started with all of us fisherman tag-realease.i cannot dictate to another fisherman what he should do with his trophy,thats up to him.but i remenber the bigger the jaws on you're wall the more you where looked up to.today i teach my kid's don't be a spectator, you wan't to see the jaws,go fishing with me.and see what they are atttached to,or else settle for a picture.that bring's me to the second point-the future,if you don't pass on the passion it will just extinguish.to us old folk there was nothing like an ALL-NIGHTER.maybe is the enchanting rythem of the ocean waves at night looking at the reflection of the moon,sitting there looking at the star's really bring's you to think about what is really man's place in this planet,and then reality's clicker goes of,you run to you're pole,set the hook and sweat on the beach for the next few hour's,just to loose it.and then your'e mind starts to wonder while you look at the ocean, just how big that fish really was.and now point three,where getting old and seenieled, let's face it ther is now more people per foot of beach now then back when,and the golden rule still applies he who ownes the beach set's the rule's,if you come down here to west palm you will find that almost every bridge in the intercoastal has high side's to discourage fishing from them.any new construction has that built into the palnning of it.they are trying to funnel you to fish in only certain places,and for certain spieces only,but if you look at the whole picture it is commercial fishing that has brought everything down,let's see-kingfish 2 perday,snook 2 per slotted,snapper 10 per,red fish,dolphing,cobia,pompano,i have been fishing for 35 plus years and have not cought 100 king's,the fisherman let's himself be sqoused tighter -and tighter,better teach the kid's the truth or they will be catching world record sandperch.i tried telling the boy's about the art lover's in delray.all these town's are triyng to be the IT TOWN. you cant even be on the lakeworth pier after 8:30 pm.(it bothers the turtles)it is not about the hometowners anymore,is who pay's the most.I can't believe i have come to this conclution we are a dieyng breed,and a more and more rare sport.and there a lot of people interested in seeing to our demize.the cure as i see it ,clean the cobwebbs and go fishing so this comes to a head,where mith will be put to the test,and truth will conquer.good luck and dig-in.

Norman thanks for the post and question.I have been shark fishing for 29 yrs now,came in just at the start of the decline of the shark population due to longlining and finning.I first started fishing from piers and bridges before joining the tpa bay shark club and moving off shore to do my fishing.My first few yrs were just learning days as far as technique,species,gear ,locations,etc.I used to catch afew small sharks nothing big off the piers and bridges but the bigger boys I found off shore.(around the 20mile range)Every year our shark club ran a tournament(KILL)and I watched from my first year 1000+lb tiger,800lb dusky,400lb bulls come in for weigh in and about 40plus being caught.Each year after that the #,s and weight came down to about our last year running it I think 3-sharks came in and the biggest being about a 150lb bull.My feeling is that back in the 70,s,80,s we didn,t think kill tournaments and the commercial end of it would deplete the population.Well we all know how that story line went.But I also feel over the last 20yrs thur education,limits and catch and release practice now that they are coming back.I don,t think they will ever return to the numbers we had back in the early 70,s.(will add more to this-Dave m)

Now to answer catch ratio.I do think the catch # could be up to afew factors.One being the internet(wish this was around when I started fishing)these young kids can pick up everything from bait,rigs,areas to fish etc,in one season where it took us old farts 5yrs to accumulate this knowledge.Those of us who have been fishing 25+years also have kind of have it down to a science.I too used to put up my shark rods oct-april,but over the years found out I could get afew more months in.For instance I know around this area Jan-march I can fish the out going tide on a full moon and maybe tie into a nice brown shark.The month of May brings in big female bulls into the bay to drop their young.Also I can head down to Boca Grande area May-early july and catch bulls,lemons and if luckly T-heads all from the beach or piers.Head to the Carolinas during the summer months for some nice tigers.Then back to off the Pinellas beachs for some dusky sharks(if there are any left)Oct and Nov during the cold fronts.Have the prime times to fish down to 6-10pm and 5-10am for my best results also.Like I said its taking alot of years and paying attention to accumulate this knowledge and pass along and to add to my success....Dave m

Thanks Dave for your insight into some of the history of the shark fishing on Florida's west coast in the 70s and 80's .I used to send our club newsletters to the Tampa Bay Sharkers ,Suncoast Sharkers and the Florida Shark club up in Jacksonville every month and they would send me there monthly newsletters also .Back in the early 80's we used to get a group of SFSC guys to rent a van together and travel west to fish the shark tournaments such as Oneil's Marina shark tournament,Bonnie's Bait bucket shark tournament ,Suncoast shark tournament ,Miller Lite Shark tournament,Mullet Wrapper shark tournament and yes i remember the catches were like you mentioned if you caught anything smaller then 600 lbs you would not place in the top 5 places,,,,,,,,,it was typical to see !st place 940 lb Tiger ,2nd place 884 lb Tiger ,3rd place 820 lb Tiger,4th place 743 lb Dusky ,5th place 689 lb Dusky,,,,,,i remember that in 1983 the winning shark was the 991 lb world record hammerhead shark that was finnaly beaten by Bucky Dennis in 2006 with his 1280 lb Boca Grande hammer and also in that same tournament the world record Dusky shark was broken (it still stands as the world record)760 pounds .........that's right 2 world records in one shark tournament.Most of the winning sharks were caught offshore in those tournaments but i still have my copies of those newsletters of all those shark clubs from those days and there are plenty of stories and pictures of big Tigers ,Hammers and Dusky's caught from the piers and the beaches in those days.I'll post some copies of those newsletters soon.Like Dave said today's shark fisherman can learn alot quicker from the internet how to catch sharks but unfortunetly the numbers of big sharks are not what they used to be.The numbers are not what they used to be but the access to knowledge to give you the tools to be sucsessful in this sport are there for those willing to find them and emply them in the search for monster sharks. I believe if you have a passion for this sport and if you do your homework and are willing to work hard you can still get the big fish by learning to target the right areas at the right time of the year, if you learn the seasons ,the migrations ,the local bait patterns,and the proper techniques the possibilities are endless.You gotta be willing to log some miles on your truck and sacrifice a bunch but what makes a great shark fisherman is the willingness to learn and plain old hard work and sacrifice .
Here's an article that i saved from 1983 it's about the Big tiger shark that was caught by a West Coast Anglers on Indian Rock fishing pier by Club non-member Terry Gue.

Big tiger hanging from the pier.