[TateJSurfFishing]

Hello everyone,
I am a teenager and am new to this site. I have been fishing the beaches for a few years, but there is so much I want to learn. I would like to start shark fishing from the beach, but I’m not sure what is the best technique/setup. I’m looking to catch 4-6 footers. I fish at cherrydown beach and jetty park FL.
Thanks

 

[BeachBob]

Howdy and welcome to P&S!

I've caught sharks as unintentional catches while going for stripers and blues, but come this Spring I'll be targeting medium sharks off the surf of Long Island, NY., for NOAA tagging.

Lots of opinions will abound with regards to shark fishing, but do check with local tackle shops, particularly FL as there are rules and regs for sharking.

I prefer revolvers and I'll be using a few in the 6000 to 7000 size, but these reels aren't friendly for line capacity and I'll be using a top shot of mono over braid backing.

However, I suspect you'll be using spinners and I have a few in the 6500 to 8000 range that I'll be using. This is all about throwing out weight and bait. So with that in mind, you'll want at the very least a minimum of 400 yards of 30lb quality braid (Power Pro, JBraidGrand, Sufix 832) for spool line capacity (never look at how spinners are sized, always look at the actual rated line capacity for a given line test weight), with at least 30ft of 50lb casting shock leader and at least 6ft of 100lb bite leader attached to a 12" or so hook leader of at least 150lb of solid or stranded steel wire that's haywired to a 5/0 to 12/0 straight circle hook (NOT an offset hook). Bait is a chunk of oily fish and the ounces of sinker weight and type depend on current and bottom structure. You'll do best with a long rod of at least 10ft, longer is better, with a casting weight range of around 4-8ounces or lots more.

In addition to my revolvers, I'll have on hand spinners: Penn Pursuit 6000 and a Daiwa 5000, each with about 500yds of 30lb JBraidGrand, each stuck on 12ft spinning rods in the 4-8oz range.

It's important to release sharks ASAP - keep them in the wash and wet, use the proper tools to dehook, it really helps to have another person to assist. Handle sharks as little as possible because believe it or not, out of their element they are quite delicate. Do your shark research on the web!

Good luck, be safe, have fun.

Understanding Atlantic Shark Fishing

U.S. shark fishermen work under some of the most robust environmental standards in the world. Our science-based management has made significant progress toward ending overfishing and rebuilding the stocks of Atlantic sharks.

www.fisheries.noaa.gov

Shark Fishing on the Beach for 3 to 5 Footers

Shark fishing on the beach is easy to do for regular surf anglers. Beef up your tackle a bit and we can teach you to land 3 to 5 foot sharks!

tailoredtackle.com

 

[BeachBob]

Catch Sharks From The Beach By Casting Out Baits - The Angler Within No Kayak Needed!

Medium sized sharks are the most powerful fish to target from the beach without needing super-specialized gear. Read on, to see how you can catch sharks!

anglerwithin.com

 

[TateJSurfFishing]

Thank you!

 

[BeachBob]

Yer most welcome. Since you'll be fishing in FL, you'll need an FL sharking permit and the hooks will need to be straight circles, iron only, no stainless steel.

What tackle do you have, if any?

Good luck, BE SAFE!!!

 

[BeachBob]

Here's a tip on the bait rig ... use a sputnik/spider weight that slides on the 6ft bite leader 100lb mono, then use a 12" stranded steel hook leader so that the flexible hook leader will go over one of the legs of the weight. This keeps the weight and bait together and prevents distance robbing "helicoptering" during the cast. The hooked bait will slip off the weight's leg on impact with the water.

 

[joek]

VERY IMPORTANT. BE CAREFULL.
Sharks don't like to be caught and will bite you given any opportunity.
Even a small shark with razor shark teeth can and will do horrendous damage if it gets you.
They have no bones. All Cartilage which make them very flexible.
If you have one by the tail it can and will reach around to bite you . given the opportunity.
Shark fishing can be fun but also dangerous. Stay alert.
Good fishing.

 

[BeachBob]

TateJSurfFishin - HEED Joek's post!!!

 

[pcbtightlines]

2 man sport …have a buddy with you

 

[ExcessiveAngler]

There’s also a really cool video of Nick from Breakaway Tackle, slide baiting for these sharks using 14’ HDX with the tournament butt!
I’ll see if I can find it!

EA

 

[ExcessiveAngler]

Cannot post a video for some reason!
If you just go to Google and search “How to slide big baits,Rod Breakaway HDX low reel seat” you should find it you-tube!

EA

 

[BeachBob]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKBa5-BDaWo

 

[ExcessiveAngler]

Oh, there’s my buddy BeachBob!
I watch this video all the time, just love the HDX’s
Thanks for posting that for me brother!

EA

 

[Drum Bum]

consider slide baiting also

 

[BeachBob]

Further considerations ...

I'd say that for a teenage newbie to sharking, he should set his sights a tad lower than bait sliding and just do weight 'n' bait with at least minimum spinning tackle = 10ft rod in the 4-8oz payload weight, a spinner holding 400yds of 30# quality braid, 30ft of 50-80lb mono shocker, 6ft of 100-200lb bite leader, 1ft of stranded s/s hook leader, a 5/0-10/0 straight circle hook (not stainless), run a 3-5oz sputnik off the bite leader as a fish finder. Sputniks will allow lower weights with higher weight holding power.

This also means getting his feet wet with sharks to about 4ft or so, casting to around the 1st sandbar.

With regard to knots, it's gonna be up to his knotting expertise ... unless he can make a good FG just go with a simple double uni for the braid main to mono shocker, mono shocker to mono bite leader might be an improved clinch shocker to a stout swivel with a bite leader clinch knot, clinch knot on a power clip for the bite leader to a pre-made stranded hook leader that's been sleeve crimped at both ends, and another power clip to the hook itself.

I say use a stranded s/s hook leader so that the hook can be slipped over a sputnik arm and thus eliminate any serious helicoptering during the cast.

Assuming a good beach location, the rest is up to the freshness and size of the bait used.

Without a doubt, he'll need another person for an assist with the shark in the wash, even if a little 3 footer. Buy or make a good stout dehooker and use it, carry wire cutters if dehooking will be a time consuming chore because minutes count for a shark to be on top of the water and not under it.

Dehooker ...

Power clip ...

 

[John Smith_inFL]

Tate: I've seen on my local TV news that Florida's shark fishing rules and regulations are currently under review. So you need to keep abreast of the CURRENT rules before you toss a line in the water. You know the old saying: Ignorance of the law is no excuse.