Getting Ready for Shark Fishing

Thursday, 15 March 2007

Did you think that blood could provoke the sharks to attack? In some way, yes. But if you are setting for shark fishing you should know better.

Here are the things you need to remember when getting ready for shark fishing.

When and where to fish?

Usually, sharks would prefer to stay in warm waters. So monitor the temperature of the water and look for the area where cold water meets the warm water. You can also find sharks in places where there are tuna and dolphins since they are the perfect meal for the toothy shark. Shark fishing should be done during hot temperature, usually in June, July or October.

Things to bring when shark fishing

First of all, make sure that you will be using a 35 to 40 foot boat that has large deck space that would house your gears. Also consider that you will be handling a fish that is over 300 lbs. You would need 3 to 5 baits so you would also need a number of rod or reel setups. Here are what you need to have: 50 to 80 lb class rod, a heavy leader of about 12 ft and 200 lb test wire, Penn Senator 9/0 or higher reel, 80 to 100 lb monofilament fishing line, 12/0 hook, gaff, balloons, chum bags, harness and flatline clips.

Chumming

It is important to create your chum slick when shark fishing. The larger the slick, the better. You need to set the chum slick so that the shark will be attracted to your bait. Aside from sounds, sharks are also smell driven so if they pass through your slick, tendency is that the shark will follow the source.

Shark Baits

Sharks swim in different depths so it is best that you set your baits following this manner. You can actually put your baits in varying depths – 60 ft, 80 ft, 30 ft and free bait. If you will be using balloon, it is better to use different colors so that you will know which line is moving.

How long should you wait?

You can actually hook up a shark for as quickly as 10 minutes and wait for as long as 10 hours. If you are on your bad fishing day, you can end up not even hooking up a shark but this rarely happen. The average waiting period usually plays around two hours.

Bringing the fish

Once you hookup the shark, this is where a companion becomes very important. If the shark is just small, you can actually pull it up and put it in ice chests. If however, the shark is rather big, then you need to reel the leader until the end of the rod. Then secure the shark to the boat.

Related Stories

• Tales from the Deep: The Largest Sharks Ever Caught
• Catching Sharks
• Bull Sharks: Are they as tough as Bulls?
• Shark Attack
• Into the Shark's Jaws
• Beware of the Shark!
• Blue Shark Fishing