Shark Fishing Gear?

If you can paddle you bait out and fishing from the beach the norm is a Penn Senator 12/0 or bigger.
I would not suggest using any spin tackle or lever drags.
 
Ok...it looks like I am going to pick a pretty heavy duty 6 footer from a buddy of mine. I prefer spinning reels over the baitcasters I see a lot of guys using, so that kind of limits my selection it appears. I am also thinking of running 65+ pound test braided line. I think that would give me more room to allow a shark to run once it's hooked. So, I have seen a few reel options, does anyone else have a take on this? I have about 4 weeks until the tournament and I want at least a week to play with everything before I go "live." Also, I don't have to worry about leaders. I have a handful of custom-made ones that are built for this tournament.

Also, my strategy has changed. I am not going to be kayaking due, if I'm being honest, a fear of dismemberment. I will be joining the many who are surf-fishing the tournament. It appears that the last 3 or 4 winners actually did the same. I plan on running 3-4 rods if I can afford them. You are allowed a total of 6. Would this change the gear needed? Would I have to switch to longer rods to get more reach?

Oh! Bait. All the research I have done says cownose ray and mullet are my best bets, so I am guessing that's it. It was also suggested that chumming is not necessary, simply due to the amount of other fisherman already forming a decent chum slick out there.

Am I missing anything else?

Thanks!
 
i've done a lot of shark fishing off the beach. the larger the reel the more line it holds. i wouldn't go with anything smaller than a penn 9/0. the older ones with the chrome plated spools hold 1200 yds of 50# dacron, i think the newer ones hold less. a 12/0 will hold 1200 yds of 80# dacron. the down fall is you can't cast them, so you need an inflatable boat or kayak to take the baits out. i always paddled them out about 400 yards, but most of my fishing was done in North Carolina and Florida around panama city. even 400 yards out there was only 25-30 feet of water. where you are may get deep faster. i like a 7' or 8' rod for beach fishing. even dacron stretches some and you'll need the extra length to get a good hook set.
in my opinion rays are the best bait. i've never put a ray out and not had a run on it. on top of that they are tougher and the blue crabs don't seem to mess with them. i've never used mullet, but it's a good oily fish so it should work fine. when we couldn't get rays we used bonito a lot, but the crabs can pick an 8# bonito clean in about 4 hours. so be prepared to take multiple baits out. also i wouldn't put out more than one big rod for each person there. i'm not sure how talented you are, but i could never get the hang of fighting two monsters at the same time.
i always made my leaders 20 feet long, but i sometimes fished from the pier, and i needed to be able to clip a rope on the leader when i got the fish close. 15' is plenty, 300# stainless braided with two 16/0 hooks for big baits.
if you're casting baits your limited to smaller baits and shorter leaders, hope and pray he doesn't tail whip your line. wade out to the first sandbar and cast as far as you can then free spool walking back to the beach. mind you i've caught some pretty respectable fish between the beach and the first bar so don't dally too long there after dark.:)

if i was a little closer i'd go with you and bring all the tackle you need. you'd still have to paddle the baits out, i'm getting too old for that.:)

mark
 
Ok...so I should still go for the kayak? I am all for using it to drop bait, but I am not confident in my ability not to flip the dang thing if I get a bite. I've only caught Texas freshwater fish from a kayak and they don't put up much of a fight.
 
absolutely, i used a kids inflatable boat from k mart for a long time. the only thing above water was my head, shoulders, feet, and the top of the 5 gallon bucket with baits in it. i paddled with my hands and it took forever. in a yak you should be in and out pretty quick, and out of the reach of the jellyfish. take a flashlight with you so you can warn off boats at night. figure a way to attach the bait securely, but still be able to detach and drop quickly just in case a boat passes between you and the beach. i'm pretty sure you don't want to go where he's going being drug backwards. did i mention a light? a life jacket is always a god idea, i've been knocked out of the boat a time or two.
i don't think i would have tried to shark fish out of a kayak even when i was younger. i had a 9' hammerhead drag a 20" cuddy cabin 2 1/2 miles before we finally lost her. if i had been in a kayak she'd probably still be dragging me.

mark
 
Well...I just got a sweet deal on a 17' Old Town 160t tandem. I wonder if that might be too much for dealing with the waves and whatnot out there. I am debating trading it for something shorter that would be more manageable and fit in the truck.
 
I believe the balloon is largely to float the bait out, under wind power. Pretty hard to cast baits with such a short rod, as is generally used for shark fishing.
 
i always used the balloons when fishing out of a boat. they keep the baits off the bottom and up in the chum slick. big trash bags for floating baits out from the pier. never could come up with a way to float baits from the beach. usually wound up with a giant tangled mess.
i don't know much about kayaks, but 17' sounds like it would be pretty stable. as long as you can carry it to the water easily. when the waves were bad it took two of use to launch the boat. one on each side we would stand in the water and lift the boat above the waves. if you time the breaks right, you can jump in the boat and paddle past the bar before the next wave. once you get past the bar it should calm down.
i hope the wind is at your back every night. that will help with the waves and the bugs:)

mark
 
We will be pretty much parked on the surf line and there is a good handful of us going, so I think it should be easy enough to launch. As far as bugs, we have been down there every year and the impending hurricanes and other Gulf disturbances seem to keep the bugs at bay pretty well.

Thanks for the help, y'all. I am sure more questions will come as we get closer. 29 more days
 
Ok...since I am not actually casting out, should I stick with a shorter, sturdier rod (like no more than 8') or go ahead with a 10' or so?
 
Long rods allow you to cast with more tip speed, meaning longer casts.
Long rods also allow you to keep your line higher, out of the waves.
Long rods give more leverage... to the fish.

I don't know from surf fishing sharks, but I think there'd be a ton of info on the net.
I'd want a tuna rod with a fighting chair attached to the 4x4 :D

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most of my heavy stuff is 7', but there are a couple of 8 footers in the 30# class. what reels did you decide on?

mark
 
Sorry to be late. If you're on a budget, you can't go wrong with a 12/0 Penn Senator with 100# braid at least. If you can afford to splurge on newer gear, I'd take a look at the EX or the T-RX series reels from AVET. The EX 50W has gained popularity with shore based shark fishermen across the nation. The 50W EX will hold about 1000yds. of 130# spectra with ~100-150yds. of 200# mono topshot, turn 50# of drag at strike and 57# at full, and has a gear ratio of 3.2/1.3:1. They can be had for a bit under $600 and are American made. For a rod I'd go with something in the 50-60# class at the very least, with an overall length of ~7' tops. Get one with roller guides, or all high quality ceramics (Fuji SiC). And make sure you have a good belt and harness (Braid Brute Buster dropdown plate and Power Play harness), because large sharks and heavy drag loads are absolutely merciless on your body. If you want some more info on this type of fishing, check out "BlacktipH" on youtube. Hope this helps.
AJ
 
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