Article by Capt. Mark Sampson
With so much of my life revolving around sharks, I get a lot of requests from folks for shark related information. Particularly during the summer, most of the questions have to do with shark identification after someone either encounters or catches a shark and they wish to know what species it was. I once got an email from someone in Great Britain with photos of a shark swimming about the English Channel that they thought was a great white. Another time someone sent me a photo of themselves at the dock holding what they thought might be a new state record Atlantic sharpnose. I was sorry to inform them that the critter was actually a dusky, a species that was and still is on the “prohibited species list” – OOPS!
Recently I’ve been asked to identify a few sharks caught and released by surf anglers fishing from both Maryland and Delaware beaches. In all cases, the sharks were either sand tigers or sandbars and I’ve got to hand it to the fishermen, they’re hooking some pretty nice sharks! Sharking from the beach has gone on for decades but it seems that recently it’s really taken off thanks to the advent of the modern kayak, which has proven to be an ideal delivery vehicle for the big shark baits and leaders that cannot be effectively cast out with standard surf fishing tackle.
I applaud those who pursue sharks from the beach and admit that I’m sorry that I don’t have the time during the summer months to do so myself, however, the more photos I see of sharks taken from the beach the more concerned I get about the well-being of the sharks that are caught and released. Sandbars, duskies and sand tigers are the larger sharks most likely to be landed by local surf anglers and since they are also three species of sharks that may not legally be retained at any time by recreational anglers, it pretty much means that in most cases when a large shark is taken from a Delmarva beach it must be released. While I know that a lot of the local beach shark anglers are very careful to take precautions that help ensure a healthy release of the sharks they catch, what I’ve seen in many of the photos and the fact that some of these fishermen don’t even know what kind of sharks they’re catching, makes me afraid that as the sport grows too many anglers are jumping into it without the knowledge or skills needed to properly or ethically deal with such large animals.
Anglers who choose to mess with 100-200 pound sharks better have their act together or the results might not fare well for fish or fisherman. Obviously, there are safety issues for those handling the sharks, and one bad move could result in serious injuries – these ain’t stripers boys! Perhaps in another column we’ll discuss personnel safety while handling sharks, but for now I’ll just suggest that fishermen keep their limbs out of the “pointy end” of their catch.
What has raised my concern is seeing too many photos of gut-hooked sharks and sharks that have been dragged too far from the water’s edge. Anglers must keep in mind that just because they see a shark (or any fish for that matter) swim away after release, that it doesn’t mean it’s “OK and going to be just fine.” As tough as they are, sharks can be so stressed-out or damaged internally or externally by improper handling that they eventually die from their ordeal. That’s not a good outcome for any shark, let alone for the three species so often caught in the surf that also happen to be on the “Prohibited Species List” because their populations are so low. In the interest of time and space, let me be blunt and call out what some anglers need to do, or stop doing, when catching and releasing sharks from the beach:
DO NOT pull sharks up onto the dry sand for photos or any other reason. Dragging a large shark by its tail can cause injuries to its vertebra and other internal parts, there’s no reason to increase the risk of damage by pulling it that much farther away from the water.
Particularly during the day, the temperature away from the wet-zone of the beach is going to be a lot warmer, and warm-dry air does a shark’s skin no good. From the time they’re brought out of the water and returned to it they should never be allowed to dry-off or warm-up. Hauling a shark up the beach just to facilitate a photo session could harm the animal both internally and externally such that it eventually dies. Before a shark is even hooked, anglers should have a plan ready for a quick release. Cameras, tags, measuring devices and any other tools should be ready and available so there’s no fumbling around at the last minute. Anglers should also forget about calling in friends or family to “come down to the beach and see what I caught!” There’s no time for that. Get the shark in from the surf just far enough that it can be safely handled, snap a few photos, and get it back to its home ASAP!
In many of the photos I’ve seen of sharks on the beach it’s clear that the shark was gut-hooked. While gut-hooking does not necessary mean a death sentence for every fish, it certainly increases the chance for mortality. If a hook impaled in the gut isn’t bad enough, imagine the internal damage to a shark that’s done if the animal is dragged partially up the beach by the leader. The hook (or hooks) would likely tear the stomach and impale other organs inside the animal. Survivability? Think about it!
I know a lot of beach fishermen are wisely using circle hooks, but I also know that some are still doing things the “old-way” and using big double hook rigs with J-hooks. DOUBLE J-HOOK RIGS KILL SHARKS and whether you are fishing from the beach or from a boat, they should NEVER be used! I know a lot of sharkers like to use large baits such as rays or other big fish and they feel that two hooks are needed to keep the bait properly attached to the rig. That problem can be overcome with a little creative rigging and sometimes the use of cable-ties or rigging wire. Any bait can be effectively rigged fished with a single circle hook.
Single, non-offset circle hooks (I suggest the Mustad 39960D) are the ONLY way to go for shark fishing from beach or boat. However, as effective as they are in hooking sharks in the jaw rather than in the gut, it’s been my observation that circle hooks still have a 5-10% incidence of gut-hooking from bottom baits that we fish from an anchored boat. I would think that this would be the same for baits fished from the beach because they too lay on the bottom and when a shark picks one up the line does not necessarily come tight right away giving the shark plenty of time to gulp it all the way down to its stomach. Unfortunately, there’s something about the way a shark’s throat closes up that too often traps even a circle hook and allows it to embed itself inside the shark rather than in the jaw as it was designed to do.
Observing this, we began experimented with different rigs and hooks that would help ensure that sharks would be hooked in the jaw every time. What we came up with is what we call a “blocker-rig” which is nothing more than a length of plastic pipe mounted perpendicular to the leader a specific distance from the hook. The pipe prevents or “blocks” the fish from swallowing the bait. We’ve seen and have documented an almost 100% success rate of preventing gut hooking since we started using these rigs in 2008. The blocker rig works! This season we’ve shifted gears a bit and are now tying to determine if the blocker-rig is as effective at getting bites as a standard non-blocker rig. We’ve been fishing both types of rigs side-by-side and recording the results of every bite. So far our records indicate almost a perfect 50-50 split indicating that the sharks are not shying away from the awkward looking rig.
I didn’t really plan on promoting this rig until we’d finished tweaking it out a bit more, but the aforementioned evidence of so many sharks being gut hooked from the beach has prompted me to do so now. Makos, sand tigers, threshers, sandbars, big and small we’ve taken just about every species and size of shark using the blocker-rig, it works and I’m certain it has saved the lives of a lot of sharks that would otherwise have eventually died after being gut hooked. After seeing how well they work I’m convinced that anyone who fishes from the beach or from a boat should consider using blocker rigs whenever they’re targeting sharks.
Blocker rigs are easy to make using PVC or any other type of plastic pipe. For small 3-6 foot sharks we use an 9-inch length of plastic tubing drill a hole through it’s mid-section and run our wire leader through the hole. Then, using crimps or twisted wire, the pipe is fastened to the leader 4-inches above the eye of the hook in a fashion that allows it to rotate but not slide up or down on the leader. When we expect larger sharks such as makos, blues, tigers, or sand tigers we’ll use 12 to 14-inch lengths of half-inch PVC mounted 7-inches above the eye of the hook. For really large sharks such as big tigers we increased the length of the pipe to 24-inches and used ¾-inch PVC since they have such a wide mouth. On all rigs the measurement from the eye of the hook to the pipe (blocker) is important because if it’s too long the hook can still reach the shark’s throat.
Anyone who wishes to try making blocker rigs of their own are welcome to call me in the evening for more details (410-213-2442) or email me at [email protected]. I’ll also be happy to show folks the blocker rigs we use on the Fish Finder if they want to stop down to the boat in evening while we’re cleaning up. I’ll even give out a few of them to those who will use them and hopefully entice other to make and use blockers of their own. Perhaps if more anglers start using blocker rigs someone will develop improved versions of what we have now.
The increasing popularity of sharking from the beach can be a wonderful expansion of a great sport, but only if those who participate in it do so with respect and concern for the well-being of the sharks they encounter. Not doing everything possible to ensure that the catch-and-release process gives every shark the very best chance for survival is simply not an option. Everyone knows that around the world sharks are having a tough time of it, we don’t need to make their time in Delmarva waters any more hazardous.
Captain Mark Sampson is an outdoor writer and captain of the charter boat “Fish Finder”, docked at the Ocean City Fishing Center.
