Article by Capt. Lance Smith
SHARK FISHING
~ Part I ~
The first pelagics of the year have arrived off our coast and some of the most consistent "Big Game" fishing is upon us. Consistent because, having looked at the past seven years in our log book, we have caught a mako shark on every trip we specifically targeted them. Now, keep in mind that we typically only dedicate one or maybe two trips to sharking each year before the yellowfins show up. One mako shark a year is enough for any group of anglers to feed their families and we usually end up catching a second while trolling in the canyons.
If your only reference for shark fishing is the movie Jaws or the Discovery Channel's Shark Week, you probably aren't going to be too successful. Forget all the blood-thirsty, carcass scavenging images of sharks you may have in your head and remember that you will be hunting the Alpha predator in our area. Beside it's close relative in the mackerel shark family, the great white, there is no other fish in our waters that strikes fear even into the largest of swordfish and tunas than the mako shark. No other fish in the ocean, even the greatest of billfish, can match the leaping heights and somersaults a mako can provide when hooked.
As both nearshore and offshore waters approach the 64-degree mark, our yearly influx of mako sharks occurs. Migrating from east to west, the first makos are caught in the canyons when a warm water eddie spins off of the Gulf Stream and approaches the 100 fathom curve. The closest to shore you can usually find these “missiles with teeth” is around the 20 fathom line. As the water warms, mako sharks do not disappear from our area as most people think. Rather, with the arrival of more prey species such as tuna, marlin and mahi, and more species of shark, they become increasingly spread out and more difficult to specifically target.
Shark fishing, in practice, is really not that difficult of an endeavor. As in every type of fishing, the key to a successful trip is location. I have never been one to tell another person whether or not their boat is capable of reaching specific locations. My rule of thumb is that if you have to ask, “Do you think I can take my boat out to so and so?” the answer will be always be no. If you do not have the confidence in your boat or your seamanship skills required in handling what the sea may throw at you on any given day, please hop on a friend’s boat or book a charter.
Mako fishing is a serious game with serious consequences for those who are ill prepared. Even if you do run offshore frequently, if you have never gone to battle with the magnificent Isurus oxyrinchus, please take someone with you that has experience. Even the smallest of makos can wreak havoc upon you, your boat and your crew if they are not handled correctly.
A few years ago we caught a 120 pound mako in the White Marlin Open, after dragging it backwards for 45 minutes, slicing its gills and inflicting multiple stab wounds to the head, we decided to bring the fish aboard so we could continue trolling. Well, as we lifted the shark overboard, it came back to life with a vengeance and as it slammed to the floor I lost my footing and fell right on top of it. I believe the video is still on YouTube somewhere but I don’t like watching it.
The area offshore called the Fingers is probably the most recognized name in town when it comes to shark fishing. Beginning at the 20 fathom line, about 22 miles offshore, this location consists of various lumps and trenches which attract bait, and in turn, the mako. However, the Fingers encompass a significant amount of ocean and you need to narrow down your predicted drift to take you over the most productive bottom. When searching for makos, look for the same areas where bluefish and bluefin’s roam. The Jackspot and the Marine Electric wreck, just south of the Fingers, are also good inshore locations to find sharks.
Referring to my log book again, a few extremely important constants jump out at me. Firstly, all of my trips have been 26 miles out or further. I have been concentrating on the same areas where I would drag baits for bluefin tuna such as the Sausages, the Hambone and the Hot Dog. These lumps are located on all decent charts and are reliable areas to catch almost any species during the summer. Secondly, we have not had bluefish in our chum slick over that period of time. I remember a trip where after drifting over featureless bottom for hours we came upon some sea bass pots marking a wreck or natural bottom that wasn’t on any charts. The moment we drifted past the markers sharks were everywhere, including a 100 pound mako. Always remember that these are structure oriented fish and can show up on just about any piece that holds bait. The venerable Capt. Mark Sampson on the “Fish Finder” told me that one of the largest makos he has ever seen (and he has probably seen more than anyone) was about 5 miles offshore in the middle of August!
Having chopper bluefish in your chum slick can be both a blessing and a curse. They provide constant, fresh bait and are an additional attraction to your slick, but they can also eat every bait that you put out, including other bluefish. Once you have determined your location for the day, your chum slick is the single most important factor determining if you harvest a mako or not. Frozen chum, consisting of finely ground fish and their oil, can be bought at just about any local tackle shop and comes in several “flavors” including mackerel, menhaden/bunker, and sometimes bluefish. Typically sold in 3 or 5 gallon buckets, I always purchase more chum then I think I will need for the day. I cannot count the times where I have significantly increased the flow of chum and a mako magically appears. I’ve heard people claim that you do not want to put out too much chum because you will simply be feeding the fish and they won’t touch your baits. Nonsense I say. If the chum is ground finely like it should be, you should never have to worry about this.
Now you have several buckets of chum, the motors are shut down, you’ve checked your drift on the GPS to insure you will pass over some structure and your crew is boiling with anticipation. They are as many different ways to chum as there are fish in the sea. I like to keep it simple. I will use a cordless drill to put three or four 1-inch holes along with a few half-inch holes in the bucket. I like to allow my first bucket of chum to thaw out the previous night and keep the other 2 or 3 (depending on their size) in the freezer. Start out with only a few holes, you can always add more to increase flow, but you cannot plug up existing ones if too much chum is leaving the bucket. When using a dock rope to hang the chum over the stern, NEVER tie the rope to the bucket handle! It will break and you will lose your bucket. Instead, drill a hole large enough for the rope 2-3 inches below the lid and another above it in the lid itself. Fish your rope through the two holes and tie a strong knot. If I have opened the lid of the bucket I also like to use a wire tie that passes through both the bucket and the lid on the opposite side of the rope. Varying the length of rope you let out will change the amount of chum that goes out. As the boat rocks back and forth, wave action pulls the bucket up and down releasing bits of gooey goodness. Use a longer length of rope on rougher days and a shorter length on calm ones. I also like to “burp” the bucket every ten minutes or so by lifting it out of the water and dropping it back in several times to create bursts of extra chum.
Using menhaden/bunker oil as an additional attractant to your slick is something I recommend. Although there are various contraptions such as IV bags that can be used to drip oil over the side of the boat there is much simpler method. Simply fill an empty water bottle with oil, put the lid back on, and slice a small hole or two in the bottom. Use a heavy piece of mono tied around the mouth and let it hang overboard and create a gorgeous visual slick behind the boat.
Many shark fishermen are extremely reluctant to leave their chum slicks. The faster you drift, the longer your chum slick will be and the easier it will be for a mako to find it. So, in theory, breaking your chum slick and starting over after many hours of fishing is counterproductive. Often times in my rookie shark fishing years, we would drift all day, bored and motionless without so much as a sniff at our baits. One day, I got tired of this lazy way of fishing and decided to push offshore to one of our tuna lumps. No sooner had the chum bucket hit the water than we had a mako on. You cannot catch a fish if the fish are not there. I have also noticed that the activity onboard the boat often times will reflect on the activity in the chum slick. If we all lie around and do nothing, we tend to catch nothing. However, if we stay busy by hanging blues over the side and scraping flesh off with a knife, constantly checking baits, burping the bucket, etc. we tend to catch more fish. Makos are curious creatures and are often attracted to sound and movement. I have been known to stomp on the floor, bang on the transom with my fist, smack the water with a brush and spray out a water fountain with the wash down hose. Does it work? I have no idea, but it keeps from becoming disengaged and unprepared.
To be continued... Pick-up next weeks Coastal Fisherman for Part II of this shark fishing column
Lance Smith is an outdoor writer and Captain of his family’s boat, the “Longfin”.