Article by Capt. Lance Smith
SHARK FISHING
~ PART II ~
Shark rigs are a relatively simple affair consisting of a large hook attached to a length of heavy gauge, single-strand wire which is attached to an additional length of twisted cable material. This additional length of cable prevents the shark from chaffing through the line with its sandpaper skin if it death rolls itself up the leader. You can certainly create your own shark rigs but I see no need. Quality shark rigs are available pre-made in most tackle stores. Please use the circle hook rigs. There are few things worse than releasing an undersized mako bleeding profusely through the gills with a hook lodged deep in its stomach. Circles work amazingly on sharks. Just remember not to set the hook. Simply wind down fast until the rod bends.
The two most popular baits for makos are Boston mackerel and bluefish. I like to go out into the bay or off the Route 50 Bridge the evening before a trip to load up on snapper bluefish.
Small blues in the 1-3 pound range make excellent mako baits. As for rigging, I attach a whole or half of a fish to the hook in the same fashion as you would pin-rig a ballyhoo. Leave a 1-inch tag end on your haywire twist at your hook which will be directly up and away from the hook point. Pass the hook through the bait’s gills and out the bottom so that the wire pin is below the fish’s chin. Push the tag up through both jaws and use copper wire to wrap behind the pin and around the mouth. This method keeps the baits mouth closed, prevents spinning and presents the fish in a natural fluttering manner. You can also add a plastic octopus skirt above the hook to lie over the bait and add additional movement. I don’t know why, but makos love red. I have had several skyrocket several feet in the air as they shot straight up from the depths to devour a red balloon!
Standard tuna trolling gear in the 30-50 pound class is perfect for makos. I still like to use balloons as my floats so I can use different colors to mark different distances from the boat and we can all agree on which rod is getting bit! As your chum flows out it will sink.
Accordingly, your furthest bait out (50 yards or more) should have a lead weight attached via a rubber band on the swivel at the top of your cable rig. You need to judge the current, tide and wind to determine how much weight to use, how far below the float to set your bait and how far out to set it so that it remains in the chum slick. I like to set three rods in this manner; the furthest out is the deepest, the middle is shallower and the closest is the shallowest. I also set a rod straight down and keep my tuna jigging rod at the ready with a 2-4 inch chunk of fresh bait waiting in the cooler.
Often times, a mako will swim up your slick, right past all of your perfectly rigged baits and slowly cruise around the boat. Again, Shark Week viewers, you are not going to see a “feeding frenzy” off the coast of Ocean City. Makos are cunning, unpredictable and often fussy animals. In fact, a large percentage of our hookups come on the small jigging rod (rigged with 80 lb. braid) which is used to hand feed what appears to be a large piece of chum to picky makos. Mako bites range from subtle to extravagant. Someone should be keeping a constant watch on the floats in order to detect any inclination of a bite. Sometimes, drag will start screaming from the reel as line melts away and the float skis across the surface. Other times, a float may simply begin moving slowly toward the boat or in the opposite direction of the current. In this case a shark has picked up your bait and is still hunting. Wind in the slack as fast as you can and come tight on the fish. You may also be alerted to a hookup by the huge splash a mako makes when it lands back in the water after screaming up from the deep and engulfing the bait while the rod never indicates so much as a twitch. When to set the hook on a baited mako will always be debatable. Using circle hooks changes all of this as the fish swallows the bait and the hook still sets in the corner of the mouth.
Blue sharks, especially very early in the season, can be an absolute nuisance while mako fishing. Although entertaining for novice anglers, they do not fight hard, they are inedible and they are relentless. I have had a blue shark swim up to the boat with over half a dozen 3 to 6-foot leaders trailing from it’s mouth. It would eat a bait, swim to the boat and we would cut the leader. After the shark did this 5 times we had to move the boat and reset everything. Please remember to release all blue sharks as they are an integral part of the food chain. Take a picture and remove the hook if possible or cut the leader.
When it comes to the end game with makos, things can become downright dangerous. If you have any doubt that your fish is under the legal size limit, tire the fish out with a loosened drag and cut the wire leader as close to the hook as possible without putting yourself in harm’s way. You do not want to mess around trying to measure one of these fish because bad things will happen. With their incredible aerial displays, makos have been known to jump into boats. If you do wind up with a legal fish, most of which will be within 20 pounds or so of the 100 pound mark, it is time for the gaff.
When a mako is hooked, it is smart to start the boat and put some distance between you and your catch. This will also allow you to better control the fish once the leader is in hand.
The fish is not officially yours until you have a tail rope attached, and even then makos can be lost. If we continue to fish after killing a shark, it simply hangs over the side with its tail at gunnel height. Every once in a while, when the shark appears calm, use a very long and rigid fillet knife to slice the fish’s gills and gut it if possible. Make sure your reflexes are on high alert if you attempt this. Some captains like to shoot their makos in the head with a firearm. While macho and pretty cool looking, this can simply add fuel to an already raging fire at boat side. In any case, if the fish shows any inkling of life, do not attempt to bring it onboard because you will regret it. Once the fish is onboard, our double cautious insurance policy against personal injury is to attach the tail rope to one cleat, and use a rope carefully placed around the pectoral and attached to an opposite cleat to effectively string the fish taught against the inside transom. We then place a 5-gallon bucket over the makos head so no one gets the bright idea to stick their hand into what they think is a dead mako’s mouth!
Makos are incredible table fair and their steaks make terrific candidates for the grill. Keep in mind that meat from larger makos becomes coarse and less tasty. If you aren’t fishing in a tournament, you may consider releasing these larger fish since they are the breeders that keep the population from crashing. Just about every 6 pack charter boat in the Ocean City fleet will accommodate you for an early season shark fishing trip. Try to choose a captain who is genuinely educated about shark ecology and conservation. You will be gaining more than just some meat for the freezer and if you bring children along, you may just be securing the future of shark populations for coming generations to enjoy.
Lance Smith is an outdoor writer and Captain of his family’s boat, the “Longfin”.
