How to catch sharks (shark fishing)

As I have previously posted, shark fishing is not really my thing. Where I live sharks are considered something of a pain when reef fishing, but I understand that sharks are a very popular targets in other parts of the country and indeed the world.

Catching sharks
The key to catching sharks can be found in one word chum (also called berley or ground bait) and lots of it. Sharks have relatively poor eyesight, but one of the best senses of smell of any animal. A large majority of a sharks brain is dedicated to smell and research suggests sharks can find food by smell alone from kilometers away. Some popular forms of chum for shark fishing is tuna chunks, small baitfish, tuna oil, chicken. Some people blend/mince all their fish frames up into old milk cartons and freeze the mixture to use. Best results are usually found when an angler creates a chum slick, which usually includes mixtures of fish oil and fish bits added to the slick in a consistent manner. Chum can directly be thrown into the water or added with the aid of a chum dispenser.

What you need
Sharks will make short work of low quality tackle and shark fishing requires top quality tackle. Most anglers use 50-80 pound mainline with a 200-300 pound leader usually made of wire to prevent bite-offs. A wind on leader is a very good idea! Hook size is usually between 10/0 - 12/0 and strong hooks are a necessity. When targeting smaller sharks you can get away with hooks down to about 3/0 in size. A fighting belt and harness is also a great idea when shark fishing.

Bait for sharks
Without wanting to make this sound too simple - Sharks eat fish. Any fresh fish flesh will do and tuna is one of the most popular.

Remember shark fishing can be dangerous. Always prepare well before tackling the biggest shark species. Always check local regulations when targeting sharks.

What Do Great White Sharks Eat

I have a real fascination with sharks and I have written quite a few posts about sharks which you can have a look through here - index of shark posts. I also promised more "fact" posts so I thought that I would combine the two to put together todays post.

Great white sharks are the biggest and most well respected of the sharks. They are a fierce predator and many stories have been shared at the local pub about the close encounters with these awesome animals. They are aggressive animals and the sight of a great white shark feeding is an unforgettable experience.

What do Great White Sharks Eat
Great white sharks locate their prey with smell and sound and they can smell their prey from kilometers away. Great white sharks typically stay below their prey and ambush them, taking them by complete surprise. Great white sharks are carnivorous (meat eater) and feed on animals with high fat content. Primarily the great white sharks diet is made up of :

• fish
• tuna
• stingrays
  
• smaller sharks
  
• porpoises
  
• dolphins
  
• whales
  
• seals
  
• fur seals
  
• sea lions.
  

Great white sharks have also been known to eat sea turtles. I found it interesting that while great white sharks will attack sea otters and penguins they very rarely eat them. Great white sharks will also eat pig carcasses if they find their way to the ocean.

Fishing Knots: Haywire Twist (wire leader)

The haywire twist is a popular method of joining a hook, swivel or lure to single-strand wire leader. When tied correctly the connection is stronger than the wire itself because of the double-wraps. It is a popular knot for trolling and can be used for big and small game leaders when targeting fish with nasty teeth including wahoo, barracuda, mackerel and sharks. The wire prevents the fish biting off the leader. The haywire twist is declining in popularity since the invention of knotable wire trace, but is still a very useful knot to learn.

How to tie a haywire twist - video

Where do sharks live

Sharks hold a certain fascination for many people and I have been pleasantly surprised by the amount of people visiting my shark posts so far. I have been watching some of the shark week on the discovery channel lately and I thought I would share some of what I have learned.

Where do sharks live?
Contrary to popular belief sharks are only found in 30% of the world oceans making 70% shark free. However, most coastal areas will be home to at least one species of shark. Research shows that sharks cannot live in water deeper than 1500 meters and this makes them susceptible to overfishing.

Great White Sharks are found in almost all coastal waters with temperatures from 12 and 24° C. There are large concentrations in Australia, South Africa and California.

Tiger sharks can be found close to the coast in almost all tropical and sub-tropical waters and will sometimes stray into temperate and cool waters.

Mako sharks are found in almost all tropical and temperate waters worldwide.

Interesting shark facts

• The bull shark is well known for its ability to live in both fresh and salt water - imagine the surprise if one made its way into your local bass lake!
• In the 16th century sharks were usually referred to as "sea dogs"
• Sharks never stop swimming, even to sleep, otherwise they would fall to the sea floor.
• Black-tip reef sharks have swum the Suez canal to colonize the Mediterranean Sea.
• While snorkeling in Australia, Luke Tresoglavic was bitten by a small wobbegong that didn't let go. He had to swim to the shore and drive to get help with the shark still attached to his leg.
• During an experiment a scientist plugged on nostril of a shark - it swam in a circle.

Fishing
Sharks are susceptible to overfishing and many species are now on the endangered list. As you might expect sharks are very good fighters and can grow to enormous sizes. Some sharks are also good eating. However the fact that they are under so much fishing pressure and can be downright dangerous near a boat means that you should think carefully before purposely targeting sharks.

A Sharks Love (100th post)

I really can't believe it - 100 posts already and my interest hasn't wained! I am actually enjoying it more now than when I first started. One of the best things about blogging is the contacts you make and the info for todays post was sent to me by one of these contacts (thanks jon)

Sharks Love

The French Magazine "Le magazine des voyages de pêche" in its 56th edition, brought up an amazing news: An astonishing love story.

"Arnold Pointer a professional fisherman from south of Australia set free from a certain death a big female White Shark that was caught in his fishing nets. Now the fisherman has a problem: He says: "It's been 2 years and she doesn't leave me alone. She follows me everywhere I go and her presence scares all the fishes. I don't know what to do anymore."
It is hard to get rid of an almost 17 feet long shark since the White Sharks are protected by the wildlife conservation, but a mutual affection established between Arnold and "Cindy".

Arnold Says: "Once I stop the boat she comes to me, she turns on her back and let me pet her belly and neck, she grunts, turn her eyes, and move her fins up and down hitting the water happilly..."

However, even more interesting than the story is the powerpoint presentation to go with it (you can also find the video on youtube.

If you want to have a look the powerpoint can be found here (spyware and virus free):
Download sharks love powerpoint

Or you can watch the video of the same thing right here:




While this story has been proven as a hoax it still has some amazing pictures.

Fishing Video: Reef Fishing Australia

This is just an amateur fishing video, but unlike many of the others it has some really good fishing action interspersed with the usual home video camera work (although I must say it is quite good). If you watch really early on you will see a reef fish being sharked, which has happened to me more times than I can remember and while it may seem a little gross it is the law of nature.

Sharks are a common occurrence on tropical reefs (if I was a shark that is where I would be) and can often be a problem. If you encounter them it is recommended to move to a new patch of reef. The fishing in this video is very typical of bottom bouncing on Northern Australian reefs, but there are still some great fish on show. Enjoy!