Sharking Made Simple  by Capt. Bill Brown

860-741-3301 or 860-741-6298

Over the years I've done a whole lot of sharking from the Gulf of Maine to

Havana, Cuba.   Getting out to where the toothy critters live and then

catching them consistently is not as simple as what Peter Benchley would have you

believe if you're a fan of JAWS.   Simply put, the real secret to success in

getting big sharks into your slick is simply acquiring the knowledge in regards

to their behavioral traits, and giving them exactly what they like to eat. Here

are a few observations that I've made after years of daily shark fishing and

participating in many shark tournaments:

Almost every boat that's involved in a shark tournament goes out

'over-gunned' in regards to tackle selection. I always carry a PENN 80-W with a 'pitch

bait' set up ready to go, but never put it into the water unless a REALLY big

critter comes calling.   I prefer PENN's 70-VS for the live bait rod and

50-SW's or 30-SW's which are mounted on standup styled tackle because of the

maneuverability that this gear affords at endgame. Sabre 40- to 100 lb. class rods

and PENN Internationals in the 50-SW and 30-SW class will land 99.9% of the

sharks that swim in our regional waters.   These soft tipped rods mean that the

tackle takes the abuse, rather than the angler and it generally wears the fish

out, sooner or later.

   At every tournament that I've fished in, and I've fished a whole bunch of

them, almost every boat has 130-lb. and 80-lb. setups as the baseline choice

of their tackle selection. Unless you're fishing for big numbers, heavy tackle

increases line breakage and usually results in a green, dangerous fish at

boatside. It not only increases the odds of losing the fish during an

abbreviated battle, but also guarantees a whole bunch of dropped fish as they'll still

have a whole lot of fight left in them. Give me a soft-tipped rod that has

some backbone in its spine, a reel with a smooth drag, and a whole lot of line

capacity, rather than raw power, each and every time.  It may take a little bit

longer to get them to the boat, but the hook up to landing ratio will be

noticeably increased.

   In regards to line selection, I spool my 30's with 60- to 80-lb. test, and

80- to 130-lb. test on the bigger reels (dependent upon line diameter).  

You're not trying to set line class records in a tournament, the object is to

simply land a winning fish.   Line class and all tackle records are still

possible if you're fishing within the line test parameters that I've mentioned above.

   Capt. Chris Peter's World Record 1221-lb. mako would be an exception to

the above advice and I'd have definitely chosen a bigger rod & reel if I'd have

seen the fish, just as he did. However, keep in mind that a larger fish's

size often works against them once you get into a serious tug-of-war. If you can

get them under control and keep up with them before they spool the reel, you

can land them. Larger sized sharks will usually try to use their body mass in

trying to get away and end up burning themselves out. Trying to muscle these

fish to the boat will usually overtest the tackle and a break-off will be the

end result.

  Hooks selection is easy for me- Mustad- each and every time. I generally

prefer a 10/0- to 12/0 straight hook. Mustad's Ultra-Point series are killer

hooks, although the 7699 10/0 (which is offset) and lighter 3407 are battle

proven and will definitely put big fish on the deck as six State Record

Gamefish catches would attest.   Insuring the sharpness of the hooks, regardless of

the style, is a critical component of hooking and landing big fish.

I have honed my chumming techniques to where I'm often looking for one

'good bite,' on a specific specie of shark, rather than trying to catch every apex

predator that swims in the ocean. Basically, I try to set up the conditions

that precipitate a strike by the specie of fish that I'm looking for, even if

it takes all day for that particular fish to show up. I've been sharking for

41 years, and I've usually have a pretty good handle on where the sharks lie

based on their water temperature parameters, what attracts them to the boat,

and knowing exactly what they want to eat.   

  Brian Bordner's menhaden oil- www.tri-state.com- produces what I consider

"The Essense of Success" when it comes to an attractant and a critical

component of my chumming philosophy.  Putting the small pieces the physics equation

together that makes for successful sharking is what has to be learned, one step

at a time.  However, be aware that the olfactory sense is what initially

attracts a sharks interest and too much of a good thing can be worse than nothing

at all.  You've got to think carefully about the various sensory systems' input

that the sharks use to find their prey and then adapt your chumming

techniques to fit the species unique feeding preferences.

   MA Fisheries Biologist, Greg Skomal, will attest to the success of the

application of my techniques which are based upon the acquired knowledge of

the specific forage and temperature  preferences of the shark species that I'm

seeking to capture.   

  Temperature gradients can be culled from independent vendors or from public

websites-  <A HREF="http://marine.rutgers.edu/mrs/sat.data2.html">IMCS Marine

Remote Sensing</A>    Sharks are temperature sensitive, so investing some

time in learning what water temperatures that they prefer will definitely

increase the 'house odds' and an increased likelihood that you'll end up with the

shark of your dreams.

When you're into the 'right fish,'  employing the boat's maneuverability to

fight the fish is often the difference between a shark that's landed or one

that is lost.  The vessel should maneuvered in a manner that puts some serious

hurt on the fish, rather than on the angler.  I limit the 'backing down'

towards the fish and prefer to put the fish on the outside of a turn which will

wear the shark down over time.  The pointy end of the boat also allows you to go

a lot faster than the blunt stern, as well.  Specifically, pay close

attention to the angle of the line as it goes into the water as changes should

telegraph the fish's intentions to those on the rod long before it tries to pull some

' Good-bye!' stunts.   These techniques will often allow preventive actions

to be taken long before a fish dictates a sad outcome to the fight.

   The group, John & Peggy Wietecha family (father (63) and son (32) who

fish- wife and Bridget- girlfriend- who do not) who won this year's edition of the

Boston Big Game Fishing Club's Oak Bluffs Shark Tournament have fished with

me at that venue for the past 12 years and are not definitely not 'professional

tournament anglers' or guided muscles. They've simply been dedicated to

catching the right fish  and landing it by doing everything consistently and

correctly, each and every time out.

   Because of the varied makeup of any group that are looking to latch onto

a good thresher or mako, I would advise the captain of the team to pay close

attention to exactly how different sizes and species of shark behave when they

hooked. Then, choose the angler that will pay exact attention to what you're

telling them to do if you actually see the right fish in the slick before you

hook it up. With the winning fish this year, it was immediately determined at

the moment of the pickup that we had a thresher on; so Jon, the son, was the

logical choice to take the rod. He's a bull and even with his impressive

physical capabilities, it still took 2 hours and 35 minutes to finally coral the

critter.

   Know the capabilities of your anglers and choose the way that you want to

do battle, rather than by letting the fish dictate the rules of the game is a

winning strategy.  If a captain pays close attention, it will also become

apparent on which side of the the fish's jaws the hook is positioned if you've

spent enough battling big fish.  This allows you to plan your fight knowing which

side that the fish will tend to run towards.   Try to stay ahead of the

fish's battle plan, if you can. This means that it's a critical component of being

able to anticipate jumps, screaming runoffs, or boat positions that will

result in disaster.

Finally, at endgame, there should be no question about what's going to go

happen as the time to use the big gaff comes about. Every big fish will try to

pull a few tricks during this timespan.  But, by knowing your adversary's

general behaviors, you should be able to plant the gaff where you want to. On a

big fish, you must keep the boat moving, preferably putting the fish on the

outside of a turn as it's leadered up for the gaff shot.   I like the gill area

simply because it's the 'boiler room,' which means that the fish will quickly

lose its desire and physical ability to continue the battle. Planting a gaff

behind the dorsal fin (this is a debatable issue) of a good fish (especially a

mako) normally means they'll simply turn around and bite the line off.

(Tom here -This is a different opinion than I  have on gaffing makos. I will gaff them behind the dorsal, other shark species the gill area is fine. I discussed this with Bill and he basically has the same approach on bringing the fish to the boat , make sure it is fought out and not likely to give you a boatside thrashing..)

ALWAYS keep the flying gaff line as short as possible as you don't want the fish

running away once you've nailed them, as the hook can tear out and come blasting

right back at you.  That generally means the individual holding the gaff

handle will end up in a world of serious pain.

Have your tail ropes, smaller gaffs, and any other needed equipment ready

to rock and roll, ready for immediate use. Have all the possibilities that you

know can go wrong thought out.  When you begin to land more than 50% of the

bigger fish

(300+-lb. and up) that you hook you'll begin to become competitive in

tournaments on a yearly basis.

Finally, understand that plain dumb luck will often beat knowledge and

skill. That's shark fishing, plain and simple.

The above is the gameplan for every tournament that I fish in, or charter

trip that I run. If you want to learn more, you can book a charter aboard the

BILLFISH, or I'll gladly spend a a day upon your vessel as a guide. You can

plan on paying dearly for the knowledge that will be gleaned for that day's

fishing. However, I guarantee that the day's events will put you five years down

the road from where you stand at this point in time, and way ahead of what

you think you presently think that you know about sharks in general.

        Bill