As with all my 101 pieces this one reflects how "I" do it. This is not an end all home run must do everything else sucks piece. It's purely what has produced well for me for years…
Before we get started on the how to, let's take a closer look at isurus oxyrinchus, the mako… Notice I don't call him shark. There are a lot of reasons…. Although they are cartilage framed beasties with big teeth they are quite different than most other species. First off is that they are true predators, although they will on occasion revert to the opportunistic scavenger mode that other sharks thrive on, the mako is a true hunter for the bulk of its subsistence.
Let's take a look at other characteristics that separate it from the pack. Start at the tail. A basically forked tail with broad surface area allows them to unload a whole lot more propulsion that the others. The forked design coupled with their pointed snout creates a hydrodynamic torpedo with better friction reduction than almost any other design out there. They sport a large peduncle in front of the tail to provide superior maneuverability at high speed.
The teeth are used several rows at a time. Their design is not the cutting and tearing kind like say the tiger, white or bull. These are designed to grasp and lock onto fast moving prey. That's not saying that they can't tear a chunk off with a head shake like the others, it's saying that they are designed to hold those that squirm.
Now how about this… They are warm blooded… That's right their capillary system allows for the constriction and subsequent heating through friction of their blood. Typically they run about 3 degrees above their ambient environment… so in 68 degree water they are running at a 71 degree core reading. This gives them distinct advantages of maneuverability over their cold blooded prey…
Now let's learn more about our magnificent friend's life… They spend the bulk of their life out in deep water. Most of their diet consists of scombroids (mackerels and tunas) with a liberal dose of squid tossed in. Something unique that they do add to their diets though is some big game species. Swordfish and even marlin seem to have a regular place in what they eat and when they get the urge, fear does not dissuade them of taking on even specimens as large as or larger than themselves. I've seen a 200 pounder run down and tag a 200-pound class free swimming sword as if it was a cat drilling a mouse. He knocked the tail (propeller) off and with the prey immobilized, went to work on the rest. I've also seen the big buggers take marlin in the pocket of Chub Cay like they were just a big ballyhoo.
All those things make up their day to day diets yes, but wait… There's more- Just like we can't survive eating just one thing, they too have dietary needs to keep their fine tuned bodies running like a top. After a few months out at sea eating all that stuff described above they need certain nutrients not found there so they make a push inshore to feed on bluefish and bunkers to obtain the oils and other goodies they need that aren't supplied by the offshore banquet. While inshore they position them selves within striking distance of the blues and bunkers…
Ok there's the quickie on the cobalt missiles… This site doesn't have enough bandwidth to cover all the details but that should do for now. Let's go fishing…
Rod and reel combos: While a great many makos can be taken with relative ease on 30-pound gear, 50 gear is more suited for the larger ones. In my case I even deploy some 80 gear in my spread. I'll elaborate on that further on… For most though 50 gear with wide spools is the norm. The wide spool gives the extra yardage you will want if one of these toothy rockets decides to motor off at full speed. At nearly 60mph that equates to about 80 feet a second and to make it even clearer, at high warp they have the ability to cover 400 yards in under twenty seconds!… a full 600 around 30seconds…
The business end: Damn! I see a billion ways and ideas surrounding this topic. It's hotter than a ten dollar diamond. I see mentioned by many, the use of cable. For me this is flat out don't do it country. First, cable can be worked through by the very pointy conical teeth in relative short order. Does it happen all the time? No, but often enough where I'm not going to risk losing a money fish cause of it. Next and biggest problem I have with cable is that its way too unforgiving to work with on a regular basis. It can cut right into or through even a leather glove and when it does, your ability to let go is compromised… I used to bark at Billy V for his use of it and in the end that's what took him. I choose to stay on this side of the water thanks.
So what do I use??? After a zillion combinations of leader materials I settled on 250-pound Sufix brand mono for a wind on. No I don't sell Sufix, I use it because I have had zero problems with tail cuts or chafe-throughs using it… Other noted brands have been tried and those problems did result in lost fish. Thank goodness that the lost fish were blue sharks that rolled in it.
The wind-on can either be "handcuff" style or using a Spro type swivel. I use about 20 feet for my wind-ons. Why so long? Although we are hunting makos, we sometimes get a big thresher. They can be 16 feet or so to the tip of the tail, one roll will swallow a lot of wind-on.
Attached to that wind-on is about 7 or 8 feet of single strand wire. Depending on the bait that will determine which size wire to use… On my mackerel or small fillet rigs I use #12 attached to either 8/0 or 9/0 SSD type extra strong ones… My usual choice is a 3407 SSD Mustad, though the tuna style 7698C gets the nod frequently…
Sharking burns a lot of rigs, even now with several months to go it's never too early to start twistin.
