Trolling for sharks?

[Captain Fred Archer]

Bert,

No, I don't de-bone the blues to make them swim better. I describe the ones rigged as shown as "drunken blues" because they DON'T swim nice and perfect because I want them to stand out among the real stuff that it's best to fish them around. Those toothy apex predators both sense the different vibrations being sent out and see the drunken wobble that makes them stand out and they immediately target them over any free-swimming, healthy models.

It is important for east coast sharkers to remember that the smaller lures that do well on the west coast are too small for where you fish and the size of the prey you are trying to immitate. You'll be bangin' bluefish all day long with those lures. Rig up dem blues, get 'em all drunk, and let 'em walk down that dark alley with the mugger sharks in it and they will get fuhhed up, big time.

Brian. Thanks for the comeback. Yeah, that one doesn't work anymore, but the email and phone listed earlier do.

Jason, thank you for the kind words. That looks like a Caly longtail to me? Is it? Five and then ten minutes trolling time? You are doin' it right, my man, you are doin' it right! Amazing how most out here don't realize that they are here year-round. The book has a couple of ways to both increase hookups and nearly eliminate tail hooking.

The new GraveDigger has been tearing the local T-shark population up big time during testing.

First picture, GraveDigger.

Second picture, GraveDigger and Shorty.

[Green Machine]

Fred, are those GraveDiggers the new version of the Megamouth lures? Are they neutrally buoyant and best rigged with a fillet or small whole bait?

[Jason @ Melton Tackle]

the bonita or similar type trolling lure create a nice hum when trolled. I can see a shark zeroing in on one. Jason @ Melton Tackle what mods have you come up with, improving the hook up ratio?? Do any of the lures used have the double buck rattling inside of them? How long are the leaders and what type? wire single strand? heavy mono?

Flat,

We use the Yo-Zuri Hydro Mags with the chin weight, about 1.5 ounce. I believe that the chin weight causes a certain amount of rattling. After that, we put reflective tape (about .5 inch down the lateral section) on both sides. It's a good idea to keep the hooks sharp and make sure the split rings are strong enough. We've lost threshers to straightened out split rings near the boat. The leaders I have run are approximately 6-8 feet of 480 lb. 49 Strand.

[flatbottom]

good stuff Jason @ Melton Tackle. Of all the trolling lures for shark, the Yo-Zuri Hydro Mags with the chin weight or a modded Mann stretch would be my choice. Even at slow troll there is a vibration given off a shark could find interesting. I would need to try different troll speeds to find the right harmonics as you have perfected. Thanks for the mods on the split rings and tape decal..flat