Trolling for sharks?

[35viking]

Hey guys ,, how do you feel about trolling for sharks. It seems pretty cool and it may work but is it possible? A stand in the A.C boat show had the lures for shark trolling.Whats your opinion on trolling for sharks?

[joeksr]

I've never tried it but after reading some articles here on sfc I wll try it this year. should work. mako's are a high speed predator and get hooked occasionally by boats trolling for other species.
Heres 1 link to a trolling thread. Do a search for shark trolling to find more.

Joe


The Skinny on Shark Trolling

[austin ensor]

never tryed it do alot of shark fishing!!!! hope to try it in the furture!!

[frankypettolina]

Capt Fred Archer is the expert, hopefully he sees this thread.

I have caught many makos, a few assorted brown sharks and now one thresher trolling. Never intentionally trolling for sharks, but if by catch is an indicator trolling correctly for them should work.

[Randy Stinchcomb]

I have caught many makos, a few assorted brown sharks and now one thresher trolling. Never intentionally trolling for sharks, but if by catch is an indicator trolling correctly for them should work.

X's 2, like Franky, I've caught several off OCMD while trolling and they were not the targeted species those days

[captcl]

Franky beat me to it. Capt.Fred definately has the shark trolling thing down.!

[35viking]

Yeah supposedly you have to run from 2-4 knots and the lures have like weights on the front and it brings them down to about 30-35 feet.

[squirtis]

I have always wondered why it is not done out east?

Mr. Archer is the man on this and am sure will chime in.

In San Diego we used mostly bait-o-matics and did slow troll them at 2-4 kts range most of the time. You can also drop them like may people do on a bait ball when tuna fishing with some sucess.

They work and work well. Many people have 6+ knock down days, look the idea is that compared to a drift you are covering so much more area for them. Of course a lot of the threshers are tail hooked from batting the bait, and it's not too fun pulling a 300lb thresher up from 200' after it has had a heart attack and is dead weight

Here is a photo of the bait-o-matics we used, I know that Ballyhood makes some as I am sure many others do.

We have pulled them naked with sucess and also with mackarels rigged on them as well...

Good luck with it boyz.

Curtis

[Capt. Brian Daley]

Have been trolling for sharks since about 1988 and have gotten many and I
only troll on days when theres no drift or when the doggies are on full attach
the avg mako on the troll is 90-135lbs thats about it

[Captain Fred Archer]

Yes, it works and it works a helluva lot better than chumming, especially nowadays with all of those spikey-tailed doggies invading chum slicks relentlessly. There is NO better way for catching thresher sharks, period! And when we are doing that, makos, all of which we release no matter what size, can actually become a nuisance! (We take one or maybe two threshers a year to eat Oh, damn, are they good chow! See a recipe from one of the books below.)

Boiling it all down, there is a huge difference between east coast and west coast shark trolling for either species of the game sharks (you will not catch other kinds, except for porbeagles if you troll right) and that differencce accounts for why some of you have caught makos trolling, but mostly smaller ones.

That difference is the size of the bait/lures. Your predominant mako prey fish are bluefish of any and all sizes. We do not have a west coast predator fish like the blues that will and do play havoc with small trolling lures like the Bait O Matics, which are good west coast thresher lures, that on the east coast turn into bluefish after bluefish lures. Forget about them and any other smaller lures like that back east.

The magic lures for back there are big ones, like our very biggest GraveDigger that is skirted specifically for sharks and is adjustable for deep running, surface running, or on a downrigger. The magic bait is bluefish, rigged like what you will find below.

There is a lot more to the trolling game, but if you put two and two together - FAST gamefish that hunt down FAST prey and come up with four and then add covering a helluva lot more water SPECIFICALLY TARGETING THE BEST STRUCTURE AND BREAKS making things even better, I shouldn't have to say another word...just kick that chum bucket aside, READ THE SHARK TROLLER'S BIBLE and start "doing the math that you just figured out" where you fish.

And that "local expert" who tells you, "Trolling don't work here"? He is full of donkey dust, probably hasn't done it at all and if he has, hasn't done it right. Don't listen to him, he doesn't know what he's talking about on this. Then be sure to show him some trolled fish, but don't tell him the details on how to...let him buy the damned book, which he should have done in the first place!

Oh, and you don't have to mail me and tell me what happens when you play the trolling game right, 'cause I already know!

Oh, and don't try this inshore in the green water where all of those bluefish are swimming around. Do that and you will get your arse ripped off by a longtailed ass-smasher! Them threshers will HURT YA!

Recipe..."Predators and Prawns"

Layer the bottom of a big baking pan or dish with thresher steaks about an inch thick. (Spray pan with non-stick stuff first0.

Season steaks lightly with your favorite seasoning - for me that's garlic powder, a little pepper and season salt. Then put a generous layer of small or medium sized raw shrimp on top of the steaks and smother with heavy cream. Add some other spices that you like with shrimp. (You can add thinly sliced onions, likewise thinly sliced bell pepper and some tomatoe chunks if you like.)

Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and Italian Breadcrumbs and put under the broiler for only two or three minutes, or until the top is nice and lightly browned.

Now eat.

Goodgoshamighty!