Sharks on Spinning Gear – The Start of a New Trend?
Written by Peter J. Park
Sunday, 14 March 2010 19:36
Few would disagree that sharks are truly the most magnificent creatures in our oceans. Traditional methods used to catch sharks on hook-and-line usually involve stiff, stout rods and powerful conventional reels. Recently (March 8, 2010) on a deepwater jigging trip out of Wilmington, North Carolina with Capt. Mike Jackson of Liveline Charters, we tried something different, something unorthodox, but still something that tickles the mind of every offshore shark fisherman every now and then - we tried catching big sharks on spinning gear!
Would you believe it if I told you that the primary target species of our March 8, 2010 trip was NOT shark? We were on a deepwater jigging (also called vertical jigging or Japanese-style jigging) trip. In fact, on such trips, sharks are considered troublesome bycatch, analogous to how bluefish wreak unwanted havoc on a trip targeting striped bass. Our primary objective was to catch large amberjack, African pompano, blackfin tuna, cobia, and/or wahoo. Our trip began with good action of amberjack, but then the sharks found us. The sign of sharks is simple – lines snap or our primary catches come up mauled, mangled, or beheaded.
Author with Gag Grouper that was partially eaten by a shark on the way up to the boat.
Sometimes, a shark will even hook itself while mauling your catch; it isn’t uncommon to fight a fish to the boat only to find an amberjack head dangling beside a shark that accidently found the assist hook of your jig. You can also catch shark on jigs alone, without the help of any bait. For methods describing how to jig offshore gamefishes and shark while deepwater jigging, please see the BFTC original article “Getting Vertical- What’s All That Jigging About?” .
Once the shark attacks get out of hand, Capt. Jackson will head over to a new spot hoping to avoid these toothy creatures once and for all. But on this trip, the shark were everywhere ever present at each of the next four spots. Were they following boat? Possibly, but who knows? Anyhow, it seemed like the sharks were going to be constant presence, so Capt. Jackson asked if we wanted to turn this deepwater jigging charter into a sharking charter. We all looked at each other and figured, “Sure, why not?” We didn’t expect the trip to come to this, but we welcomed it! And, to our surprise, we were about to be shocked with a new form of fun on our spinning setups.
200+lb Dusky Shark caught on Spinning Gear.
Capt. Jackson asked and then proceeded to rig up my friend’s jigging rod (FISHERMAN Spinoza short 5121) with a special rig: 12 inches of #9 single strand American fishing wire with a Gamakatsu 8/0 hook tied with a haywire twist. (These rigs were prepared by Capt. Jackson before the trip in case we ran into wahoo.) On the rod, a Shimano Stella 20000 reel was already spooled with 100lb braid (Daiwa Saltiga Braid PE8) tied via a Page-Ranking (PR) Knot to about 12 ft of 200lb monofilament shock leader. An alternative and equally strong connection to such a thick leader is to tie a Bimini twist on the main braided line to be looped once (or twice) onto a wind-on leader.
Capt. Mike Jackson's wahoo rig what serves also as a great shark rig: 12 inches of #9 single strand
American fishing wire with a Gamakatsu 8/0 hook tied with a haywire twist.
Capt. Jackson grabbed a 24” King Mackerel from the fish box that was caught by one of us earlier in the day. He cut the head and put it on a hook. When it was time to let the line out, one lucky angler let the bait drift out for a good 50 ft. The drag was set at about 15lbs and before he could even close the bail, he was on!!!! He set the hook with about 2-3 firm pumps of the rod while cupping the spool. The drag setting was increased incrementally as needed and eventually reached up to 25lbs. With ferocious head shakes and long-winded blistering runs, the shark took the angler and towed the boat at times with alarming intensity! After 10 minutes, the big burly 200+lb dusky shark made its way to the boat and we had our first shark on bait (and not on jigs) of the day:
For the next shark, Capt. Jackson filleted one side of the left-over King Mackerel and cut it into front and back halves. The back half was used for this drift, and it was cut midway length-wise, giving the chunk a slit-tail presentation. The hook was placed into the flesh and out the scales' side, centered about one inch from the front end. Again, the bait was drifted and the bail left open. A shark took the bait during the drift at about 75 ft away from the boat. Once the line got taut, the bail was closed and a strong hookset quickly followed. After a strong fight, another big dusky shark about 120lbs was landed and released.
For the last round, we all figured it was time to have a lot more fun. We had already had some tuna casting/popping gear on the boat should we run into something interesting on topwater. Well, so far, these rods were getting nothing but a fancy sunburn. Soon enough though, it would be time to pull one off its fanny and on to a hefty shark to the other end. The shark bite had already slowed down a bit at this point, but just then, we see a HUGE hammerhead (estimated 10 ft long) swim across the bow of the boat. My friend got his popping rod (FISHERMAN Big Game 82RS) ready and the bait was set to go. Unlike before, after letting the chunk drift for about 50-75 ft, the rod was set in a rod holder alongside the boat and the drag was backed off substantially to about 10-15lbs. Sure enough, the reel starts going off after a couple of minutes. Man, I never heard a Daiwa Dogfight sing so darn hard!!!!! Could this be the hammerhead? Very likely. During its first run, a couple of solid hooksets put the hook square into the jaw of the big shark. The drag was increased during the run to slow the animal down, but after 150 yds of line peeled off the reel in 15 seconds, everyone knew this was a different class of beast than the other sharks we landed. I will let the video speak for the rest of the fight. This sure was a fish of a lifetime….
Angler fighting a 400+lbs Hammerhead Shark on Tuna Popping Gear.
In conclusion, can shark fishing be accomplished with spinning gear? Absolutely! Although we didn’t set out to do it, we got it done whether drifting or with the rod left alone in a holder. I think everyone would agree that landing big fish all depends on having the right gear. The rod needs be strong, and the reel needs to have stout drag capabilities (30+lbs) along with significant line capacity (over 350 yds) for hefty braided line (80lb+ braid). I am sure these numbers can be refined further with trial-and-error, but for our purposes, they sure did the work and man was it fun! Our gear was initially prepared for deepwater jigging for amberjack and topwater casting for large bluefin tuna. Such gear can provide a reference from which to refine the shark-on-spinning methods. However, be warned - take care not to over-exert the limits of your gear and be mindful of what it was originally designed to do. Here is a video of one such case gone very wrong:
We at BFTC hope that this shark-on-spinning article contributes to a popular new trend in big game fishing for these awesome cartilaginous predators.
For starters, here are some recommendations for tackle suitable for shark fishing on spinning gear (only domestic products shown):
2. Jigging Rods(primarily designed for large pelagic gamefishes like tuna and amberjack)
Model Make Length Rating*
VJS410-500 Van Staal 4'10" 500g (rated based on maximal weight of jig used)
SA-JG 59XXHFS Daiwa 5'9" 80-200lbs (rated based on braided line strength)
PJS52XH Star 5'2" 50-100lbs (rated based on braided line strength)
* Should you consider import rods from companies such as Jigging Master, Smith, FISHERMAN, Patriot, etc., these rods will be rated based on maximal weight of jig used (and not line strength). For shark greater than 100lbs, no import rod rated less than 400g should be used. As a general rule, consider for every 100g of jig rated for the rod, 40lbs of fish weight satisfactorily landed. For example, a 400g-jig rated rod should be able to haul a (40 x 4 = )160lbs shark without much grief. However, this formula will vary slightly depending on the make and model. Please also note that these are ballpark numbers and there is no formalized method set up for rating rods with fish weight; these are just our suggestions based on experience.
3. Popping Rods (primarily designed for bluefin tuna)
Model Make Length Rating
Tuna Sniper OTI 8'6" 40-60lbs (rated based on braided line strength)
Tuna Sniper OTI 8'6" 50-80lbs (rated based on braided line strength)
FYI - all rods and reels are available right now at Fisherman Depot!
