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Blacktip shark fishing
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I have a foolproof way to bring in blacktip sharks. But it’s messy, it’s gory, it’s not for the feint of heart. You’re going to have to fish your way up the food chain, and you are in for a lot of toothy mayhem. But I’ve had my flats skiff circled with over 100 prowling guys in gray suits with this method, so read on if you dare.
First, the docile part. Study a good fishing map. Find a nice lagoon, perhaps on a barrier island (no, I’m not going to point out my honey-hoe) where the tide drains in and out through a shallow neck. This is where you are going to set up, on a rising tide. But you need bait, and not the type you get at a store – although come chum and a few live or dead shrimp will help catch our fist batch of live bait.
Anchor off a shallow grass flat, from 3-6 feet of water. Almost any grass flat off Miami will have pinfish. We want some nice, fat ones, so put out that chum bag and on a tiny crappie jig (I prefer these to sabikis when fishing for pinfish) pin a little bit of shrimp. If you can’t catch a half-dozen pinfish in five minutes, find another spot.
Put away your bait-fishing outfit and break out the big stick. Head to those barrier islands and select a nice channel, with good current flow. I have a spinning rod with 20 lb test for this mission, with #6 wire leader and a 5/0 baitfishing hook. Hook little Mr. Pin through the nose or just in front of the dorsal, and let him out into the current. This isn’t pretty. The next stop is a barracuda attack. A cuda might fight better on lighter tackle, and, then again, you might get one that will put even that big spinning rod to the test. I’d rather bring him in fast. We are still bait collecting.
Get that barracuda in the boat and avoid his dagger dentures. It might be a good time to introduce him to the club – the fish-killing club, because if you have any decency what comes next you shouldn’t do to a live fish. We’re going to fillet Mr. cuda, but don’t worry, I’m not suggesting you make yourself a ciguatera sushi salad (ciguatera is the parasitical infection some barracuda have, which, when eaten by humans, causes a nerve-damaging illness very similar to lyme disease). Fillet one side and cut it into finger size chunks, to use as chum. Now, the other side is the most important. Start to fillet it from the head down, but leave the bottom part, near the tail, connected. Now you have a half-filleted, half big chunk-o-meat hanging off barracuda carcass. It’s a bloody mess and so is your boat unless you have been super-fastidious.
Anchor your boat at a set up station you’ve chosen from the study of your map. The tide should be incoming. Run heavy mono or a nylon rope through the gills of your barracuda-carcass and out the mouth – tie off with a loop. Fling that bloody, oily mess overboard and tie the other end to a sturdy cleat – now you have a chum-carcass. As the current carries the juicy scent of your fresh-dead cuda into the lagoon, the sharks stranded in the center of the lagoon during high tide will follow that nasty trail right up to your boat – and soon you will have a shark feeding frenzy.
At this point, you have a number of ways to fish for them. Of course, you can take one of your barracuda-chunks, but it on a line with a wire leader, and cut-bait fish. Or toss out those cuda chunks as additional chum, and when your sharks are nice and competitive, toss a plug in the middle (I recommend removing treble-hooks for extra strong single hooks, if you want those lures back without risking your hand). A bushy chum-fly in a red/white color also might attract a strike, if you want a real challenge.
A final word of warning – occasionally one of those sharks will come right up to the barracuda carcass and try to make off with your chum source. That’s the point to yank Mr. cudafillet out of the drink, but be careful – I wouldn’t get my hand too close to the water.
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- appropriate clothing (layered, self-wicking, some water resistant)
- reliable source of fire (flint and steel, waterproof matches, butane lighter)
- purified water
- maps (know where you are)
- compass
- modest first aid kit
- emergency shelter (tarp, groundcloth, tent)
- non-perishable, high energy food (energy bars, dehydrated meals)
- spare change of clothing in waterproof container
- quality sleeping bag (last line of defence)
