Thresher Sharks? When do they start showing up?

[Tim]

Hey guys. Now that I live permanently in south florida, I mainly fish for swords and sharks. Although I do the reef thing and run and gun for dolphin the summer.

I was on saturday and hooked up with a thresher on a mono leader. You know where this story is heading. He was definetly over 5 feet long and had the very very long tail.

I am curious how you guys are fishing for them. This is the second time I have run into one down here. I notice they ball bait like sails, but they must be using their tails.

here is a pic I found:

[hannaman]

Tim, Just heard of one caught when I was out last week in front of Ft. Lauderdale, about 12 feet long. Start looking.

[Tim]

I'll keep you posted. I'm going to start looking for the starting in a few weeks.. for now the new moon is upon us and I must play with some broads 8)

The weatherman is saying calm on friday-sunday.

Tim

[SteveMras]

Tim, I've been captain for two current IGFA line class world records for my wife (95 lbs on 8 lb and 46 lbs on 6 lb), but these are West Coast fish. Still, the methods used should still work.

Near shore threshers (water depth 200' or less) demand different methods than offshore threshers. The nearshore fish are typically juveniles ranging from 30 lbs up to 150 lbs. Female threshers first start breeding at 3 years and about 150 lbs. A 150 lb thresher will have a fork length of about 62" to 63". The most difficult part about fishing threshers, either nearshore or offshore, is finding them. Once we find them (looking for feed pushed to the surface), we slow troll nose hooked sardines or mackerel of 10" or less. We will use straight 100 lb mono leaders of 10' to 15' (max length for 20 lb and under per IGFA) and Mustad live bait hooks. We attach 2 to 3 oz torpedo sinkers to the leader using rubber bands. I attach main line to the leader using a padded albright knot. For record attempts, I also use about 15" to 18" of 69# single strand wire haywired twisted to the hook and a welded ring or a 250 lb SPRO swivel (very tiny). The best trolling speed is 1.5 to 2.0 knots. Dropback is a matter of preference. I've done as little as 30' and I've seen friends drop back as much as 150'. Quiet engines are better. Four stroke outboards are ideal as they slow troll quite well and are quiet. I'm trolling from a 20' center which has a Volvo Diesel in it. I have to throw out a drift sock to slow my troll speed from the normal 2.5 knots down to 2.0 knots. Preferred reels are Shimano TLDs or Trinidads. On the TLDs you have the clicker on and the drag lever pushed up just enough to stop line from going out. On Trinidads you use the adjustable clicker to accomplish the same. The thresher may tail strike the bait causing a zip on the reel and then come back. If you can, put the reel in freespool and pull the boat out of gear, causing the bait to sink out. Threshers slash through a school of bait and then come back around to eat what sinks out. At this speed, threshers will also just mouth strike the bait and take off like a freight train. In this case, simply push or flip the reel into gear and take up chase. Mouth hooked threshers will jump and they come in great condition for release fishing. You can simply take wraps on the leader, pull and break the hook. My wife's 6 lb record was weighed live at the boat ramp (1 mile from where it was caught in Long Beach Harbor) and released. The fight is very similar to my recent night tarpon experience in January off North Miami Beach.

Offshore thresher fishing is different in that the fish are bigger (to 500 lbs here on the West Coast) and we also incorporate the use of downriggers at the thermocline (80' to 90'). We troll a bit faster (2.5 to 3.0 knots) and we will used rigged dead baits or live baits (mackerel). We also run rigged mackerel behind a 16 oz Bait-O-Matic on flat lines. Our typical pattern is two flat lines and one downrigger line. You find them and they will find your baits. Since the trolling speed is so slow, it's best to hunt for bait balls on the meter at higher speeds before putting your gear in. A good network of eyes on the water will greatly minmize your hunting. Typically we use 50 lb tackle and above because these fish will dog you deep. Most of these fish will be tail hooked.

If you have more detailed questions, please feel free to e-mail me. Our season will get going in another month and a half as the water temps start climbing above 60. Ideal temps are around 64. We will be targeting records on 4 lb (Men's and Women's) and hope to get the first thresher on the Fly. We will also be working with Scripps to implant arichival tags on threshers.

[Captain Joe McGivern]

hey tim, listen to steve he knows his sharks over there.

steve,sorry again i didnt get ya a sword i herd that u tried with carey hanna and no luck again. i hope when u make your next trip back over here u can get one. talk to ya soon.

tightlines,

joe mcgivern

[Darkside]

Steve let me know when your going to be in town next maybe i can help you catch one? Give me a IM we can go fish.

[Tim]

I'm not bragging here, but I started fishing in Febrary 2002, and it took me 14 trips until I actually got one to the boat. A number of those nights I didn't get a bite. Once I got the stink on my hands its been good. Caught 53 swords since than... Sometimes, know matter how good you are the fish are just biting everywhere but where you are..



Tim

[hannaman]

Woe, take it easy on me Joe. LOL
Cary

[Captain Joe McGivern]

cary i would never bash u or anyone, i was just simple stating the fact that fishing is fishing and u could go 14 times before your first one just like tim did. i was lucky as hell to get one the first time i went out in 2001 and then i didnt see a fish for 21 tripsafter that. u are a well know and respected captain here and i would never try to put that past u.
steve hired both of us to take him out and neither of us produced. just goes to show that we are all human.

[hannaman]

Hey Joe, I wasn't even thinking you were bashing me, and I agree we are all human just maybe not humane. I just don't like the skunk vibe being out there.

I remember my first trip out in 2000 or so, I went out with Captain David Applegate when he was working the docks where Capt. Kunta works. We caught a 90 pound pumpkin, he daisy chained squids on the leader and put a hook in the last one. We stayed out until sunrise. Been addicted ever since.

[Captain Joe McGivern]

oh ya good old daisy chain..thats my favorite thing..sounds good cary..wel are all just addicted to this drug!

[Mike]

Saw this quote in the forums..

A Fisherman should be judged by the nature of the effort he made and not by the result. - Zane Grey

Hey Cary, I checked out your boat on your website... SWEEEEET! I'd say thats a hell of an upgrade. Your customers should love it..

Tight Lines

[SteveMras]

Joe, Carey, Tim, Darkside:

I most thoroughly enjoyed my recent trip to Florida (my first) and my fishing outings, Tarpon = Success; Swords = Helmet. I had been reading reports indicating the bite was on and that the fish tend to be bigger this time of year. I also came knowing that the weather (wind) was a critical factor this time of year. It just did not cooperate as I would have liked, but that's fishing and especially traveling fishing. I followed reports after I returned on the 26th of January and it seemed like you guys had a good window and got them. So I guess I was teased to come back again and that is definitely in the plans.

I love the quote "I was blanked on trips 1 through 14 and now I've caught 57 swords since 2002." I can relate. I fish for special fish. I fishe for variety and I like challenges. During this time of the year we typically chase trophy largemouth bass, which are your Florida strain, but fed a high protein diet of lazy hatchery trout :-)! Our lakes are highly pressured and it's best to fish mid-week. Every year I fish with a buddy on MLK Day (January 19th this year) as not everyone has this as a holiday, thereby reducing the fishing pressure. This year I was in Florida fishing tarpon with Joe. I had a hunch my buddy would do well fishing without me. He did. He C&R'd a 13.3 lb bass. This makes up for no bass over 10 lbs last year for him out of at least 15 days of fishing effort. He got one in '02 of 12.8 lbs (I got a 13.6 and a 12.0), but that was after a 5-year stretch of none over 10 lbs. We are not fishing for numbers, only fish over 10 lbs. We stay focused on this quest. We also know that it takes persistence. So I will stay on the sword chase until I get one.

[Captain Joe McGivern]

sounds sweet steve i could only imagine catching a bass that big. well i am sure that your quest on catching that sword will soon come to an end and u will have conquered all the bill fish u have set out to catch! see ya soon and toghtlines!

[Hicatch]

http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/hms/rec_info.htm
Big Eye Threshers are protected

PROHIBITED SHARK SPECIES

The following sharks cannot be possessed or retained. If you catch a shark on this list, you must release it immediately into the water with minimal injury and in a manner that maximizes the survival of the shark. Recreational anglers may fish for white sharks using rod and reel but must release white sharks to the sea in a manner that minimizes injury to the shark.

Atlantic angel Squatina dumerili
Basking Cetorhinus maximus
Bigeye sand tiger Odontaspis noronhai
Bigeye sixgill Hexanchus vitulus
Bigeye thresher Alopias superciliosus
Bignose Carcharhinus altimus
Caribbean reef Carcharhinus perezi
Caribbean sharpnose Rhizoprionodon porosus
Dusky Carcharhinus obscurus
Galapagos Carcharhinus galapagensis
Longfin mako Isurus paucus
Narrowtooth Carcharhinus brachyurus
Night Carcharhinus signatus
Sand tiger Odontaspis taurus
Sevengill Heptranchias perlo
Sixgill Hexanchus griseus
Smalltail Carcharhinus porosus
Whale Rhincodon typus
White Carcharodon carcharias

[Capt. Q]

I believe the guys are refering to the pelagic thresher.





Excellent Eating. I know a captains that fishes makos, blues, and threshers in MA. Big game fishing for sure. I hear things are great in Califonia now for the threshers...

This is the Big eye thresher that is illigal:

[Hicatch]

Thanks for clarifying that, the big-eye only occurs in Pacific.

[Vinnie]

It happens to all of us. And the fisherman who can tell you that he went out there and went all night with no bites or went 0/2 should not be judged but looked at as a true Captain. You're not a true Captain and don't truly love fishing if you only choose to talk about your fishing trips when you catch fish.
We started in 2001, we went our first 13 trips without even a bite that pulled drag. Like Tim said, once you get the stink on your hands and on the boat its all over. We caught over 50 last year, hopefully this year will be better.
Go Get Em

[SteveMras]

The thresher photo in the first post is of a common thresher. Those are the threshers you will see near shore and up on the surface. Bigeye threshers share the same huge eyes that a sword does and will be feeding deep during the day. They are also brownish in color, a portion of their eyes roll up on their heads so they look up and the lateral grooves in their body are deeper kinda form a helmet over their head.

Here's some photos of the pup threshers we play with in Long Beach Harbor:

http://www.momentoffame.com/snapshot...ame/l52640.jpg

http://www.momentoffame.com/snapshot...ame/l52639.jpg

That one was about 90 to 100 lbs and was caught on 20 lb on a TLD 15. They are fun fish, much like your tarpon. You better know how to chase a fish!

Here's a photo of a bigeye thresher caught by a guy I know:

http://www.momentoffame.com/snapshot...ame/l62477.jpg

You can clearly see the helmet I described. BTW, he says that his wife will break my wife's line class thresher records. He has a couple of hurdles to get over. First, he has to get his wife out fishing with him. Second, he has Topaz 28 Express with a single inboard diesel and a tower on it. I wish him luck on that as it will be difficult handling a thresher on 6 or 8 lb from that boat. Besides, after we bag the 4 lb, we'll revisit the 6 lb record. We had the leader blow up in the mates hands on one estimated at 130 lbs and it was on 6 lb. We're kind of embarassed of the 46 lb fish on 6 lb.

[Capt. Q]

Heres the pix...