new to FL shark fishing

[slingshot]

well try to catch some sharks in the past in summer but, didn't get it did catchs a 5 pound salt water cat. well i know the time of the year and is my tackle up to it?

I HAVE A : penn 209,65 long beach, spinmaster 60 holds 300 of 30#, abe spin fisher. for rods : 6-6.5 feet boat rods that i got at a pawn shop they are old offshore rod, 8' spinning rods 20-30 class, penn pier, and 3' foot hand made spinng rod 30-??? class.

Is this good for shark fishing from the shore?
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[Shark Tagger]

Shark fishing from shore is my favorite. Do you have a kayak to paddle out your baits?

Your rod should be ok... i use braid on my shark rods...

[slingshot]

no i do not have a kayak. the rods are ok? iam useing mono and saltwater cat for bait. Grouper like cat and so that what i use. what pound test should i use for hammers,bulls and blacktips?

[taaeder]

it is hard to say if your gear is enough, because you did't
mention the size of the sharks you will be targeting. You should be
ok for the blacktips you mentioned, but it'll be close to
your reels max. prob too small.
it sounds to me like your gear is a little on the small side, if
you plan to target any bull or hammers, as these are bigger sharks,
and they fight differently. i would really think about
getting some slightly bigger reels...maybe a penn 6/0 or 9/0 to start. With
braided line these should! hold enough line to catch
anything you can reach w/o a yak...but you never know
what you might hook in the big ocean.
your 6-6.5 rods will prob. be ok if they are rated for 40#+
line, but 50#+ would be better for the blacktips, and bigger is better for the rest. don't misunderstand...you can catch sharks on the
gear you already have, but i think you will break off and/or get
spooled more. just my take on it.
good luck...what part of florida do you fish?
catch em up
t

[slingshot]

the bay area. Gulf coast in tampa bay.

[Blacktip Hunter]

I would get a Penn 9500ss and spool it with 65lb PP.
I would get a 12ft Tica rod to start off with for the 9500ss.
Get some rod holders and you’re all set.
If you know how to make shark leaders then you’re ahead of the game.

Also get a bait rod, cuz the runners, bluefish, and jacks come into shore and there really good bait.

Sharking from the beach ain't easy.
It takes a lot pf practice.
I've caught all of my shark so far on 9500ss.

Good Luck.

[taaeder]

as blacktip hunter said, casting a 9500 on a 12' is another great and FUN!!!
way to get into lb sharkin. pack your reel w/ ppro, and you have enough line for most sharks you can cast too. the 95s are alittle more expencive than a conventional senitor, but much easier to cast. you can check ebay
fot a better deal on a rod...tica. oceanmaster, shoremaster, etc and reel penn diawa, etc. i would
suggest u use a 60-80# shock leader/topshot...several wraps long, to avoid the shock on the non-stretch ppro.
feel free to drop me an email-
taaeder@mail.speednetllc.com
catch em up
t

[Blacktip Hunter]

Here are some pix of my current shark leader.

The hook is a 12/0 Super Mutu.

The swivels are from www.BlueFinLures.com and they're all ball-bearing except for the 2nd snap-swivel on the split ring. The ball-bearing swivel that is attached to the thimble on the hook section is 495lb. The ball-bearing swivel and snap-swivel that are attached to the split ring are both 495lb. The ball-bearing swivel at the top of the main section of the leader is 295lb. The crane snap-swivels that are attached to the split ring and the cable of the main section of the leader are 3/0 and I bought them from www.leadertec.com. I put my weight on them. The sliding one is for a weight and for a balloon, if I’m using live bait.

The split ring is a 650lb wolverine style. Try to find them in stainless steel.
You can get them at www.leadertec.com

The cable is AFW (American Fishing Wire). The main section of the leader is 275lb cable and the hook section is 480lb. I used thimbles on the hook section. I bought them from leadertec.

[Surfrat]

Originally Posted by taaeder

casting a 9500 on a 12' is another great and FUN!!! way to get into lb sharkin,... etc.

True,.... great fun and much more like a "Religion" for some of us. :lol:

Seriously, beaching and then releasing a 5-7+' Shark takes some practice and should not be taken lightly or for granted, alot can happen in a milli-second and it's a long way to the ER. Quite frankly, one would hope that you may have witnessed more experienced Beach Sharkers, leadering and/or tailing their Sharks for some tips/visual reference - otherwise an extra set of hands is a good idea to help out.

Good luck Slingshot and be carefull.

[pier-afficionado]

AS SurfRat said, things can happen REAL FAST sometimes, especially on wavy days. Remember those smaller sharks can pretty much bite their own tails, or your hand holding it!!! Here is a pic from last year in which my buddies girlfriend was taking pics, we went in to tail a small spinner, had it under control, wave came and we had to jump for life, or atleast to keep or legs attached.

You can't see me cuz I jumped in the other direction a bit before whenI felt the shark start to surge and did not have a good grip. Paul, insisted on trying to stay attached :lol: This is the after pic

We learned with years of trial and error, the smaller sharks seem to give more headaches.[/img]

[Sean Paxton]

Hello,

Just joined the board after stumbling across it -- real nice change of pace and good to see some familiar faces here. On the Florida fishing subject, we started off with a great combo comparable to the 9500's discussed earlier, and caught a bunch of decent sized sharks our first year. Those Shimano 6500B's on 15' Ugly Sticks were / still are work horses and it's hard to beat the price.

Since then, we've been dropping bigger baits on mostly Penn 12 and 9/0's, but you still can't beat solid open faces for good, clean fun anytime. Thanks for sharing the pics of your leaders a few posts back. Like Surfrat said, it's like a religion for some. I'll put a link down below to a leader segment we did to highlight what we're currently using on the bigger drops. Always great to compare notes. Thanks. LINK: http://www.fishinggonewild.com/html/...arkleader.html

Fish First - Call Of Work Later,
Sean Paxton

[Surfrat]

Nice pix Pier-Afficionado!

Hey Sean, good to see 'ya around. One thing I'll say about BTs (Blacktips) - small, medium or large - they quite often find a way to get away, even at the last moment when you are absolutely convinced that you got 'em.

I love 'em and respect the hell out of 'em. I've had 'em blow apart barrels, destroy snaps, straighten 4X hooks, shred cable, rip apart heavy mono way above the cable, fully beach themselves only to get smacked by the next wave pulled back out and still somehow manage to get away,..... you name it.

But it's all good and they're wicked awesome critters. My biggest to date are 6' 9" and 6' 10" both females.

"Watch those fingers and other body parts."

[Brooks Paxton II]

Looks like you got all the info you need, these guys all know what they are talking about so you're in good hands. Good luck and be safe.


Cheers,
Brooks II