Love ‘em or hate ‘em, sharks are fun to catch
Anglers have a love/hate relationship with sharks. “Jaws” actually kept many people out of the water for years, some permanently. These amazing, ancient and environmentally valuable predators often eat the bottom baits intended for our springtime tarpon, wasting precious tarpon fishing time fighting them. Worse, they eat our prized table fish on the way top-side, attack and mutilate our once-in-a lifetime hooked tarpon, and, of course, even attack us. In 2021 there were a reported 28 attacks on anglers and swimmers in Florida waters. For the last couple of years, worldwide shark attacks average 75 a year, with surprising few fatalities.
On the other hand, we eat some shark species and there’s also an army of anglers that love to fight them on lite rods and fly tackle or battle a true giant wearing a stand-up harness or from a fighting chair. A bonus for anglers without boats is that sharking from land is very productive. Check the FWC website before you go for special regulations for beach or shoreline sharking before setting up a beach site.
Unfortunately, these essential predators are usually overfished and abused worldwide. Some are caught alive, the fins sliced off, then kicked back into the sea to helplessly die, killed to satisfy the huge public demand for shark fin soup in many parts of the world. Thousands of others linger and needlessly die on commercial longline hooks. It’s truly a sad state of affairs for this vital species and the future balance of our ocean environment.
World famous tarpon destination Boca Grande Pass is definitely shark central in the spring hosting a wide variety and especially noted for submarine-sized hammerheads and vicious bulls. It’s also been named by USA Today as one of the 10 world’s best places to see sharks from shore.
Do not fall out of the boat while tarpon fishing in Boca this season! There’s a very good chance you will get chewed on or worse. There are several news reports, especially in 2019, of Boca tarpon anglers falling or getting pulled into the drink while fighting a silver king then being immediately attacked and sent to hospital. Often bitten anglers report they just “felt a bump” without realizing they’ve actually been punctured or, lost a pound or two of flesh. As President Biden would quip, “Not a joke!”
Another early spring shark-filled tarpon destination and great place to not fall out of the boat is in the Keys at the 7 Mile Bridge and Bahia Honda where monsters roam snacking on 6-foot long, abundant tarpon.
Sixty percent of all U.S. shark attacks happen in the Sunshine State. If you come to Florida to enjoy swimming and water sports, you may want to do a double-think about swimming in Volusia County, especially around New Smyrna Beach where a large percentage of Florida’s shark attacks occur. Of the 28 recorded attacks in Florida, 17 took place there. Point me to the pool please!
One 13-year-old angler that enjoys fighting Mr. Jaws is Livy Shoemaker from Indianapolis. On a recent Pine Island Sound trip with a local captain, she expertly fought several sharks including blacktips, bulls, a 7-foot-long hammerhead and jumbo 9-foot-long nurse shark, all caught using mackerel as bait. What an awesome day for this talented young angler!
Currently, the IGFA All Tackle World Record for great hammerheads is held by Bucky Dennis. This beast is listed as weighing 1,280 pounds, caught in 2006 in you guessed it, Boca Grande Pass.
I’m sure the local tarpon are glad he’s gone.
The IGFA also lists records for over 65 different species of sharks.
Anchor up along the ICW and soak chum blocks drawing them to your bottom baits. Add a colorful fly to a feeding frenzy right off the transom, or take one on spinning gear and a plug in the shallows.
Handle and release with caution.
Capt. George Tunison is a Cape Coral resident fishing guide. Contact him at 239-282-9434 or captgeorget3@aol.com.