By: Chris Tryon
Two years ago, a good customer of mine came in one Friday afternoon and wanted to rent a 10-foot sit-on-top kayak. This struck me a little odd since he had just bought a kayak from me. Well, it was question and answer time; he told me he was going shark fishing. So I just had to ask, “don’t you need a bigger boat?” and with a smile he said the 10- footer would be perfect for what he was planning. Jason, my customer, was planning on using the kayak to paddle his bait off the beach and then fish from the beach. Jason then clued me in on what was going on and I have to admit, it got me kind of excited. I could not make that shark fishing trip and it took a few more tries to get me out on the beach. Finally, I had a Sunday off, so I called Jason to see if he wanted to do a night fishing trip on Saturday. He was in and I was hooked. So, here is the rundown on shark fishing from the beach. First is the bait. We get ours from our local fish market. Head in about a half-hour before they close and you can get all the fish heads and carcasses you will need, the fresher the better. Tackle is the next thing, if you already have heavy boat rods, you’re are pretty much ready to start shark fishing from the beach. Since I normally do all my fishing out of kayaks, I had to buy some heavier rods and reels. My shark fishing set-up is a Penn 6/0 Senator and a Penn 9/0 Senator. Both reels are on 30- to 50-pound rods. I spooled the reels with 80-pound braid with a top shot of 60-pound mono. Using braid allows you to pack on more line, important since you are paddling the bait out 300 to 500 yards off the beach. This gives you plenty of line on the reel for the first few runs when the shark hits. The hooks I am using are 16/0 to 20/0 circle hooks with a coated wire leader which is 3/8” diameter (see photo.) This leader is attached to the hook with a crimp and also crimped to a swivel at the other end, so you can put on your mono leader which is 30-pound test for your weight. The weight that I use to keep the bait in place is a 8-ounce king mackerel pier anchor. A stand-up fighting belt is a great thing to have when you are hooked up to a shark. Finally, I think the most important thing that you need to have is a long de-hooker. I prefer one two feet long to stay away from the shark’s pearly whites. I have really gotten into shark fishing from the beach. Because it requires at least two people, you get to hang out with a good fishing buddy all day. I have started taking my wife and daughter with me. Once the baits are set, we just hang out on the beach and wait. For more about this, there is a great website dedicated to shark fishing from the beach. The site is www.tx-sharkfishing.com. It is full of helpful hints (check out the surf handbook tab.) This will tell you everything you need to know. There are great articles and videos from rigging bait to deploying your baits. So take your fishing kayak and try something new. You just might enjoy fighting a 100-pound shark from the beach. With two or three guys you can land one, unhook it, get your picture and have it released in under five minutes. Just remember these are sharks very strong fish with some huge teeth. So, if you are going to try this, be careful and have a good time.Chris Tryon Hook Line and Paddle Canoe and Kayak Outfitters, Wilmington, NC Phone 910-330-6999, email: hooklineandpaddle@yahoo.com.
