August in southwest Florida means that most of our big tarpon now are a bit further up north on their annual migration. For my anglers who still want to toss flies at large jumping fish, we still have a couple of very worthwhile targets out there.
Blacktip and spinner sharks are very common along the beaches and many deeper flats this time of year. These fast and aggressive predators range widely in size from 10 to 100 pounds, but most of the ones I see are around 50 pounds. This makes them just about perfect for 9 or 10-weight fly rods. These fish fight just like a tarpon, lots of thrashing jumps and long runs, but with a serious set of teeth thrown in for good measure.
Getting them to hit a fly can be a real challenge. Unlike tarpon, few sharks are visual hunters, compare the size of both species’ eyeballs and you’ll see what I mean. Sharks hunt by smell above and beyond all their other senses so that’s why it’s a lot harder to convince one to eat an odorless fly.
Blacktips and spinners however do have rather sharp and very color sensitive eyes and will attack prey based on movement alone. Bright, bulky flies with plenty of flash are the go-to choice for them.
I’m a big fan of thick red rabbit strips and lots of orange marabou for my shark patterns. We’re basically trying to imitate a hunk of bloody meat floating in the water. I use nothing but Owner SSW hooks for these flies since they’re carbon steel and will corrode after a few days. Never use stainless hooks for either sharks or tarpon since you’ll usually be leaving them in the fish’s mouth. A foot of 50 inch Malin wire is also essential to prevent a cutoff.
Don’t forget that chumming works wonders for shark fishing, my first choice is cut ladyfish. Catch a couple of half-pounders; butterfly the filets of one to hang in the water and chunk up the other to toss into the current.
If you’re down in the Keys, small barracuda work even better. Blacktips and spinners are fast moving sharks, they’ll dart back and forth like fighter jets and sometimes spook quite easily.
Once you spot them in the chum, get your fly in the water and try sliding it just under the surface. If they hone in on it, strip-strike just like you would a tarpon and hold on for the explosion.
Spinner sharks are just insane because they literally spin like a bullet leaving a gun’s muzzle once they feel the hook. This usually wraps the fluorocarbon leader around their sandpaper skin and makes them remarkably difficult to land.
All sharks are worthy targets for fly anglers and blacktip and spinners should be given the same respect as any tarpon. Hook one of any size on an 8-weight and you’ll see these beautiful animals in an entirely different light.
Capt. Gregg McKee