Some say that Tampa Bay has the largest population of sharks and the biggest variety of sharks in the world. Ana Banana Fishing Company has worked closely with Mote Marine Center for Shark Research, USF Marine Laboratories and Cornell University Marine Biology Department. We’ve provided marine biologists with whole shark samples, fin samples, fluid dynamic studies and tagging programs recording shark size, sex, species, catch location and shark condition recordings for breeding habits and migration. We focus on shark preservation and conservation. A large part of preserving and conserving shark populations is influenced by understanding them better through research.
Baitfish flow into the bay from the gulf this time of year, Spanish mackerel, bluefish, jack crevalle, ladyfish, blue runners and bonita rush into the bay hot on their tail, and kingfish, tarpon, cobia and goliath grouper gather to feed on everything. This frenzied food chain causes a lot of carnage which gets the attention of sharks.
Sharks are at the top of the food chain, they are the clean-up crew. We like to target sharks this time of year because they are plentiful, they fight hard, many anglers are intrigued by them and they’re good table fare. Legally you can harvest two sharks per day per boat with different size limits depending on which species of shark you are catching. Some sharks we target for the fight only, these sharks are tail gaffed with a lasso cable gaff. Sharks that we catch and release only are hammerheads, tigers and bull sharks. Sharks that we target for eating are blacktips, bonnetheads, reef sharks, Atlantic sharpnose, lemon sharks and nurse sharks.
We have found a lot of weird things in the stomachs of sharks, although we’ve never found license tags or shoes or wrenches like in the movie Jaws. We have found horseshoe crabs, seahorses, stingrays, catfish, birds, eels, sea turtles, lobsters, squid; we’ve even found other sharks! The first time we ever realized sharks are cannibals was during a 24 hour blacktip tournament we held to benefit the National Pediatric Cancer Foundation hosted by baseball hall of fame legend Wade Boggs.
At about midnight we had a few shark lines out baited with ladyfish heads and one of the rods bent over and the drag started screaming. Wade picked up the rod and started fighting the shark, all at once the rod went limp, nothing but dead weight. What he reeled up was half of a juvenile blacktip; the shark was cut clean in half leaving us with only the head and upper torso. I removed the half of the shark from the hook and was about toss the carcass overboard when Wade suggested that we re-hook the shark half and cast it back out. We did and we ended up catching a 79 inch blacktip that was not only the tournament winning shark, but also the new tournament record. Up until that point I had no idea that sharks ate sharks, but since that night I have found a few sharks in the bellies of bigger sharks.
If you want the fight of your life with a serious gamefish, come to Tampa Bay and catch a shark with us. If you’re interested in harvesting a shark to eat, we offer a hook n’ cook program at Hooks at Little Harbor Resort.
For a charter with Captain Joel or Joseph Brandenburg of Ana Banana Fishing Company visit www.anabananafishing.com or call (813) 267-4401. For information on our kids fishing camp visit www.anabananakidsfishingcamp.com or call (813) 267-4401. We always offer a no fish no pay policy.