Photo by Louis Cahill
It’s shark week on South Andros!
If you read my recent article on shark safety, you know I had a little run in with a shark a few weeks ago. In that article I mentioned that my buddy Michael Poulin caught a little black tip shark that morning. Bonefishing had been tough, due to a sudden high pressure system and when we found a school of bonefish they were being hammered by a pair of sharks. I asked Mike if he wanted to catch one of them and he jumped on the chance.
If you want to feel a big fish pull, sharks will make it happen for you. We get them on flies all the time, but we didn’t have a shark rig for the fly rod, so Mike got this one on bait. Mike got a good fight out of the fish and we drew the sharks off of the school of bonefish. Mike handed me his video camera and we got it on film for his blog Bowhook , including a big black tip stalking the one Mike had on.
I’m down in Abaco right now and am curious what flies would be good to through at black tips. Any info would be much appreciated.
Thanks
Kyle
Hey Kyle,
The little lemons and black tips you often see on the flats will aggressively take your bonefish flies. You just have to get the fly in front of them, and move it so the shark sees it. As Louis said, they don’t have the best vision and with their eyes positioned more on the side of their faces, a fly directly in front of them is usually missed. Slightly to the side is better. Of course, if you toss your bonefish fly with your 10lb fluoro tippet and a shark eats it you have about a 99% chance of losing that fly. So I usually bring some small deceivers with a 8 – 10 inch section of 25ln Tyger wire with a tiny barrel swivel on the other end. I can quickly clip off my bonefish fly and tie my tippet to the barrel swivel with a standard clinch knot (no need to loop it). Sharks aren’t too picky most of time so any favorite deceiver colors are fine – I like tan / white; olive / white; grey / white. Specifically for larger sharks I bring three or four bigger red and orange deceivers, tied on 3/0 hooks and 50lb Tyger wire. These also work in a pinch for a big cuda prowling the cuts flowing out of the back mangroves. Hope that helps.
It’s probably worth mentioning here that those little lemon and black tip sharks can twist their heads around nearly as far as a snake. Landing one by grabbing the tail or dorsal fin puts your hand and wrist in very dangerous position. The best way to land one is to grab them at the back of the head, right above the gills. They have a hard plate along the top of their head that makes a perfect handle. This move should be done with commitment, when you grab it, GRAB IT! No dicking around, no pancy gentle grip. Even little sharks are nearly all muscle and can readily twist out of your grasp if you aren’t fully committed.
Thanks a lot for the detailed information, this is exactly what I was searching for. Had one of those bastards nearly hit my leg on Thursday while shooting at some juvi permit. Caught him out of the peripheral…funny I just thought back to Louis’s article and paid attention to his behavior….then continued to land one of those permit!!
Tight Lines,
Kyle
Nice job finding permit on Abaco (I assume you were / are still on Abaco. Is it my imagination or is the frequency of permit sitings in the Bahamas on the rise?
I have lots of experience with really small dogfish (up to 4 feet). Not sure about warmer water sharks, but the probably have the spine on their dorsal too? Can give you a very nasty puncture wound if not careful! If fishing for these I tend to use barbless hooks and a long-handle gaff for the release. Better yet – if fishing with a guide, let him/her show you how to handle them safely. Those punctures can be very nasty and get infected easily.