# Surf Fishing Shark



## PompNewbie (Oct 1, 2007)

Hi guys, I have been wanting to get into surf fishing for a while now, and figured I'd see what you guys use . I don't have much money for a "shark reel" but I do have a shark pole, and a reel I feel will hold up a while. I also have a PENN SG8000 on a Shimano Talavera rod, how do you guys/gals think this would work for what I want to catch... I am in no way looking to catch anything over 4 or 5 feet.


Please PM me of comment with suggestions on how to rig, or what I need . Thank you.


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## specktackler57 (May 15, 2011)

i caught about ten 3-6 footers sat and sun.ppp.all on a 704 penn.


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## PompNewbie (Oct 1, 2007)

What pound line to do you use when catching those?


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## Ugly 1 (Feb 8, 2013)

Your gear should be good to go! you can pick up some pre made light steel leaders or a pack of 140lb rated single strand wire for about 5$. I personaly would go with the single strand and some 10/0 hooks. If your casting your bait it is a lot easier to throw a shorter leader 12-16" will work just fine. I like to use a pyramid weight with a sliding clip on smaller sharks but it is not necessary. size of the weight depends on the surf conditions. you can stop at just about any seafood market or tackle shop and pick up some mullet or get a HD sabiki rig or a gotcha and go catch a few ladyfish or hardtails for bait. any of them work great! cut yourself a nice 2-3" chunk of bait and sling it out as far as you can towards the first gut. Put your pole in a good sturdy holder set your drag a bit loose so they can run a bit and get ready for a fight! Im heading out to do some fishing tonight for a possible monster and anyone that is up for a challenge can join. just pm your contact info and I will let you know where to go. UGLY


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## PompNewbie (Oct 1, 2007)

Thank you Ugly, that was very helpful.


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## PompNewbie (Oct 1, 2007)

Ugly, The line I have on the SG8000 is only 30lb, would you suggest larger?


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## Sea Raptor (Oct 15, 2012)

I'm not ugly, but depends on how much line is on the spool, good luck


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## Ugly 1 (Feb 8, 2013)

I'm with Sea Raptor on this one! It's pretty amazing what some good 30lb can haul in. I landed my very first 6ft bull shark on a 4000 series shimano and 30lb mono. In a lot of cases I would sacrifice line strength for capacity, especially surf fishing. When I'm fishing around concrete pillars or for large sharks its nice to have strength and capacity and in some cases nothing helps! I've had 400lb mono and 7 strand steel leaders cut through like butter effortlessly. Good luck I hope to see a great report in the very near future!!! UGLY


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## Blazerz65 (Mar 22, 2013)

Can you catch any sharks before the 2nd sandbar... If not how can I get it past the 2nd sandbar without a yak... About 75 to 100 yards out from the beach


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## cablechris (May 3, 2011)

I have pulled them in just casting out from the beach. 10' rod and a penn 650 with 40lb braid. they where not the big ones but some 3' and 4' ones. its still fun! had a 4' wire leader so they would not cut the braid. good luck.


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## Blazerz65 (Mar 22, 2013)

Soo it's probably worth going past the 2nd bar... Does it matter how far past?


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## Ugly 1 (Feb 8, 2013)

Blazerz65 said:


> Can you catch any sharks before the 2nd sandbar... If not how can I get it past the 2nd sandbar without a yak... About 75 to 100 yards out from the beach


I've seen sharks caught less than 50' from the beach. With a little practice you should be able to get close to 100 yds casting from the beach. Good luck UGLY


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## Blazerz65 (Mar 22, 2013)

Well 100 yards away is the sandbar and to get over you need a 120+ cast... hard to do that with a lady head and 5 oz slip weight.


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## Ugly 1 (Feb 8, 2013)

My biggest sharks came from less than 100' of land and I have watched LP (lowprofile)chuck lady fish to the 2nd bar+ from the beach with a descent surf rod. If your going to be doing a lot of LBSF do yourself a favor and pick up a sit on top kayak to run your bait out. Good luck UGLY


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## lowprofile (Jan 6, 2013)

Blazerz65 said:


> Can you catch any sharks before the 2nd sandbar... If not how can I get it past the 2nd sandbar without a yak... About 75 to 100 yards out from the beach


cast it or swim it. 

put on some goggles and swim it out, hand feed the shark. :thumbsup:


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## Blazerz65 (Mar 22, 2013)

lowprofile said:


> cast it or swim it.
> 
> put on some goggles and swim it out, hand feed the shark. :thumbsup:


Haha.. I got two tonight while red fishing with lady heads and scraps. Only 4 to 5 feet but still a blast... How would you make ur own set-up... I had a nice one on but it broke. It consisted of a my line, swivel, 4 ft piece of mono 40lb, with a dropper loop cut to one strand with 6/0 hook, then 5 oz pyramid. I saw that when it broke the line was frayed from the fish... any better home made setup i could use.


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## PompNewbie (Oct 1, 2007)

There is about 240yds on the sg8000 but I have a little abu garcia with 80lb on it, it's on a 7 ft custom rod my neighbor made for me,I have an okuma safina pro spinner with about 200yards or 80lb on it, should I use this over the SG8000? Anything helps.


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## Gio (May 27, 2012)

Hi Pomp,
I would suggest that you have at least 2/3 of your line left after you cast/drop your bait. You will really want to work sharks to tire them out, and that consists of letting them take some runs. If you can get the line capacity you need with braid, just make sure you have a mono topshot of at least 50 yards. Since you are targeting and want to land smaller sharks, I think you would be fine with 50# line. Use a 140lb+ single strand steel leader around 36' if you will be casting, and a 9/0 to 12/0 hook, and you should be good to go.
You will catch sharks with this setup. You will also lose sharks with this setup, but you will also lose them with really big rigs.
I hope this helps a bit.


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## PompNewbie (Oct 1, 2007)

Gio said:


> Hi Pomp,
> I would suggest that you have at least 2/3 of your line left after you cast/drop your bait. You will really want to work sharks to tire them out, and that consists of letting them take some runs. If you can get the line capacity you need with braid, just make sure you have a mono topshot of at least 50 yards. Since you are targeting and want to land smaller sharks, I think you would be fine with 50# line. Use a 140lb+ single strand steel leader around 36' if you will be casting, and a 9/0 to 12/0 hook, and you should be good to go.
> You will catch sharks with this setup. You will also lose sharks with this setup, but you will also lose them with really big rigs.
> I hope this helps a bit.


Thank you, that was helpful, I have a 4' leader with a 12/0 circle hook, on 80lb braid. and I will get some of the mono that you suggested


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## Gio (May 27, 2012)

Any time Pomp,
I have had a lot of people around here help me, when I have questions, and just want to pay it back. Let me know if you ever have questions and I will try to help.
Gio


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## Randall2point0 (Feb 11, 2011)

Wirelessly posted



Gio said:


> Hi Pomp,
> I would suggest that you have at least 2/3 of your line left after you cast/drop your bait. You will really want to work sharks to tire them out, and that consists of letting them take some runs. If you can get the line capacity you need with braid, just make sure you have a mono topshot of at least 50 yards. Since you are targeting and want to land smaller sharks, I think you would be fine with 50# line. Use a 140lb+ single strand steel leader around 36' if you will be casting, and a 9/0 to 12/0 hook, and you should be good to go.
> You will catch sharks with this setup. You will also lose sharks with this setup, but you will also lose them with really big rigs.
> I hope this helps a bit.


Why do you prefer a mono top shot, is it for the stretch? I just tie my Dacron straight to the steel...


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## Gio (May 27, 2012)

I like the mono for abrasion resistance. When you have a lot of line out your line tends to rub against the sand, and normally the mono does better then braid.
I don't know if the stretch would be helpful or not?


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## Randall2point0 (Feb 11, 2011)

Wirelessly posted

Have you had braid break on you before with out a top shot?


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## Gio (May 27, 2012)

Yes, and the braid around the break was frayed and "roughed up" looking.
I can't prove that it was abrasion from the sand, but when I did research, that seemed to be a pretty common problem. I even saw pics that looked a lot like what I saw with my line. 
I think for me, if it came down to mono or more line, I would go with more line.


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## Ugly 1 (Feb 8, 2013)

Randall2point0 said:


> Wirelessly posted
> 
> Have you had braid break on you before with out a top shot?


I have had multiple shark leaders lost in the gulf to braid over the last 6 months!! All good and tight for hours then your line goes limp and you reel in a piece of empty braid. Dacron works better than braid but mono seems to work best. Especially if your yakking bait out a ways from the beach. UGLY


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## PompNewbie (Oct 1, 2007)

For the Sharks/rays , I'm using 80lb braid, do I need anything stronger?

Thanks


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## johnf (Jan 20, 2012)

PompNewbie said:


> Ugly, The line I have on the SG8000 is only 30lb, would you suggest larger?


Check my threads in the surf fishing reports two large hammerheads on 30# cajun cat line. Also has a description of my set up.


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