# Surf casting shark rig question



## billdawg (Nov 8, 2015)

Hey everyone,

I have landed plenty 3-4 foot sharks, but I am having some trouble landing ~6 foot sharks. I am talking about surf casting only, not yakking baits. I have lost my last 5 and it is very frustrating. The last one I had on was very close to being caught. I fought it for 20 minutes and it was close to the beach. I was using 65 lb braid with an 8 foot cable/heavy mono leader. The braid broke; I think the shark hit it with his tail. Not sure how this happened with an 8 foot leader. Maybe it was a bigger shark than I think, or maybe he turned weird and was able to hit the line with his tail somehow. 

Any suggestions on how I can prevent this from happening in the future? Should I use a heavy mono topshot after my cable/mono leader? My only concern there is casting it. Casting an 8 foot leader is already long enough. I personally feel like an 8 foot leader should be sufficient for 6 foot sharks, but let me know what you guys think. Maybe I'm wrong. 

Any suggestions on how to increase hookup rate in general? It also seems that losing sharks is just part of the deal, but I want to do everything I can to land them. Thanks.


----------



## MoganMan (Feb 24, 2013)

Cut down the wire/cable leader to maybe 2ft then have a heavy mono or weedwacker trace. They saying goes you want 2ft of leader for every 1ft of shark, i.e. 6ft shark=12ft leader. Just try and make your leader as long as possible while still being able to cast it effectively. Or get a kayak!


----------



## TNshark (Aug 9, 2015)

my casting leaders are about 2ft of wire or cable. Then heavy mono, I'm 5'9", I take the heavy mono from my foot to my hand over my head. That's the length I use. Leader is made hook, swivel, heavy mono, swivel, main line(braid). You'll lose big fish but it's all good, part of the game ya know


----------



## Chris V (Oct 18, 2007)

I tie a section of heavy mono straight to my main line to act as a wind-on leader and then use 2ft of wire/cable. I usually use 80lb mono as my shock leader on my casters if I'm tying line to line but if I want heavier, then I make short (8ft) wind on leaders with hollow core spectra loops to streamline and make them cast able. I've landed sharks to about 8ft using this rig.


----------



## billdawg (Nov 8, 2015)

Chris V said:


> I tie a section of heavy mono straight to my main line to act as a wind-on leader and then use 2ft of wire/cable. I usually use 80lb mono as my shock leader on my casters if I'm tying line to line but if I want heavier, then I make short (8ft) wind on leaders with hollow core spectra loops to streamline and make them cast able. I've landed sharks to about 8ft using this rig.


So what would be the total length of your rig using this setup? 10 feet? Thanks for the info.


----------



## Quackjn (Mar 10, 2014)

TNshark said:


> my casting leaders are about 2ft of wire or cable. Then heavy mono, I'm 5'9", I take the heavy mono from my foot to my hand over my head. That's the length I use. Leader is made hook, swivel, heavy mono, swivel, main line(braid). You'll lose big fish but it's all good, part of the game ya know


This. 100% this. The mono will give you some much needed stretch when using braid main line and will also do fine on the skin/tail of a shark. You *may* lose some during hookups from them inhaling the bait past the wire, but if you are using circle hooks (hoping that you are...) it shouldn't be an issue.


----------



## billdawg (Nov 8, 2015)

Thanks for the tips. Yes, I always use circle hooks. I think the main reason I lost fish during the hookup is because i tightened the drag right away and wasn't letting them get in their initial long run. Been a freshwater guy my whole life and the power of these big fish is something that takes a little getting used to.


----------



## Fishin Mortician (Sep 15, 2015)

I can see that, especially when you get a frisky devil on. I have managed a few and that first run still makes me nervous. LOL

Most sharks will do that, and then they will turn and you got them. If you have a lot on line out keep in mind that that increases the drag the fish feels, and thus the rig and line endures.

My rig uses about 18" of 90lb steel leader and about five feet of heavy mono, rigged as a FishFinder. Works for me on the five and six footers I like. Really don't want a ten footer anyways.

My setup combo is a Florida Surf Angler "BigUn", with a Fin-Nor Stealth 100 loaded with about 400 yards of 65lb PowerPro.

This setup makes short work of a shark if I do my part.... which is remain patient. LOL


----------



## Army_of_One (Jul 16, 2014)

Why use braid for shark fishing, especially casting, you're not going to use that much line?


----------



## ThaFish (Feb 27, 2013)

Army_of_One said:


> Why use braid for shark fishing, especially casting, you're not going to use that much line?


Not trying to be rude, but sometimes I don't see the point in answering questions that make zero sense. 

Ever hooked a shark before, or any decent sized fish for that matter? 

Line capacity bro.


----------



## billdawg (Nov 8, 2015)

Fishin Mortician said:


> I can see that, especially when you get a frisky devil on. I have managed a few and that first run still makes me nervous. LOL
> 
> Most sharks will do that, and then they will turn and you got them. If you have a lot on line out keep in mind that that increases the drag the fish feels, and thus the rig and line endures.
> 
> ...


Sounds similar to what I've been using. I have a Fin Nor with 65 lb braid too. I was using an 8 foot rig and the line broke, I think he hit it with his tail. Maybe he was bigger than I thought. Just wanted to make sure 5-6 foot sharks hitting the main line with their tail when hooked using an 8 foot rig isn't something thats going to happen all the time.


----------



## billdawg (Nov 8, 2015)

Army_of_One said:


> Why use braid for shark fishing, especially casting, you're not going to use that much line?


A 6 foot shark definitely makes long runs. You use a ton of line.


----------



## Army_of_One (Jul 16, 2014)

ThaFish said:


> Not trying to be rude, but sometimes I don't see the point in answering questions that make zero sense.
> 
> Ever hooked a shark before, or any decent sized fish for that matter?
> 
> Line capacity bro.


You're going to need all of that line capacity for all of the break offs from using braid, bro. You're awful condescending and presumptuous to be posting in the Q&A section. I would like to come out to your beach some time and watch you in action.


----------



## Army_of_One (Jul 16, 2014)

billdawg said:


> A 6 foot shark definitely makes long runs. You use a ton of line.


I realize that, but braid does not have the abrasion resistance that mono is going to have on sand bar peaks. Thus we're in a thread where break offs are happening, even though your leader was long enough...


----------



## ThaFish (Feb 27, 2013)

Army_of_One said:


> You're going to need all of that line capacity for all of the break offs from using braid, bro. You're awful condescending and presumptuous to be posting in the Q&A section. I would like to come out to your beach some time and watch you in action.


Please do feel free to come watch me bud. 

Ever heard of using a top shot? It's this incredible new invention that allows you to attach your choice of monofilament to your braid to (for the most part) eliminate the chances of your braid getting ruined/broken off due to the abrasion of the sand/shells. 

Works wonders. Learn the FG Knot & give it a shot sometime.


----------



## Army_of_One (Jul 16, 2014)

ThaFish said:


> Please do feel free to come watch me bud.
> 
> Ever heard of using a top shot? It's this incredible new invention that allows you to attach your choice of monofilament to your braid to (for the most part) eliminate the chances of your braid getting ruined/broken off due to the abrasion of the sand/shells.
> 
> Works wonders. Learn the FG Knot & give it a shot sometime.


Brah, how are you going to admit braid breaks from abrasion, then suggest that you use a topshot over braid. When the braid reaches the water you're in the same predicament no matter what kind of knot you use. Why waste money on braid if it's just for backing anyways then? How much topshot are you using, or are the reels in your pics just mono?


----------



## ThaFish (Feb 27, 2013)

Army_of_One said:


> Brah, how are you going to admit braid breaks from abrasion, then suggest that you use a topshot over braid. When the braid reaches the water you're in the same predicament no matter what kind of knot you use. Why waste money on braid if it's just for backing anyways then? How much topshot are you using, or are the reels in your pics just mono?


I think you need to take some time off from this thread & go do some reading on the subject of land based shark fishing. Sharksonthesand.com is a great place to start, there's a wealth of information there. 

Using braid as backing & a lengthy topshot of mono is commonplace in the sharking world. It's about as normal as throwing Gotcha Plugs at Spanish or using cigs for kings. I don't know anyone who doesn't do it. It allows for you to get the best of both worlds - capacity AND abrasion resistance, not to mention you also get the added bonus of the shock absorbency of the monofilament.

& to answer your question, the Daiwa 900H used to catch the 79" bull shark in the first picture is loaded with 600 yards of 100 lb. braid topped with 250 yards of 100 lb. Sufix Superior mono. & the Avet SX used to catch the 62.5" bull shark in the second photo is backed with 270 yards of 65 lb. braid & topped with 80 yards of 30 lb. Sufix Superior monofilament.


----------



## billdawg (Nov 8, 2015)

So it sounds like the consensus for casted baits, not kayaked baits, is to use a heavy mono/cable rig as long as possible but still able to cast, with either main line mono for higher abrasion resistance or braid for more line capacity. Seems like that choice is personal preference. 

Or to use the hollow core setup to allow for a topshot of mono connected to braid.


----------



## fishboy (Oct 6, 2007)

Braid for sure for main line, use either a proper loop to loop wind on leader or learn the FG knot and create your own top shot of 10-50+ feet. We use twice the length of the rod plus a minimum of 4 times around the spool to provide shock absorption when casting and it doubles as abrasion resistance against the fish and sand. Short wire or cable leader with proper size circle, use the freshest bait possible and hold on. We will be soaking baits this weekend if weather permits. Probably daytime though not the typical night trip


----------



## billdawg (Nov 8, 2015)

fishboy said:


> Braid for sure for main line, use either a proper loop to loop wind on leader or learn the FG knot and create your own top shot of 10-50+ feet. We use twice the length of the rod plus a minimum of 4 times around the spool to provide shock absorption when casting and it doubles as abrasion resistance against the fish and sand. Short wire or cable leader with proper size circle, use the freshest bait possible and hold on. We will be soaking baits this weekend if weather permits. Probably daytime though not the typical night trip


When using the FG knot to connect braid (say 65lb-80lb) to topshot of mono (say 30lb-50lb) do you have issues with the knot catching on the guides/eyelets while casting?


----------



## ThaFish (Feb 27, 2013)

billdawg said:


> When using the FG knot to connect braid (say 65lb-80lb) to topshot of mono (say 30lb-50lb) do you have issues with the knot catching on the guides/eyelets while casting?


I've never had that issue before. Be sure to trim your mono/flouro tag perfectly flush & then singe your braid tag & smash it down so that it's perfectly flush as well.


----------



## MK6GTI (Mar 26, 2016)

What's the best way to catch those smaller sharks?


----------

