# Aggresive Shark Question/Spearfishing Expertise Welcome



## rfh21 (May 17, 2012)

It's an inshore fishing question but spear fishing guys might be able to help me more than anything. We've been having a lot of very aggressive sharks messing with us while wade fishing. The fish are in a basket and about 10 feet away from us. They sit in a mesh laundry bag, don't thrash around and aren't bleeding for the most part. The sharks have no interest in us but we can't keep them off the fish. Despite stomping on the bottom and poking them with rods they come back over and over. 

Anyone have a better way to deter them? We haven't any close calls but they have grabbed the baskets and thrashed around ripping them to shreds. Could end up bad eventually.


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## Telum Pisces (Sep 27, 2007)

Fish hanging 10+ feet away from you will equal sharks taking your fish. When spearfishing, my buddies that would always hang their fish on a long line away from them would have their fish stolen and harassed by sharks. But I on the other hand keep my fish right on me and don't have a problem.


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## WhackUmStackUm (Jan 31, 2010)

I have a Shark Shield and it works well to keep the sharks away.


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## rfh21 (May 17, 2012)

I don't know if I'm quite brave enough to put the fish that close especially since we don't see them coming a lot of the time until they are right on us. 

What have you found the effective range is on the shield? Curious if you could get protection of multiple guys out of one unit


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## jhamilton226 (Oct 1, 2010)

It is different keeping your fish close when diving and spearfishing as opposed to wadding in shallow grasses...all your gear and bubbles make you seem more intimidating underwater so the sharks are less apt to get in close to take your catch...but wadding your just a pair of legs or lower torso, not much to make the sharks think twice about investigating your fish...I have the same problem wadding for mullet, but I do keep my fish within 5ft. of me in a drag bag and just keep my eyes scanning the water around me...I have been stalked a few times but they don't go after me or my fish and I think it is because I keep it semi-close to myself...its really hit or miss on how hungry the shark is, and also if it keeps happening in the same spot you might be in a bull sharks "territory" for the moment...they get very aggressive if they are trolling a specific area for a long period of time, might have some juveniles it is protecting or something else...just my two cents, try keeping em close at first and if that seems too sketchy get a float and cooler!  lol


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## rfh21 (May 17, 2012)

jham I think you are spot on that we are getting into a territory of a bull. One of the guys spotted a 7+ footer cruising but it never came near us. However, did have a shorter bull maybe 3-4' and 5' blacktip actually come in and check out the baskets. The bull was the one that attacked and wouldn't leave. I smacked the water one time on the black tip and it was gone.

It's become a pretty predictable pattern but it has never been like this in years of fishing the same areas. Every time the trout get hot the sharks roll in. They rarely touch our hooked fish that are thrashing all over but come straight for the floating baskets. And only the bulls hang around despite us doing everything we can to be intimidating.

We joke about getting some chain mail baskets and waders but it's getting close to being a real thing. I'm gonna bring a broom handle next time and see if hitting the water with something big will work better. Also if I can poke one with something a little more serious than a flexible rod tip. If that doesn't work we might start looking into shark shields. There is just nothing like wade fishing grass flats


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## missplaced_idahoan (Feb 2, 2013)

I would say rig a cooler to float, and maybe drill some holes in it if you wanna keep the fish alive


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## Ugly 1 (Feb 8, 2013)

I will gladly draggem and taggem for you! My 9/0 loves fighting big bulls and I will tell him to leave your fish alone when I let him go! UGLY


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## rfh21 (May 17, 2012)

Yeah we do use it as a culling system and this fishing in Mississippi so we can keep 15 trout so that'd have to be a stout cooler.

I've considered breaking out the big reels and having some fun one day, teach em a lesson.


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## missplaced_idahoan (Feb 2, 2013)

rfh21 said:


> Yeah we do use it as a culling system and this fishing in Mississippi so we can keep 15 trout so that'd have to be a stout cooler.
> 
> I've considered breaking out the big reels and having some fun one day, teach em a lesson.


where you at in Mississippi? I'm in Biloxi and I'm always looking for someone to fish with? I don't mind fishing alone but when you skunked it's better to have someone to blame it on. ;-)


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## rfh21 (May 17, 2012)

missplaced_idahoan said:


> where you at in Mississippi? I'm in Biloxi and I'm always looking for someone to fish with? I don't mind fishing alone but when you skunked it's better to have someone to blame it on. ;-)


I actually live in Daphne, work in Pensacola and fish in all three. I only have a kayak for my personal use but I'm lucky my future father-in-law likes to take me fishing. We pretty much always just wade fish the barrier islands.


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## missplaced_idahoan (Feb 2, 2013)

if you find yourself in Biloxi without anyone to fish with, I'll show you some super secret mediocre fishing spots


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## SaltFish (May 29, 2013)

I was on the west coast for a while, and heard about a study on great whites. The scientists concluded that when a great white gets scent of another great whites blood in the water, they high-tail it outta there, usually miles away... I don't know if this will work on bulls or blacktip, but maybe worth a try, just gotta land one or two


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## rfh21 (May 17, 2012)

Haha Idaho I'll keep it in kind. I'm originally from Gulfport and the best spots to fish without a boat are the inshore reefs all along front beach and the Gulfport Harbor piers. Check out bullnettlenews.com for a great forum. Everyone there is willing to offer help. 

I actually saw a piece during shark week on shark grenades. They got a bunch of species into a feeding frenzy and then threw a scent grenade loaded with dead shark. They all disappeared. I'm pretty sure I'm gonna take one of my big Penn's and try to get ahold of one. Then start hanging some dead shark from our baskets. We'll see if it really works.


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## missplaced_idahoan (Feb 2, 2013)

academy has plastic baskets, similar to laundry baskets with ~1/2" holes throughout the whole thing it's in the fishing sectio. if you put a piece of styrofoam around the top it would work great and it's big enough that 15trout would easily survive in there and no shark could get their mouth around it.


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## FC Medina24 (Mar 23, 2013)

Find a different spot lol only a mater of time until they wonder what a leg tastes like


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## bamachem (Oct 2, 2007)

Get you one of those electronic BBQ grill lighters that you push a button on for a spark. Those things pack quite a punch. Run a couple small wires down to your fish basket, securing the ends about 2" apart under water. The "charger" portion should be in a sealed plastic bag in your pocket. Use electrical tape to wrap up the bag if you have to in order to keep the water out. When a shark approaches, give the button a few pushes. The electrical current discharged through the water should screw with the shark's biometric sensory organs on it's snout to spook it off. Kinda like an electric fence around the garden for deer trying to get in.


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## rfh21 (May 17, 2012)

bamachem said:


> Get you one of those electronic BBQ grill lighters that you push a button on for a spark. Those things pack quite a punch. Run a couple small wires down to your fish basket, securing the ends about 2" apart under water. The "charger" portion should be in a sealed plastic bag in your pocket. Use electrical tape to wrap up the bag if you have to in order to keep the water out. When a shark approaches, give the button a few pushes. The electrical current discharged through the water should screw with the shark's biometric sensory organs on it's snout to spook it off. Kinda like an electric fence around the garden for deer trying to get in.


Creative and a little sadistic. I like it. Might have to look into some way of sending a little charge into the water.


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## lowprofile (Jan 6, 2013)

bamachem said:


> Get you one of those electronic BBQ grill lighters that you push a button on for a spark. Those things pack quite a punch. Run a couple small wires down to your fish basket, securing the ends about 2" apart under water. The "charger" portion should be in a sealed plastic bag in your pocket. Use electrical tape to wrap up the bag if you have to in order to keep the water out. When a shark approaches, give the button a few pushes. The electrical current discharged through the water should screw with the shark's biometric sensory organs on it's snout to spook it off. Kinda like an electric fence around the garden for deer trying to get in.


its a piezoelectric crystal. you shouldn't have to seal it. i'm not even going to take a guess if this will work or not, you guys can stress that thing all you want next to your legs then come tell us how it worked. :thumbsup:

what i would do is catch a black tip, clean it real quick and throw it on ice then hang the liver off my shorts while wading. shark repellent.


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## no woryz (Oct 2, 2007)

While we come across sharks on almost every dive now its very different from what you are describing by wade fishing..... Sharks come to us when spearfishing looking for an opportunistic meal and rarely engage divers.....I am told we are viewed as a apex predator's to most sharks.... I don't know how true but it fits 95% of our shark encounters... However, sharks aggressively feed in the shallow waters where you are wade fishing and you may be more perceived as a meal or bitten in a frenzy for food..... very different scenario.... it sucks but that's how it is..... most all shark attacks occur in the surf or shallow's..... good luck and perhaps the shark shield would be a good idea.... I've sure been thinking about getting one...


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## rfh21 (May 17, 2012)

lowprofile said:


> I'm not even going to take a guess if this will work or not, you guys can stress that thing all you want next to your legs then come tell us how it worked. :thumbsup:


Pretty good point, piss off a shark 10' from leg and see what happens, might not be the best plan. I'm thinking catching one and using it's scent to deter the others is gonna be the best thing to try if it keeps up.



no woryz said:


> While we come across sharks on almost every dive now its very different from what you are describing by wade fishing..... Sharks come to us when spearfishing looking for an opportunistic meal and rarely engage divers.....I am told we are viewed as a apex predator's to most sharks.... I don't know how true but it fits 95% of our shark encounters... However, sharks aggressively feed in the shallow waters where you are wade fishing and you may be more perceived as a meal or bitten in a frenzy for food..... very different scenario.... it sucks but that's how it is..... most all shark attacks occur in the surf or shallow's..... good luck and perhaps the shark shield would be a good idea.... I've sure been thinking about getting one...


I will say the only time I have ever actually been scared by the shark is when they are feeding like you mentioned in the shallows. It was more the mullet that ran straight at my legs away from the shark right behind it. Mullet ended up turning back around and I got a close up look at a shark thrashing a fish. I know if he had hit me then it would have been an accident but I still didn't like it. 

I believe the sharks have begun to see us as a food source, two legs and a floaty thing equals easy dinner. So far they haven't shown any aggression towards us but don't want them to make a mistake.


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## lowprofile (Jan 6, 2013)

rfh21 said:


> Pretty good point, piss off a shark 10' from leg and see what happens, might not be the best plan. I'm thinking catching one and using it's scent to deter the others is gonna be the best thing to try if it keeps up.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


just be careful, bulls eat spinners, black tips and sharp nose. so it will scare away the smaller guys but if there's a bull around it will come investigate.


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## rfh21 (May 17, 2012)

lowprofile said:


> just be careful, bulls eat spinners, black tips and sharp nose. so it will scare away the smaller guys but if there's a bull around it will come investigate.


What about using a bull to deter bulls? I'm not really worried about any of the others. A 5' black tip could do some serious damage but we've seen 7' bulls, they kill.


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## lowprofile (Jan 6, 2013)

pretty sure a bull wouldn't care. bulls don't have many predators. when they are small they are preyed on by larger bulls, tigers and hammers, so the scent of a dead bull might scare away smaller bulls but anything over 6ft will investigate. black tips, spinners and sharp nose are a food fish for many large sharks and they know it. if they get wind of a another dead shark in the area they don't want any part of what killed it and split.


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## Kim (Aug 5, 2008)

There is a sure fire way to keep those pesky sharks off of you while wade fishing. First thing is always fish with a buddy with a name something like Gomer, Tell Gomer that the pork chop you are tying to his calf will repel sharks so you guys can fish in peace and don't forget to take life insurance policy out on Gomer with yourself named as beneficiary.


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