Salty Fish

I was talking to Brian K and was telling him about my saltwateradventures down here in North Carolina. I used to be a pool 3 and 4 river rat with the likes of catdad and briank untill I moved here 4 1/2 years ago. I traded the jon boat in for a center console and had to get some reels with a littlemore lin capacity but thesefish below are what I’ve been getting into. I assume you cat guys are like me and like bigfish that pull hard so I thought you would appreciate these.A lot of the catfishing techniques and rigs I used on the river have comein pretty handy on the saltwater fish. The 1st pics are of a couple shark I caught…we caught 13 in a day and a half from 4-8ft long. Caught em drifting a channel in the sound free lining live pinfish (salt water bluegill) with a chum block tied tothe boat to draw them in. Talk about exciting a 6ft shark at the side of the boat with a mouthfull of teeth can be a hand full to get the hook back. The other fish are big red drum or redfish. Here in NC we have some of the bigges in the world. Late summer the biguns group together in the sound to feed heavily before heading out to the ocean forthe winter. You fish these guys just like channel cats 3-4oz bank sinker 6 in 80lb florocarbon leader to a 7/0+ hook with a chunk of fresh cut mullet. A big one will run some serious line off when it grabs it then some more once it realizes it’s hooked. You cat boys would love these!

Here is another drum from the same trip as the one above. This one was pushing 50lbs

That looks like a hoot Kevin!

So how does a person get a hook out of a toothy shark?

With a .22 rifle?

CAUTION BigTime I don’t know how similar those red fish are to sheepshead [fresh water drum] but here is an article that James Holst wrote about when they spawn. “Sheepshead facts learned… the hard way!” He goes on to tell how he got drenched by a 5 pounder, you would likely be drenched ten fold with a 50 pounder.
Those are some really interesting pictures of sharks caught on rod and reel. In 1990 I lived close to Philly, PA and did a little ocean fishing and crabbing. I really liked blue fish, black fish, and blue crabs. But none of that compares to what you are pulling in.

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So how does a person get a hook out of a toothy shark?

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He would ask you to get it out.
I would just cut the leader and let him have it.

Can you describe the tackle that you use to bring in a shark that size?

In my mind I always try tothinkwhat these saltwater fish compare to with their fresh watercousins and redfish alwaysstumpme. They are what I wouldimagineifyou couldbreeda big carp with a bass and a channel cat. They are shaped like a carp and make strong runs like them but x’s 10 the big ones love cut bait like a channel cat and the smaller ones 1-25 lbswe catch quite regualarly in the shallows on what is baisically bass fishing bait (spinnerbaits gulp etc). Brian to your question gettingthe hook out is pretty dicey!! I have a 12″ longhookout tool (that’swhat she said)and actually there are pretty tight restrictions on what sharks you can keep and sizes. Howeverthe blacktips in the pics are really good eating!!

Oh yeah as far as tackle for the sharks…big spinning reels work great with a bout 400 yds of line..I actually caught a couple on my old st croix classic cat rod and a abu 7000c3 that I used to catch flatheads with. I spool it up with 17lb mono to get more capacity then put on a 8- 10 shock leader of 80lb mono to keep them from tailwhipping the line and cutting it which they do quite often!

“We need a BIGGER boat!”

ha ha thats funny bit no lie we wera out on a windy day bac in July and we had 4 sharks literally surfing the waves in to our chum block..it was the coolest thingI have ever seen. 4 fins out of the water 15 ft from the boat….by the way in 5-6 ft of water…watch where you swim!

Thanks for sharing. Keep the pics and info coming. Great for us yankees who only dream about shark fishing.

Kevin, do you have any photo’s of them biting off your hand? You know, like on tv?

So when’s the best time to go after those toothy ones?

Shouldn’t it be called sharking, since a shark isn’t a fish. If so, careful. I was arrested once for sharking.

I was also going to say something about your snapper, but I realized drum, redfish is not the same as a snapper.

Pug? Have you been into last years apple cider?

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Pug? Have you been into last years apple cider?

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Are you kidding me? I am at work! Of course I am dipping into something mind altering.

I usually keep my hands as far away from their mouths as possible. I learned a standard needle nose pliers keepd your finger a little too close to the business end of the sharks. Once it heats up in the summer tends to be the best time Late July give or take. They like to follow the shrimp boats around too…makes it easy to find the sharks if you can find the shrimp boats. We catch them off the beach a lot too.That is fun. The challenge is finding way to get big baits far enough off the beach so the surf doesnt wash them in. We use balloons, kayaks to paddle baits out and I ve seen guy use kites but havent tried it my self yet.

Cool! All the adventures of night catfishing….with teeth!

No matter how hard I try avoiding getting cut releasing a pike, I always do. So I am fortunate that I don’t live by the ocean. Sweet pictures, keep them coming. And someone rename the thread to include salt water critters! No wait. Let’s keep it our secret.