Shark Fishing in NC
It’s June, and it is hot and sticky out this morning when I arrive at the ramp. Gnats are trying to work their way into every opening I have in my clothing, and the wind is nonexistent, making the gnats even worse. As I am preparing the boat in the dark and getting everything in order, I am trying my best to imagine the fish that we are going to be targeting today: sharks. While North Carolina is known for many different species of fish, one that gets overlooked often is sharks. For the fishermen out there looking to test their strength, there are a few other fish that will provide the fight that a shark will, and they make excellent targets on fly as well as spinning gear. North Carolina has a plethora of sharks to target, but the most common include black tips and spinner sharks. We do have bull sharks, tiger sharks, and many others, but when you go shark fishing, the majority of what you catch will be black tips and spinners. Both sharks are excellent fighters, and the spinner shark is quite acrobatic during the fight, doing jumps and twirls as you try to reel them in (they are often mistaken for tarpon until further inspection). Both sharks can get into the large range, with black tips averaging around 5 feet and spinner sharks ranging around the 6 foot mark. Needless to say, these fish put up a great fight.
Ideling away from the ramp, I start to look for bait. After a conversation with my client a few days prior, it was evident that they wanted to bait fish, and they wanted to go after sharks in particular. Around the time the sharks show up in good numbers, so do the menhaden, and they provide a fantastic meal for a hungry shark. With about 45 minutes before my guests show up, I am on the hunt and using my ears to hear the menhaden "flick." When this bait is close to the surface, it creates a lot of noise in the form of flicks. Even if it’s only a flock here and there, most likely there are many, many more beneath. With one toss of my 10-foot cast net, the bait well is full, and we are set to go.
It’s a short ride from the ramp out to where the sharks live, and luckily for us, the ocean is slick and calm, providing the best opportunity to catch sharks in good numbers. Once at the spot, I put my trolling motor down and hit spot lock. Generally speaking, at the very most, I’ll fish four rods at once, but my go-to is a cork rig. I pin one menhaden to the cork rig and cast it out into the distance. I wait about 2 minutes to see if it gets hit; if not, I cast out another cork rig. If there are no bites in 10 minutes, I put down a bottom rig. If there are still no bites, I will generally move locations or even put out a flyer. On this particular day, within 2 minutes of the float being in the open water, I could see the float start to race around, which generally means one thing: I was trying to eat that bait. Shortly after, the cork disappears under the surface, and the rod doubles over. A steady zzzzzz zzzzzz zzzzzz is the telltale sign of a shark, and that is exactly what the reel was singing. After about 10 minutes, the 5-foot black tip makes its way boatside, and I thread my dehooker around the line, trace it down to the hook, and pop the fish free. While the fight was coming to an end, I had already cast out another float rig, and as this shark was coming boatside, the other rod doubled over, and as I looked up, I saw the fish fly out of the air doing twirls. Just a fantastic fish to target as they put on a show. After the third jump, the spinner shark spits the hook, a pretty common occurrence with any fish that gets acrobatic when hooked. Hours go by and more sharks are caught; eventually, the bite goes cold, and we head back to the ramp after 4 hours of arm endurance.
While bait fishing for sharks is a very good time, fly fishing for them provides a much greater challenge. Many times, when bait fishing, you cannot see the fish you are casting to. When fly fishing for sharks, you are really looking to see the fish so that you can present the fly in the right spot. We do this regularly, and there is a bit of science to it. Sharks really like commotion but are not the best at catching artificial baits. So what we like to do is bait and switch. One person (myself or the other angler on the boat if there are two anglers) will have a big popper with no hooks on it. When a shark is spotted, the person with the hookless lure makes a sound and starts popping. If and when it gets the shark's attention, the shark will start to follow the popper. Once in the distance of the fly fisherman, they will then present their fly as close as possible to the shark while the fisherman, with the hookless popper, tries to get the lure in as quickly as possible. This has resulted in more sharks being caught on fly than anything else.
Sharks can get a bad wrap since they are not typically eaten, bite your fish in half when reeling it in, etc., but these fish are incredibly strong. If you have ever held one, you would know they are pure muscle, and they barely have the word “give up” in their DNA. They are at the at the top of the food chain machines and act the part when they are on the end of your line.
While shark fishing ebbs and flows like any type of fishing, we do have a great shark fishery here in Wilmington, NC, and around Bald Head Island, Southport, Carolina Beach, Topsail, and Wrightsville Beach.
