Shark Fishing Baits

Shark Fishing - Organising The Day

Before moving onto baits and tactics, it’s perhaps worth touching on how I like to organise the day when sharking.  I’m now in my third year of this, with successful missions recorded in 2005 and 2006.  This year, however, to date in October 2007, not only have we blanked, but I am not aware of any porbeagle being caught on rod and line from the North East, despite there being a number of sightings.  You are fishing for what is in all likelihood a pretty scarce resource and certainly at times, sharking in these parts, can feel very much like the classic needle in a haystack scenario.

Personally, I share the majority of my sharking trips with only one other angler (John) and we have an agreement that we will take it in turns, as and when a run occurs. Further, we’ve agreed that a turn consists of a solid hook-up and a shark on for at least 5 minutes.  If it drops off after this time, we consider we’ve had our turn and it’s put down to bad luck. If the fish landed is a tope, (not that it’s happened to us yet) then we’ve already agreed that doesn’t count as a turn either!   Of course it’s not for me to tell others how to run their own trips, but if there are too many anglers on board on a shark mission, the odds of each individual connecting with a shark become increasingly dilute.  At the end of the day, how you choose to run things will most likely be budget led, but regardless of whether there are two or more of you in the party, I would suggest you sort out your own rules and an amicable pecking order well in advance.

Above: Malcolm Pitman With A shark Caught On His Boat Sea Spray At Whitby

Shark Fishing Chum (rubby dubby)

Ok, so that tackle and the boat rules sorted – what happens next?  First stop is to catch the bait.  From Whitby, this is normally a scoot out to the bell buoy – but how often does Murphy’s Law kick in?   “Should be no problem with mackerel on Friday, Rupe, it’s hooching with them”  – You’ve guessed it; you can’t find them on the day!   Anyway, before you even think about sharking you need mackerel and plenty of them.  We get through 3 fish boxes full on a day’s sharking.  Of these, only a handful of the freshest are used for hookbait, the rest are smashed up for chum.

Once you’re fishing, you’re aiming for the chum trail to provide a long, unbroken trail of scent and small particles.  On a calm sea, the oils from the chum will flatten the sea further and you can easily observe the trail snaking it’s way towards the horizon.  Chum can be dispensed via sacks or perforated buckets, if anything, the latter are probably easier and with sealed lids, they’re also gull proof!

I have heard of all sorts of concoctions going into chum and it’s not for me to discourage experimentation!  All I have ever used is a mixture of oily fish, bran and fish oil.   If we catch any billet or suchlike as we feather for mackerel, then they go in the mix too, but as they contain very little oil, I don’t think they are much good as chum on their own.

Catching sufficient baitfish, smashing them up, making the mix and replenishing the chum dispensers throughout the day requires a full team effort.  I’m a firm believer in working as hard as I can on this front, as I’m quite sure the better your chum trail, the better the chances of success are.

Bait My deadbait comprises of a whole fresh mackerel threaded via a long stainless bait needle onto the wire trace.  The trace wire is hidden within the bait itself and exits by the tail root.  I chop the tail fin off to help prevent the bait spinning.  The finished bait ends up with the hook point and bend coming out of the top of the bait just behind the head and the bait is fished upside down (head down) in the water.  Some people fish a double bait, but personally I’m happy with one mackerel providing it’s a decent sized one.  Hook baits should be as fresh as possible and I would rather fish a freshly caught coalfish or codling on the hook than a sun baked mackerel, even if it was caught earlier in the day.

To read More Please Click The Links Below

Article 1 – North East Shark Fishing

Article 2 – Shark Fishing Tackle

Article 3 – Organisation And Shark Fishing Bait.

Article 4 – Shark Fishing Techniques

Article 5 – The Future Of Shark Fishing