Add a Little Excitement to Your Fishing Agenda

By Capt. Peter Kane

Some of the best shark fishing can be found within a relatively short distance of the Connecticut and Rhode Island shorelines making it a day trip for anyone interested in pursuing them. One of my favorite spots lies just southeast of Block Island and on a clear day you can see the bluffs that stand out so well on the south shore. Often, I will make a day run from Clinton, Connecticut reaching the sharking grounds within three hours of my departure. Leaving at five in the morning will provide ample time to fish and still get me back before dark

Being twenty miles or so out of Block also offers the comfort of knowing if the weather gets foul you are within a quick reach of either Great Salt Pond or Old Harbor. Many prefer the Old Harbor over Great Salt Pond as it is closer to the village and seems to beckon more to the fishermen.

As a starting point you could select the "acid barge" south of the island designated on the charts as a submerged wreck with the label "Danger, Sulphuric Acid", the "Little Tails" or the "Mud Hole". Establishing a chum line in any of these regions is more than likely to attract sharks that make this part of the southern New England coast their home including blues and makos.

To deploy the chum try using a plastic milk crate with the frozen chum bucket inverted in it. Tie the chum bucket to the crate to prevent its loss if a wave lifts it free. Then hang it overboard, positioning it just above the water line of a wave trough. As waves slap against the inverted bucket it will agitate the frozen mixture just enough to release small amounts, resulting in a slow dispersal of this gastronomic delight. Plan on using at least two five gallon buckets on a days trip; perhaps more if the water temperature is well into the sixties as it will disperse more quickly.

In addition to the frozen chum from the bucket I like to chunk up mackerel and add it to the "soup" every now and then. If the seas are calm you can see the slick of the chum line for quite a distance. On one of my first sharking adventures I can recall seeing the dorsal fins and tails working the chum two hundred yards or more from the boat. This adds to the anticipation of a hook-up and keeps you focused on the baited lines.

Some of the more popular baits are live bluefish (if you can catch them on your way out), bluefish filets or whole mackeral. You can purchase flats of frozen mackeral at most bait shops along with buckets of frozen chum. It might be well to note that there is no sharking bait available on Block Island and it is best to purchase it prior to leaving for your trip.

Most conventional tackle will work for sharks and you do not have to spend a small fortune on those "gold" reels and four hundred dollar rods. Penn Senator and Shimano TLD are good reels and will hold sufficient line for sharking in the coastal waters. The reel model you choose should be capable of holding a least 500 yards of fifty pound test mono. I know of some who like to go to eighty pound test but that will limit your line length or increase the size capabilities of the reel you use (and the cost). Shakespear makes a nice stand up rod with all roller guides (model BWSU 1150130) that is reasonably priced. Matching this with the Penn Senator 9/0 will work just fine. I use the same rod but with the Shimano TLD 25. This limits my line to about 400 yards but I have never been spooled (yet).

Make certain your rod and reel are secured with a safety line in the rod holder. I recall a friend who got so excited when a mako took his bait and jumped that he almost lost the tackle overboard when pulling the rod from the holder to set the hook! When using fifty pound test line set the drag in the strike position fifteen to seventeen pounds - don't guess, use a scale.

It is advisable to use a double line at the end of the mono. This assures that you have that extra strength if the shark makes a rapid move when seeing the boat and the pull on the line is abrupt.

Simply pull about thirty feet of mono off the reel and loop in back securing it on itself with a bimini twist. You now have a large loop at which the terminal end will be attached to a snap swivel using an improved cinch knot.

The remainder of the terminal tackle is the most important. Sharks have skin that is abrasive and will easily cut through the mono. They also tend to wrap the line around themselves which is easily accomplished by a mako jumping. Wire leaders are used to minimize this risk and the key words here are long and strong. I would not use a leader any shorter than fourteen feet and would most likely go a bit longer. Use a 200 lb. test solid wire attached to your snap swivel with a haywire loop and to the hook with a haywire twist. Hooks should be large and strong enough to prevent them from breaking. Sizes ranging from 10/ to 12/0 are the most popular. Before putting any bait in the water you should wrap the snap swivel with a short piece of duct tape to prevent it from opening - better safe than sorry (which is a statement I will make frequently when sharking). Another method used often by shark fishermen employs the use of a braided wire attached to the swivel using a crimped loop on one end and a crimped connect to a snap swivel on the other. This allows for a shorter solid wire leader and greater flexibility on the leader rig. You can purchase thirty foot rolls of stainless forty-nine strand cable with a four hundred and eighty pound test at most tackle shops. If you use a ten-foot section of braided wire, then a four to six foot solid wire makes up the difference in total length.

I like to set four lines out; two are run up the outriggers to keep them away from the boat and are rigged with either styrofoam floats or balloons. Let these lines drift one hundred feet or more from the boat and keep them apart by varying their distance. Vary the depths of the bait by adjusting the position of the floats. One may be set at twenty feet, the other at forty. The other two lines run deeper without floats and are fished closer to the boat. These lines will stay with the current in the chum line.

Be prepared. Proper equipment must be organized and ready when a shark takes the bait. A gimbal fighting belt of good quality is a must. I prefer not to use a back harness as being attached to the rod and reel only increases your chance of "swimming with the fishes" and after attracting all these sharks to the boat with chum I really do not want to be in the water with them. Be patient! Enjoy the fight and do not be in a hurry to boat this fish. Wear him out so that when the time comes to tail him you can do so with a minimum of fight left in him.

There are many methods used to boat a shark but I like one suggested to me by one of the mates that works out of my marina. Once near the boat try to keep the fish on the surface. When you can control his movement you are at the point of tailing him. There are fish tailers that are made up of a coated steel cable loop on the end of a pole which allows you to cinch it around the tail or you can use a heavy line with a loop at both ends. Fashion a lasso at one end and work it down over the rod and line and over the sharks dorsal fin. Once in this position cinch it tight around the tail. The other loop should be cleated at the transom so you are now able to tail drag him through the water at five knots or so. At this time you can also make cuts in the gills with a sharp knife secured to a long handle which will bleed him. Never bring a live shark into the boat - remember, better safe than sorry. Make certain he is dead before boating him and once in the boat stay away from his head - even dead teeth are sharp.

Your chances of catching blue sharks are probably the greatest in the waters south of Block and unless you are in a tournament they should be released by simply cutting the leader once near the boat. Mako on the other hand are great eating and I generally boat any Mako over five feet.

There is a wealth of information about sharks and shark fishing that goes way beyond this article on the inter net at Capt. Tom's Guide to New England Sharks (www.newenglandsharks.com). Capt. Tom has developed one of the most comprehensive sites about sharks that I have ever come across and I would recommend it highly.

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Capt. Pete's Grilled Mako with Sautéed Vegetables and Saffron Rice

1. Fresh Mako Steak - 1" to 1 1/2' thick

2. Green Peppers, Onion, Small Yellow Squashs, Baby Zucchinis, Red Peppers, Tomato

3. Saffron Rice

4. Chicken broth

5. Virgin Olive Oil

6. Paul Prudhomme's Redfish Magic Seasoning

Prepare the rice as suggested on the package using chicken broth instead of water.

Slice the vegetables into large pieces, cutting the peppers into strips and squash into slices about a quarter inch thick. Sauté the vegetables in ½ cup of olive oil using a large fry pan with cover (they should steam as well), salt and pepper to taste. Prepare the Mako by rubbing it with olive oil and ample amounts of seasoning. Grill the steaks on a grill over high heat for about five minutes per side (do not overcook, it will dry out). Serve the vegetables over a bed of rice with the Mako steak.