Angling Publications - Index

Angling Publications - Magazine - Index

But sharks in skinny water will
deliver big kicks, and can be
fought year ‘round on the flats.
Under most conditions, you’ll
be targeting these toothy predators
from a boat, but wading
anglers can often get them into
range, as well. You’ll be sight
casting in three to five feet of
water, using a 10- to 12-weight
rod. You’ll need a reel with
a good drag, and the capacity
to hold a full fly line plus
200 to 250 yards of 30-pound
backing. Use a nine-foot leader
with a 50-pound butt section,
tapering to 30-pound, with a
20-pound class section, and an
eight-inch, coffee-colored stainless
steel “tippet.”
Attach the fly with a haywire
twist, then haywire a small
barrel swivel to the other end,
ready to tie in to the class section
with an improved clinch
knot. In this way you can
pre-rig enough flies for a day’s
fishing, then just tie new ones
to the class section as they get
chomped off!
Flies can be as simple or as
complex as you like. Ours are
mostly tied with Fish Hair—it’s
available in lots of colors, and
is fairly durable. We’ve had
success with orange, white, red
and white, blue and white, and
green and blue, all with Flashabou
added, and all on 4/0 and
5/0 very sharp hooks.
The first step in catching
sharks is to lure them into
casting range. They possess a
profoundly sensitive nose, so
we lure them in with scent.
Barracuda make a good scent
slick, and catching barracuda
for bait is nearly as much fun
as the shark campaign. Toss a
braided Fish Hair or topwater
fly to the many barracuda lurking
in potholes scattered across
the flats, and you’ll see what we
mean! Ladyfish are an acceptable
alternative if the barracuda
are scarce that day.
Hang the barracuda or
ladyfish from the boat on a
shark hook attached to several
feet of ¼-inch nylon rope, and
set your boat to drift with the
stronger of the wind or current.
It doesn’t usually take long for
The Man in the Brown Suit to
appear. One minute you’re
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