Does anyone catch their own sharks?

sebae09

Member
how do you catch your own sharks what bait do you use location like from the peir or beach. time of day/night ?
 

vezina345

Member
IMO catching your own would place too much strees on the sharks plus the sharks you would catch would get too large for most aquariums.
The smaller coastal sharks in your state would be the Atlantic Sharpnose and the Bonnethead sharks. Both of them can commonly reach 3ft or more and would need alot of swimming room.
If you are going to do it I would use a barbless circle hook, but again I would not recommend it.
 

cgrant

Active Member
I have read that the problem with keeping sharks is they get big quick and that once they get that big they cant turn around in a normal aquarium.
So you would need a very large custom tank for something like you want to do.
I guess even the smallest of sharks get like 3 feet long, so you would probably need like a 10'x5' tank or maybe even bigger.
Maybe someone that actually has a shark will chime in?
But if you can have a tank of that size...I say go for it!
 

clown123

Active Member
i found a shark egg up here about a month ago it was still alive and i was gonna take it home but i was like theses things get WAY to big it was prob a sand shark!
 

mbrennan

Member
I've been surf fishing here along the beach between Daytona and St Augustine. It seems that many of the anglers are catching bonnetheads and sharpnose sharks from about 10" to 14" or so rather commonly. It must be breeding season. The water is to rough for a net so hook and line is probably the only way. If you were careful they shouldn't be too worse for the wear. You can drive on the beach in some areas so you can have your transport and life support system right there where you were fishing so that within seconds of being pulled out they could be settling in ready to go.
 

sebae09

Member
yea i will try that but i need help on bait and location? from the peir or off the beach?
Thanks for everyones advice. keep it coming.
 

madman33

Member
IM interested in this too im putting in a 5,000(about its alittle more) gallon aquarium in the home im having built that is going to be pretty much the back wall of the house and was just wondering the same things...I know i know i dont have the deminsions on hand but ill get em for you...any ideas of how to catch a full grown blacktip??? lol :p
 

sebae09

Member
MADMAN33 your tank sounds like its going to be awsome. i know alot about sharks and have alot of evperence with them but just not catching them. but if your intrested i can help you out with the things i know. If you have AOL instant messanger IM me @ amphiprion12 if not just talk back on here.
 

vezina345

Member
Live bait, mainly local baitfish 5"-7"will do the trick for sharpnose and blacktips. Again per my suggestion earlier use large circle hooks that way there is less chance of the sharks swallowing it. Gamakatsu make some really good wire circle hooks ( very sharp and strong ). For line I would suggest 50lbs or heavier, that way you don't "fight" the fish and it does not expend any more energy than needed. Also about 4' of steel leader, I use a brand called Seven Strand 90lb.
I still recommend any method other the hook and line but if your going to do it, do it right.
I apologize to anyone that is offended by my offering to help out in this but my intent is to have as little stress on the fish as possible in this particular situation.
 

clown123

Active Member
vezina i would go power pro though and just use a 30lb test its much more how can i say this lighter then mono and id prob use a 50lb wire leader for those sharks o and if there are bluefish down there BLEED EM it always attracts fish :cheer:
 

clown123

Active Member
o i also agree with those hooks u have but they take some time to get use to ive seen anglers drop a fish bc there hard to set the hook on the fish or something like that they said!
 

mbrennan

Member
If you are just fishing for 10 - 14 inchers just regular surf tackle with cut bait, squid or shrimp will do the trick, nothing very heavy. the anglers I've seen catch them are using pompano and whiting rigs. They are just babies ... no need to be heavy handed with them.
They have been catching them from the beach, pier fishing may be too stressful ... sharks don't have skeletons and their bodies (especially large sharks) have a tendancy to distort when hung by their mouths or tails.
The time of year is probably the critical thing ... right now these small sharks are running in the surf between Daytona and St Augustine and have been for the last month ... may be gone by next month. You don't catch them with every cast, but a friend of mine caught 2 or 3 in the space of an hour. Blacktip, Sharpnose and Bonet.
I was tempted to take some home myself, but don't really care to make that sort of investment in a hobby.
 

vezina345

Member
The main reason I suggested heavier gear than needed was to reduce the time of the fight that way the fish doesnot exhaust itself. I've caught them while trout fishing down here on 6lb line so I know light tackle will work just fine. for this prupose I'm thinking faster is better.
If there is a pier around that holds alot of fish you can also use a castnet to get the smaller ones. You do run the risk of damaging the net but it will be less stressful to the shark.
 

chipmaker

Active Member
Used to fish and catch them all the time, unfortunately the type and size we fished for were far from being suitable for anything other than marineland type aquariums. We do get some nice large scools of small new born hammer heads and sand sharks and conventinal tackle is more than adequate for taking them, with most any cut bait. A chunk of mullet or pin fish works well as does squid, or cigar minnows.
 

madman33

Member
hey sebae yeah i have AIM ill try to catch u on there sometime...im usually on at night due to working... btw mine is madman3333333333 (that should be 10 3's lol)
 
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