Salmon sharks??

[J.Z 0]

Ok, i am going up to AK for the third time the summer of 09'. The first time, i used deep sea, and mostly went for halibut. 2nd, i just fly fished for salmon, and did some downrigging on my 8 wt. Now, i want to try salmon sharks, and halibut on my fly rod. I have some questions.

 

1. What weight fly rod do you need for salmon sharks?

2. Would 3 years of flyfishing experience be ok.

3. Should i be able to handle it, i will be 16 next summer.

4. Would topwater be best? When i saw them last time, we were in my buddies boat, and we got right in the middle of them. They were jumping like you couldn' beleive!

 

If you are not familiar with salmon sharks here is a link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salmon_shark

[kodiaksalmon 0]

Take the biggest friggin rod you have. I'd not go less than a 12, but I never want to be undergunned. I used my 13. Unless you're going to sight cast to them like Conway Bowman does makos and blues in San Diego, and you're going to target smaller fish, go heavy. Shark's are disproportionately strong compared to other fish. A 20 lb shark will swim faster and tougher than a 20 lb halibut or salmon or steelhead or muskie.

 

For the best method, it depends. What were they doing on the top when you saw them? Actively feeding on a bait ball? Basking? If they're feeding on a bait ball, you'll need a baitfish pattern to mimick it. Top water I suppose would be an option, but I'd go baitfish. Salmon sharks don't hunt baby ducks, mice and frogs; they hunt fish.

 

As far as age and experience, the shark doesn't care. If you know what you're doing, you know what you're doing. If you don't, you don't.

[kodiaksalmon 0]

I guess everything I said above presupposes that you know how to handle a shark boatside. A decent size halibut can break your arm if you don't know what you're doing, and a shark pup can put a hurtin' on you too if your head's not in the game.

 

Jeff

[day5 0]

What he said plus a 357 mag to end the battle DUDE ITS A FREKIN SHARK! THEY BITE!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Im just kidding on the shooting it thing so the fish protectionists can chill.

[nymph chucker 0]

a 357mag? :hyst: never heard about them does winchester make them? :hyst:

[JJD 0]

I did the Mako thing last summer and I've caught a number of big sharks on the flats (bull & lemon). My recommendation will be to set up a chum slick and cast to specific fish - target the smallest ones you can. They are very strong and have excellent stamina compared to some of the other fish you are likely to hook up there. The best shot would probably have you using a complete big game fly rig (~13-14 weight) with a reel that holds >400 yards of 50# GSP, The key is to always be applying maximum pressure to the fish. When I landed my small Mako, the drag setting was at a full 6 pounds for almost an hour.

 

If you are lucky enough to bring it boat side, I would shoot a quick picture of the fish in the water and break it off. No need to kill an apex predator. This is also the time where you need to be thinking clearly. Big sharks are VERY strong, even when you think that they are spent. On at least one occaission I've almost had a bull shark pull me off the deck of my flats boat into the water when it surged at boatside. On smaller sharks (<5') I use an AFTCO Tailer and a 2' version of the Ketchum Release that allows you to pop the fly loose from the mouth of toothy critters.

 

I've caught fish up to ~125# on a 10 weight. As noted above, however, if you can't pick the specific fish you probably need to plan for the worst case which would be a big one. A modest-sized fish in the low hundreds of pounds may take an hour or more to land, so your tackle and leader choices need to be well thought out.

 

Here is an excerpt from an e-mail I received from Capt. Scott Leon, a Big Game Captain out of San Diego. This is the set-up we used to Makos:

... for the backing at the arbor I use an arbor knot or a San Diego knot. I prefer nothing fancy or strong here because once the fish gets you that far (never had it happen -- not even close) I'd prefer he take the line and not rip the rod out of my hands. From the backing to the fly line I do a 70-turn Bimini and then double the Bimini over with a triple surgeon's knot. This creates two loops, not one. This is critical for GSP backing. One loop bites into and through the fly line otherwise. You can do all kinds of fancy connections at this point, including a Cat's Paw, but I like to be able to get in and change lines quickly when I need to and this keeps it simple. That double loop is connected loop-to-loop to a loop I create in the tail of the fly line. I create this loop using 4 (yes it's overkill, but if three work, 4 works better at this juncture) nail knots (speed nail, snell, whatever you want to call it) and then just to be anal , I whip finish the whole thing to make it smooth and then coat it with pliobond. Why? Because. You got enough crap to worry about just trying to put the fly in front of the fish, if I don't have to worry about my knots, then I'm better off. For the head of the line what I do (and I only do this on my big set ups) is to albright a piece of mono that is approximately the same diameter as the end of the fly line (usually around 80-pound test) and then cut it to about 2 feet or so and put a triple surgeon's in the end of the mono. That is the standing butt section. From here you just loop-to-loop your big game fly leader and fly set up, which I keep pre-rigged in a leader stretcher or a bag or whereever. My big game leader is more complex but again standard stuff. It is a 20-turn bimini 15 inches of class tippet, another 20-turn bimini, which is then huffnagled on to the shock tippet and then that is tied to the fly using a 3 turn clinch (plenty on big mono). The end opposite t he fly is a loose open loop formed by the bimini at this point. What I do to that end is twist the snot out of it until its so tight on my finger that it cuts the blood flow off, then, holding the end and right above the Bimini, I fold the twisted line back on itself so that it twists on itself all the way down to the bimini. Right above the bimini I do a surgeons knot. This creates that twisted butt section and if done correctly will leave a loop in the end for the loop-to-loop connection. For spooky fish I eliminate the bimini near the fly and either just do a huffnagle or a slim beauty knot to the shock. If I use wire I use a slim beauty to connect to the swivel on the wire shock -- no bimini here. Reason is you can't seat the bimini that close to the swivel, which elongates your shock. That shock cannot exceed 12 inches from the top of the knot to the eye of the hook.

 

As far as hooking a halibut - the potential for success probably will depend on the water depth and current. Again, your fly rod will be more of a fighting and lifting stick than a casting tool. I think that you'd probably have more luck hooking a shark.

 

Good Luck, be smart and be prepared!

 

John

 

[kodiaksalmon 0]

 

 

As far as hooking a halibut - the potential for success probably will depend on the water depth and current. Again, your fly rod will be more of a fighting and lifting stick than a casting tool. I think that you'd probably have more luck hooking a shark.

 

Good Luck, be smart and be prepared!

 

John

 

Excellent post all the way John.

 

But ah c'mon, halibut ain't that hard!!!

 

 

 

 

 

[J.Z 0]

These fish.... go crazy, the water isn't that clear, and they are eating full sized pink and silver salmon... I am looking at an orvis 14 weight tls right now...

[conehead 0]

I have been doing some research on kayak fishing, check out these samon sharks in AK.

Conehead PS: enjoy

 

Brave fishermen set a new world first when they went hunting for sharks using simple rods and paddling in kayaks.

 

The extreme sportsmen shunned the traditional idea of a peaceful day's fishing when they rowed into the freezing shark-infested waters off Alaska.

 

The daring team of four were surrounded by 200 to 300 salmon sharks which were up to nine feet long and weighed between 400 and 1,000 lbs.

 

They baited their Avet 50 reels with large pieces of salmon, and managed to catch four of the sharks during their intrepid expedition near Hinchinbrook Island.

 

Captain Christopher Mautino said: "Sharks were thrashing around in the near distance and we couldn't help but wonder what was in store.

"They attack salmon just like great whites attack seals.

 

"They thrash around and jump completely out of the water.

 

"It is quite violent and impressive to watch."

 

Describing the expedition in July he added: "As I dropped the salmon down, feelings of 'what am I doing?' came over me.

 

"I could see the sharks, which looked to be the same size as the kayaks."

 

The fishermen, who come from the American Ocean Kayak Fishing Team, spent an hour or more tackling each of the sharks they caught and reeling them in.

 

Two of the creatures were hauled in to the Prowler 13 kayaks and a further two were released again.

 

Mr Mautino added: "I intentionally kept the trip under wraps until everyone returned home in one piece - and we have.

 

"None of us knew what to expect since this was the first time we had fished together as a group as well as the first time a kayaker had fished for Salmon Sharks."

 

The team, which also included Allen Sansano, Chris Mautino and Allen Bushnell were taken by a Pacific Mountain Guides charter boat across Prince William Sound to the back of Hinchinbrook Island.

 

"We are all experienced anglers and kayakers so either as a whole or individually, we felt confident in our personal abilities and limits," said the captain.

 

"The sharks were concentrating on feeding on the Pink Salmon and I really don't think they gave us a second thought.

 

"We slow trolled the bait behind the kayaks with the rods laying across our laps.

 

"Our biggest concerns were staying upright in the kayaks and keeping from getting tangled up in the gear and pulled over as well.

 

"There were so many sharks thrashing around us it was crazy. Even while fighting these fish, others were crashing the surface only feet away."

 

The group's four sharks were thought to weigh between 375 and 350 pounds and were an average of 7ft 10ins in length.

 

"We all agreed that nobody caught the biggest one, and they were all relatively the same," said Mr Mautino.

 

"This has been my long term goal since coming to Alaska, and now its complete."

 

[kodiaksalmon 0]

I wonder if they released them.

 

No thanks. I'll fish from a Zodiac any day, but not a kayak for shark.

[J.Z 0]

That makes me feel alot more comfortable, if they can do it in a kayak, i might be able to do it in a 20 foot motorboat.

Thanks

[JSzymczyk 0]

So there I was, standing waist-deep near the mouth of American River on Kodiak when the very first Silvers were showing up.... The chum salmon had been in the river for a while already, and there were pinks too, in other words, lots of food. I had just released a real nice mirror-finish Silver complete with sea-lice, when there was a HUGE boil and disturbance in the pool within 20 feet of me- the surface was completely shattered and I could not see what caused this. I scrambled backwards to find the bank was a vertical four foot wall above the water, I was trapped and all I could think was the creature was a big salmon shark, and I smelled like a scared salmon. I was praying and trying not to crap my pants while slowly carefully quickly trying to find a way out of the water... and a big seal popped his head up fifteen feet from me, looked at me and made some sort of noise, then dove under and chased another pod of salmon past me. I was relieved for sure, because I never heard of a seal attacking anyone. I was still shook up enough to walk up above the first shallow riffle closer to the bridge though... Those salmon sharks just look mean.

 

Also I read a book while I was up there about when conditions are just right, halibut can be taken just below the surface on big streamers. It had a picture of a barn-door the author caught doing this, FROM SHORE, apparently at the right place and time they come to the surface following baitfish.