# Shark Fishing Crystal Beach maybe Bryan Beach



## Megalodon27 (Aug 5, 2015)

Do y'all have any advice on where to go shark fishing next weekend. I have tried Matagorda, Bryan Beach and Crystal beach and the water has been bad. Last weekend we had some luck in Crystal Beach but the sharks were a bit small and our 20/0 hooks were not hooking properly. Still we had about 8 runs between 1am and 3:30am. I'm looking for the monster sharks. The little ones hit our baits at about 200-300yrds out. I run another rod about 700yrds out hoping for that monster. Any advice would be good. I got zero runs at Bryan Beach and Matagorda during July. Water conditions seem to be better now.


----------



## aussieexpat (Jul 31, 2009)

Try High Island area of the beach, I have always had better luck along that stretch of beach than on Crystal beach.
600 to 700 yrds out


----------



## love2fish (May 22, 2004)

If you're looking for a "monster," Gorda may be your best bet on the northern end. While a few juvenile tigers and solid lemons are caught on the northern beaches every year, the majority of mature tigers, hammers and large bulls come from the southern beaches the likes of PINS and SPI. A great majority of summertime beasts are taken bwtween the Highbanks and Mansfield North jetty. The major issue that's being had is cold water upwellings that have plagued the area recently. Otherwise, soak large baits and waiting patiently is the name of the game when it comes to catching summertime "monsters." 

Food for thought: while I use circle hooks for 90% of all my fishing (and release 100% of sharks) even a 20/0 can be useless in anything but a ray. On a big jack or other finfish you rarely get the gap exposure to allow the circles to work. I've successfully released multiple larger sharks without issue by cutting the leader to anything that I couldn't immediately remove the hook.


----------



## Megalodon27 (Aug 5, 2015)

Outstanding advice love2fish, I hope to make it down to PINS or SPI this year maybe Sept. I'm worried about my trucks lack of 4x4 ability. Any suggestions north of Gorda that can produce some bigger sharks and the methods you use?


----------



## alka144 (May 4, 2010)

If you had that many runs and no hookups something is up. Those 20/0s will eventually connect to even pups. Can you send pics of how your baits are rigged? Also, a 16/0 circle will give you a lot better hookup rates for the typical 4-6 fters of the upper coast. The best 16/0s we have found are the 6x offset circles made by VMC. 75-90 percent hookup for us when you rig them right.


----------



## love2fish (May 22, 2004)

Megalodon27 said:


> Outstanding advice love2fish, I hope to make it down to PINS or SPI this year maybe Sept. I'm worried about my trucks lack of 4x4 ability. Any suggestions north of Gorda that can produce some bigger sharks and the methods you use?


Yeah the lack of 4x4 can inhibit you when hunting big sharks. Any beach (or bay system for that matter) could produce that monster your searching for. I would just say soak only the biggest baits you can get your hands on, preferably fresh. Even with a whole jack or big ray you'll have the deal with pesky 6' bulls and blacktips, but a lot less often than running whiting, mullet, skipjacks, etc. Back in the day this would be avoided by using those 4 ft'ers as bait. Just wait until you find the head of a 5'er that got hit when it couldn't unset your weight.

Alka144 is right in that if a circle hook is positioned right it should find its home. Your issue may simply be placements and/or the hook turning in on the bait. Some zip ties or nails can help considerably with this.


----------



## Megalodon27 (Aug 5, 2015)

That's great advice from you both. I use zip ties to hold the hook in place. Do you think its okay to use a 12/0 on the smaller sharks? Love2Fish when you going out to PINS next?


----------



## love2fish (May 22, 2004)

Megalodon27 said:


> That's great advice from you both. I use zip ties to hold the hook in place. Do you think its okay to use a 12/0 on the smaller sharks? Love2Fish when you going out to PINS next?


12/0 hook or reel? Hooks wise it is sufficient as long as it's exposed, which would probably only be accomplished by hooking a smaller bait through the lips or eyes (possibly a filet bait). In terms of reels, I'll never fault anyone for using heavy gear simply due to the fact that it means less stress on the shark. One thing I've always hated is seeing a bait that doesn't match the reel (i.e. a jack on a standard 6/0). Live release on big sharks is hard enough without having to deal with a fish that has all but killed itself in an overextended battle. Personally I'll never run a big bait on anything less than a 12/0 or 50W (with braid).


----------



## Megalodon27 (Aug 5, 2015)

Sorry I meant hooks, I wanted to drop down to try to better catch small sharks. I use a 14/0 peen for my reel. I'm probably going to get two more 12/0 reels. On the 14/0 I have 130lb braid at 600yrs spliced to 150lb mono at 600yrs on the 12/0 I want to run 400yrs 100lb braid to 400yrd 100lb mono.


----------



## alka144 (May 4, 2010)

Get rid of the zip ties. If you strap down a circle hook to where it can't rotate you won't hook much if any. If you are just starting out I would downsize your reels a bit and focus on the 4-7 footers. A 14/0 senator is way overkill for the upper coast in my opinion and is a pain to yak out in our scrappy conditions. 16/0 VMCs will catch 3-7 footers reliably, but once you get your groove going you will need to upgrade. 8 ft plus bulls can bend that hook.


----------



## Megalodon27 (Aug 5, 2015)

I used no zip ties and ray for bait caught two black tips, my friend used a live hard head and good a third black tip 8 runs total again. Should have had 5 sharks. Im thinking about going to Sargent next weekend. Hows the shark fishing out there?


----------

