# Sharks are Back



## fishing-guru

Went fishing this past saturday at bolivar peninsula and had a great time. I caught some good whiting and a 30 in. sand shark using cut mullet 40 yards off of second sanbar. I almost had another shark but it came to the surface and spit the hook. I will post a pic of the fish soon.


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## scuppersancho

how was the weed?


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## fishing-guru

the sea weed wasn't bad


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## big_zugie

Cool deal. I was out this past weekend just to lazy to put out a far rod. did catch plenty of whiting sheephead and even a flounder in the surf.


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## FishAddictEJ

What's ur shark set up? (reel and rod)


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## fishing-guru

My dad caught a flounder too, but for the set up question I used a abu garcia 6500 c3 baitcaster on a jarvis walker tuff tip rod. I used a 40 lb. leader i a made myself. I don't buy the premade ones because the rig works better if the hook line is double the length of the weight line.


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## JWS

Make sure youre up with your shark identification because sandbar sharks are illegal to keep and thats a big ticket from the game warden.


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## monkeyman1

amb will be around shortly, but isn't that a black tip?

i did notice that the green water was close in on saturday. but all that changed on sunday.


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## fishing-guru

what is a sandbar shark, is it an atlantic sharpnose?


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## Cylinder

Distance from eye to end of nose looks a little short to be an Atlantic Sharpnose


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## JWS

A sandbar is a type of shark. Theyre usually only around when the waters between 65-72. Generally mid March to early April. They get big. Real big. 7ft+. Atlantic sharpnose is a different type of shark. Theyre a small shark usually not found more the 3 1/2 to 4ft. Then you got the other 2 common sharks that are common here which are bulls and blacktips. Blacktips are called that because they have black tips on their fins. Youll see them up to about 6 1/2ft here, but generally people cant them in the 4-5ft range. Bulls are identified by their short nose. They have a short rounded nose as opposed to a longer pointed nose like the other sharks. Theyre the sharks known for most shark attacks and can be caught just about anywhere, including freshwater. They get up to 11ft but around here, theyre more common in the 5-6ft range as well. Every once in a while youll get a stray nurse shark, hammer, lemon, or tiger but they arent as common on the upper coast. Get on TPWD website and you can learn all about how to identify types of sharks and regulations, and then if you wanna learn alot about catching them, check out Tx-Sharkfishing.com. During the summer thats mainly what I fish for.


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## JWS

As far as the shark in your pic, it looks like a black tip, but I cant really see it very well.


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## 535

looks like dinner to me!

hard to tell by that pic but its definitely the time of the year to have blacktip pups in the surf

also, if you're gonna keep a little shark and its a legal species, make sure its 24" then gut/bleed it immediately after landing...


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## fishing-guru

why do you say to gut it and let it bleed after catching it?


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## rod dawg

fishing-guru said:


> why do you say to gut it and let it bleed after catching it?


the meat will smell like ammonia (****)...just google shark, urea, urinary system,...

like jc said bleed it, gut it and throw it on ice...

appears to be a blacktip pup...

here's a good link for shark id's
http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/Education/bioprofile2.htm


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## aggiemulletboy

fishing-guru said:


> what is a sandbar shark, is it an atlantic sharpnose?


Sandbars, black tips, sharpnose, spinners, etc. are all fairly similar in appearance. Print off this guide at the link below for you and your dad and take it fishing with you. Will make sure you keep the shark species you are allowed to keep, along with your outdoor annual from TPWD.

spo.nwr.*noaa*.gov/tr153.pdf


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## FishAddictEJ

What bait did u use to catch the shark?


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## waterwolf

*Yes they are*

caught and released 3ft bull. upper trinity bay
cut mullet


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## fishing-guru

I used cut mullet to catch the shark.


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## cwc

There was some people whom caught a 6 1/2' bull shark saturday night in Mitchells cut off whiting. Big heavy female they kept the thing. I told them they should let it go. They caught severalmore in the 50# range too.


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## cwc

I had one good run on sting ray. But must have been longer than my 6' leader cutme off after 20minutes.


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## spurgersalty

cwc said:


> There was some people whom caught a 6 1/2' bull shark saturday night in Mitchells cut off whiting. Big heavy female they kept the thing. I told them they should let it go. They caught severalmore in the 50# range too.


Is it illegal to keep bull sharks? And when Yall cut them to bleed them, where do you cut them? New to the shark fishing thing.


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## cwc

I know its illegal to keep them.Thats what Itold them. I dont keep any sharks I tag them and let go tofight another day. Just like to catch them.


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## spurgersalty

cwc said:


> I know its illegal to keep them.Thats what Itold them. I dont keep any sharks I tag them and let go tofight another day. Just like to catch them.


That's what I was asking was the legality, so obviously not. Good info thnx


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## cwc

Actually Bull sharks are not on the list of prohibited sharks. I just rechecked the list. I was thinking they was. But still they should have let that big girl go.


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## aggiemulletboy

cwc said:


> Actually Bull sharks are not on the list of prohibited sharks. I just rechecked the list. I was thinking they was. But still they should have let that big girl go.


Bulls have a larger minimum size than blacktips, bonnetheads, and sharpnose. I believe it is 64 inches, along with all sharks aside from the 3 listed beforehand that aren't on the prohibited list.


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## PasadenaMan

Wow, that's the fist time I see a shark being held by a boga grip. Cool pic


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## fabian31268

i think alot of folks should get some schooling on shark species and regulations on them . to many illegal sharks being taking because of lack of knowleg on them.


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## Fishin' Soldier

Yea bulls can be kept but they have to be 64" I believe. If you wanna keep a shark keep a 3-4' blacktip. They are the best eating. Bleed, gut, ice. Grills up real nice.


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## fishing-guru

is san luis pass any good for sharks?


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## JWS

San Luis Pass is excellent for sharks. Actually its excellent for all types of saltwater species. Ive seen just about everything out there from huge sharks, ling, kingfish, tarpon, tripletail, and all the usual species. Ill actually be there Saturday afternoon. Gonna kayak out a few baits and try to land a biggun. 

As far as what was being discussed further up, there is no reason to keep a 6 1/2ft bull. Yes, its legal, but its borderline unethical. If im gonna keep a shark, its gonna be a black tip in the 3-5ft range and thats only if I dont already have any in the freezer. Other than that, I always practice catch and release with sharks.


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## ZenDaddy

fishing-guru said:


> is san luis pass any good for sharks?


Caught this boy at the back side of the pass last summer. Trusty Penn Jigmaster. Middle of the day with the family in tow. Great fight. First and second time I've seen a bullshark jump like a spinner or blacktip.

Good news is I put her back. She could be waiting for you.


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## redhead fishin

When fishin slp do you fish in the pass itself or beachfront on Galveston or surfside?


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## JWS

Just depends. I usually fish the point where the beach meets the pass. Heres a good map of SLP that outlines where to fish there.


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## redhead fishin

Awesome map. Thanks a ton! That's what makes this board so great. Mucho greenies to ya!


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## Sea-Slug

Careful at SLP. Currents can go zero to rip instantly. Saw a man drug down over and over in knee deep water. Tired him out finally. I could not get to him. My buddy threw him a rope we had for tailrope and barely saved him. SLP kills lots of folks. Great place to fish but watch-learn-pay attention to the tides.


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## badbassb

just wondering what did you do with the shark after you brought him home???


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## fishing-guru

Fillet it and fry it up. You don't have to worry about bones because sharks just have a cartilage cord like thing as a backbone. Just make sure you have a good knife sharpener.


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## badbassb

fishing-guru said:


> Fillet it and fry it up. You don't have to worry about bones because sharks just have a cartilage cord like thing as a backbone. Just make sure you have a good knife sharpener.


lol thx


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## aggiemulletboy

fishing-guru said:


> Fillet it and fry it up. You don't have to worry about bones because sharks just have a cartilage cord like thing as a backbone. Just make sure you have a good knife sharpener.


Gotta remember to bleed it first though. Leave it in the ice chest all day and that urea in the blood starts to settle in the meat.


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## fishing-guru

I soak the meat in milk for an hour before frying it so you don't need to bleed it.


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## DRILHER

JWS said:


> Make sure youre up with your shark identification because sandbar sharks are illegal to keep and thats a big ticket from the game warden.


 Here's a Sandbar from 5-26. We released it


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## LandShark!

DRILHER said:


> Here's a Sandbar from 5-26. We released it


What year was it caught lol I don't remember it being that nice here in May this year


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## cutadre

spurgersalty said:


> Is it illegal to keep bull sharks? And when Yall cut them to bleed them, where do you cut them? New to the shark fishing thing.


cut em right below the tail on the bottom side, after they bleed out, throw on ice.. black tips can be really good to eat if you do them right!


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## cutadre

fishing-guru said:


> I soak the meat in milk for an hour before frying it so you don't need to bleed it.


the meat itself will taste better if you bleed them out rather than lettin the meat soak in blood for hours... milk works but try bleedin!


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## Paleo Dave

DRILHER said:


> Here's a Sandbar from 5-26. We released it


Nice fat shark, looks like fun!


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