# Cleaning Shark Jaws???



## hogginhank (Aug 9, 2005)

I am new to shark fishing and have only caught about 10 sharks so far. I just got back my Mako jaws from one of the Battalion Cheifs that I work with and he charged me $80 to clean them and set them. This was with a "Buddy Discount". I'm not sure if it is called " Bleaching" or what but I was wondering if there were any sites that tell you what % of peroxide and bleach to use when soaking them..or what ever folks use to help clean them...

I am all about catch and release and I have done that with over half of the sharks I have reeled in but I have a sharpnose set of jaws that my 7 year old just caught(his first shark) and I want to do them myself instead of paying some one else.. Any info would be great..Thanks in advance..


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## CAPSIZED (Aug 10, 2004)

I've done a few sets. First is the hard part, using a knife try and get as much meat off as you can. Next soak them in chlorox bleach, the rest of the meat should scrape off easily. Streatch them out on a board because they will tend to shrink. You can also spray them with clear laquer after they dry. The other ways to get the meat off is boiling or putting them in an ant hill. Both of those can damage the jaws if you are not careful. Good luck and cangrads on your sons first shark.


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## Aggie Chris (Jun 5, 2005)

I wouldn't recommend the boiling method. A friend tried to boil a set and it was a disaster...all the teeth fell out. Shark jaws without teeth are about as impressive as a 10 inch mullet mounted on the wall.


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## Jameyk (Dec 26, 2005)

Heres my method that I have always had success with:

:Cut off the head of the shark, place it a large pot with enough water to generously cover the head and bring it to a boil (salt or baking soda can be added to the water to help dissolve meat but not to much)
:I let the head boil for no more than 1 minute, then I remove the pot from the heat.( If you are doing it inside wait to take off the lid outsidethe house. I don't mind the shark smell but the rest of my family cant stand it.)
:Now you will want to have handy an oven sheet pan, a pair of tongs, a bucket of warm water, a filet knife, some rubber kitchen gloves and a piece of scrap wood
:With your tongs remove the head from the hot water( This is where I use the rubber gloves, because you need to work fast but dont burn yourself) and start taking off the large chunks of meat and separate the jaws from the head
:Once the jaws are removed the work is more detailed so i recommend doing it without gloves. Also the jaws will start to cool and dry very quickly. As they do this the will become incredibley sticky so use the bucket of warm water to make sure your hands and tools are always wet. Otherwise the jaws are teeth will stick to you and your knife and come apart
:So with the fillet carefully remove all pieces of meat, fat, and skin left on the jaws. Be very carefull when removing fat and skin near the teeth. The teeth are just being held in a layer of fat and will come out very easily. There is even a small layer of fat to remove on the back side of the jaw. This layer is covering all the rows and rows not yet being used by the animal, and the jaws wont look very good unless those teeth are exposed. (This section is very tricky and you will probably loose a few teeth, but dont worry he's got hundreds more).
: Now when the jaws are clean place them on your sheet pan using some scrap wood to prop up the center of the top and bottom jaws.(On sharks 2'-4' a 2"x2" works well. Sharks over 5' may require a 4"x4" or larger but just eyeball it)((Also if the corners of the jaws have come apart dont worry you can always glue them once they're dry))
:When the whole thing is positioned the way you like place it in an oven and bake it at just under 200 degrees untill the jaw is white and solid instead of traslucent. This could take a couple of hours, but if you prop the oven door open a crack or have an oven you can set at 100 to 150 degrees you can leave the jaws in there all day and not worry about them.
:When the jaws are done take them out of the oven and let them cool as they are. You may notice they are stuck to the pan or wood in some spots. Just apply some warm water to those areas and it should come off.

Good Luck
Jamey


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