# Sharking with floats?



## 348473 (Apr 12, 2017)

Anyone use floats? Seems like a pita. Looks good on paper but been my experience the simpler the better. Looking for shared experiences using floats for sharking from the sand. Benefits (or failed attempts) whichever and how you rig if you still do thanks. Quick background. Been yaking baits for the last 3-4 years. Nothing too serious but have had reels dumped and a decent shark on the beach with the normal 4-5 foot spinners and BTs. Enough success to keep us coming back. Stepped up from 9/0 to 12 and 14's this year. See how it goes.


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## jimj100 (Dec 1, 2012)

If there's no boat traffic, sure, give it a try, if u are getting cut offs. keeps u off the sand bar and should u get cut, u can go yak out and grab your rig. 

if the bar isn't cutting u off, and u get boats flying around chasing whatever, then why try it? I have quit using them altogether. I would just use a coke bottle filled with Great Stuff foam. clipped to the end of my leader.


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## IrishSharker (Jan 20, 2015)

I use em for my long drops, losing 700yards of braid a few times to smacks youâ€™ll wanna use em too! 30ft of sliding trace with two coastlock snaps . The one closer to the knot tie 5-12ft of 200lb mono(depending on drop depth and waves, bigger waves need longer section etc.) make sure to drop up current with good size weight to hold bait, line and now float. 


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## sharkinaggie07 (Oct 1, 2016)

We use floats quite a lot if the current isn't too bad. If things are really moving, leave the floats on the sand. They will be just another thing that tugs on your weight. All of ours are made out of weedeater line which is crimped to a light snap swivel. The float lines are attached to the heavy barrel swivel which connects the main line to the trace leader. I have found that the easiest way to prevent tangles is to attached the float line to the leader right before you drop the weight. Do not attach the float line on the sand or you will have a giant tangled mess by the time you are ready to drop the weight. I know plenty of people who use them to pull up weights and change out baits but we primarily use them to locate leaders if we get cut off. We have also found that it is a lot easier to paddle out to a leader and cut the main line off and paddle back in with the leader vs. breaking the weight and reeling the entire thing back in from the sand. 

-SA


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## IrishSharker (Jan 20, 2015)

sharkinaggie07 said:


> We use floats quite a lot if the current isn't too bad. If things are really moving, leave the floats on the sand. They will be just another thing that tugs on your weight. All of ours are made out of weedeater line which is crimped to a light snap swivel. The float lines are attached to the heavy barrel swivel which connects the main line to the trace leader. I have found that the easiest way to prevent tangles is to attached the float line to the leader right before you drop the weight. Do not attach the float line on the sand or you will have a giant tangled mess by the time you are ready to drop the weight. I know plenty of people who use them to pull up weights and change out baits but we primarily use them to locate leaders if we get cut off. We have also found that it is a lot easier to paddle out to a leader and cut the main line off and paddle back in with the leader vs. breaking the weight and reeling the entire thing back in from the sand.
> 
> -SA


X2 on deploying at the end.

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## jpdarby2 (Aug 17, 2016)

I typically use a float when fishing Matagorda and anything further south. This is because those beached usually have more shell and fishing a float helps limit your cut offs by keeping additional line off the sand and shell. I will also fish a float in summer when the Smacks show up and cut you off multiple times a day. As previously mentioned the float also helps in tracking down your rig if you get cut off (I read a story about how Ozolins got cut off while fighting a large shark at night so he paddled out with his headlamp, found the float, attached his main line back to the rig, paddled back to beach and landed a huge hammer) I attach a diagram of how I rig my shark floats. I increase the lengths for rougher conditions, deeper water, and bigger sharks. If anyone has a better way of doing it please let me know.


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## 348473 (Apr 12, 2017)

jpdarby2 said:


> I typically use a float when fishing Matagorda and anything further south. This is because those beached usually have more shell and fishing a float helps limit your cut offs by keeping additional line off the sand and shell. I will also fish a float in summer when the Smacks show up and cut you off multiple times a day. As previously mentioned the float also helps in tracking down your rig if you get cut off (I read a story about how Ozolins got cut off while fighting a large shark at night so he paddled out with his headlamp, found the float, attached his main line back to the rig, paddled back to beach and landed a huge hammer) I attach a diagram of how I rig my shark floats. I increase the lengths for rougher conditions, deeper water, and bigger sharks. If anyone has a better way of doing it please let me know.


Thanks the image helps alot. What do you use for floats?1/2 gal milk jug ok? Been using breakaway weights last year still ok to use a float?

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## jpdarby2 (Aug 17, 2016)

I use bullet floats but I've seen guys use chunks of Styrofoam. Call me a tree-hugger but I don't like to litter the ocean with random weights (That I will most likely get hung up on later) so I use an attached homemade spider weight made out of copper tubing and copper wire filled with lead. But use whatever works for you.


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## sharkchum (Feb 10, 2012)

Back when I use to shark fish I used floats for my long drops. The only down side was boats running the shore line when it was calm. The floats would keep more of your line out of the water and off the sand bars. The floats allowed you to change out your bait without having to reel in your line. Simply paddle out to your float with fresh bait, pull up the leader, swap bait, and drop it. The floats allowed you to retrieve your leader if your main line got cut. And on one occasion the float allowed me to not only retrieve my leader after my main line broke,but also the 6' bull shark that was attached to it.
I sold all my sharking gear years ago because my body just couldn't handle it anymore, besides I catch all the sharks I want from the shore on casting gear.
Now I have some young bucks hanging around that want me to show them how to catch sharks, so I'm restocking. I know people think you need 12/0, 14/0, or 16/0 size reels to catch big shark, but that's not true at all. I haven't carried anything bigger than a 4/0 wide to the beach in years and haven't had a problem. I just built a custom 6/0 with stainless gears and carbon drag that should handle anything on the Texas coast.
Your more then welcome to come tag along with me in Sargent if you want to see how it's done.
Hear are the new floats I just made up and how I rig them to my leaders. My float lines are only 4" to 6" long, that keeps the line farther out of the water and cuts down on tangles.


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## Weaselmender (Jun 21, 2016)

I have been using a 1' long section of pool noodle with a 8 oz egg weight stuffed just above the snap line that makes it float upright like a spar and easier to see. This way you can sort tangles easier and detect dragging weight. I have even been thinking about putting a swordfish strobe in the high end for night fishing, it would be 2cool to see a strobe running across the waves during a screaming run at night!
:mpd:


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## bluefin (Aug 16, 2005)

I'm looking at the diagrams (which are great by the way) and the thing that strikes me is there must be no way to cast those. Too many swivels and leaders attached. 
And how many sand bars are you crossing before putting out your baits? Is there a depth you're looking for?


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## 348473 (Apr 12, 2017)

bluefin said:


> I'm looking at the diagrams (which are great by the way) and the thing that strikes me is there must be no way to cast those. Too many swivels and leaders attached.
> And how many sand bars are you crossing before putting out your baits? Is there a depth you're looking for?


These setups are used for kayaking out and deploying baits. You don't need to drop that far except if you want to roast all day in the sun then seems deeper the better. Always have fresh bait out when the sunstarts getting low in the afternoon and in the am. Don't need to pull that far at all usually 2nd gut and drop on back end of 3rd . Which is good for me since back surgeries and hernia and cancer cutups. I m 42 and it's a real workout pulling 500 yards of line out there. Getting lazier the older I get , or body telling me to chill out. That's my limited experience after only 3+ years though.

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## sharkchum (Feb 10, 2012)

bluefin said:


> I'm looking at the diagrams (which are great by the way) and the thing that strikes me is there must be no way to cast those. Too many swivels and leaders attached.
> And how many sand bars are you crossing before putting out your baits? Is there a depth you're looking for?


There is no casting rigs like this. They have to be paddled out with a kayak, or in my case run out with a jet ski. Long leaders are a must for big sharks to keep them from tail whipping your line or their skin cutting you off when they get wrapped up. I've seen spinner sharks wrap up 15' of leader in a single jump.
Keep in mind that a sharks skin in made up of what are called dermal denticles, and are more like teeth than scales. Anything that comes into contact with their skin will be shredded, like with a belt sander with 40 grit paper.
The distance you drop your bait depends on many factors, how must line your reel holds, water depth, current, species targeted, or just a gut feeling. I like to drop mine about 50yds past the 3rd bar just because I have more luck there. In the spring when the sandbar sharks are around we drop between 500yds and 800yds. You don't have to be far out to catch nice sharks though, I catch plenty just casting into the second gut.


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## sharkinaggie07 (Oct 1, 2016)

sharkchum said:


> And on one occasion the float allowed me to not only retrieve my leader after my main line broke,but also the 6' bull shark that was attached to it.


We had a group of guys setup on about 200 yards of beach. We had already deployed around three lines that were holding nice behind the truck. We had a buddy deploy to the right of us and, shortly after dropping his bait, we noticed that his float seemed to be drifting into our spread. It was a pretty calm day so we thought his weight may have tangled in his leader which was causing it to bounce instead of dig in. We knew if he reeled in the rig, it would get tangled and take out at least half of our spread. I tell him that I am going to paddle out and cut his main line at the leader and I will bring the whole rig back in with me so that he can re-tie and redeploy his bait. I get out to the float and pull enough of the leader in the yak so that I can cut the main line. Right as I snip the line, I look behind me and see a five to six foot bull shark just hanging out behind the yak. My first thought was "Dang it, I bet that guy was checking out my friends bait. Well at least they are around!" I watch the shark disappear and didn't think much more about it until I noticed that the float line was exiting the yak at a pretty steady rate. I then realized that shark was actually hooked and was the reason the weight had been drifting. I had to tie the float line to my yak and paddle that shark back through the surf so that we could get him unhooked. Coming back over the bars was pretty interesting. He kept turning from side to side and every time he did, he would stop the forward progress of the yak. It was a crazy ride for sure. Get him back on the sand, popped the hook out, and sent him on his way. I know there is a picture of me in the kayak with a nice dorsal fin behind me somewhere but I can't seem to find it right now.

-SA


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