Small Sharks

[wrip109]

Just spent the day catching sharks from 2 foot to 4 foot. Great sport on 2 kilo line. Is there a size limit for these? because they are just the right size for tea.

Seem to taste ok too, so I suppose they are edible?

I am a freshwater fisherman changing slowly to saltwater and I am still learning the rules.

Phil
(To be really honest the 4 foot one snapped me off in the end, just as I was trying to get it into the boat)

[oztrav]

there is no size limit or bag limit on bull sharks however dont go silly and yes they taste awesome have no bones my missus and i call them barrels of meat

[blaze]

do bull shark roll up the leader like the gummy and school shark do that we catch down south. the gummy and schoolie will very quickly roll up 4 foot of leader and with the abraisive skin they are soon free.
hope ya enjoy the feed
cheers
blaze

[wrip109]

Thanks guys! Now I can't wait to go again. I was using pillies but now I will start experimenting. Can you suggest anything better? Pilles are expensive and when sloppy just fall off the hooks. Liver maybe? Would I use somethings that looks really bloody? Or is the blood thing a myth? Would live bait be better?- I have a cast net and, when the wind is right, I can actually throw it somewhere in the intended direction.

They have really sharp teeth and I wonder about the kids playing in the water 500 meters away. Or even the men fishing in three foot of water, but 200 meters from the beach.(Long shallow sandbank). There is no way in the wide world I would think of going for a swim.

Never did figure out how to get a >= four foot shark into my 14 foot tinny; It would not have fitted into my esky and I think, If it was flapping about in the bottom of my boat, I would need to be somewhere else.

BTW I always eat what I take. I put the fish in vacuum bags, suck out the air and then date it before freezing. I have a freezer just for fish and, this way, it lasts for up to 5 years. Nothing gets wasted - I mince the left over frames for burley.

Never thought I would say it, but this is as good as catching Bass and I can keep enough to last until next time or cover the times when I come home empty handed.

Phil

[kingtin]

do bull shark roll up the leader like the gummy and school shark do that we catch down south. the gummy and schoolie will very quickly roll up 4 foot of leader and with the abraisive skin they are soon free.
hope ya enjoy the feed
cheers
blaze

Yeah, the bigger ones roll, particularly when they see the boat but the smaller ones seem to do more leaping and tail walking. When I used to target the bigger ones I used to use 5 metres of wire to lessen the effect of rolling or accidental tailing as the shark turns.

kev

[kingtin]

Hi Phil,

Nice to see that you are enjoying your sojourn away from bass and getting a feed to boot

With regards to the bigger ones. Once they're in your tinny then you sever their spine behind the head as quickly as you can. Don't bring 'em into the boat till you're sure that they're played out as the rolling and thrashing can give you some nasty grazes from their skin apart from the danger of flying objects from their thrashing. Like all fishing, but particularly with sharks and cobes, they sometimes fight more once they're in the boat so keep your decks clear of objects that can get sent flying. The bigger ones also hold higher levels of mercury but you'd have to eat 'em 7 days a week for a couple of years to come to any harm..........Still, better to play safe and stick to the smaller ones.

Bait.........yeah, livies are always better as this minimises the pickers and squid is an excellent bait too. If you find it too expensive, just search google for Brisbane and bait and you'll find a cheap source of bottle squid. I could give you the url but netiquette aside, I am loathe to advertise someone else's site here.

If you're in the Brizzy area, Mud holds a fair size population of shark as does out front of Redcliffe.

Have fun.

kev