# Sharks from shore on Sanibel?



## AFMan916

Hey look another question from the new guy! 

Looking to hook into some smaller sharks while I'm down on Sanibel. No yak, so will be casting from shore, but from what I've been told by some locals (guys @ The Bait Box) there are smaller 3'-5' sharks not too far off the beach, out past the first or second sandbar.

Since I'll be getting a rig pretty much just for this trip I don't want to break the bank. Currently thinking about the Okuma Avenger in the 50 or 65 size or a Daiwa Regal Plus in the 5000 or 5500 size and pairing it up with an appropriate Ugly Stik (trying to keep the rig ~$120).

Does this sound like a decent rig for smaller sharks? What should I use for mainline? Thinking 20-25# mono or 50-65# braid? Planning on using one of my smaller rigs to target ladyfish for bait, or worst-case scenario using some frozen threadfin from The Bait Box.

Any help greatly appreciated as usual! :fishing:


----------



## repair5343

That should do it, the sharks are mainly small Blacktips. 
But then again you may get a nice Bull.
Ask the B+T guys they wont steer you wrong thats there milk and hunny.


----------



## AFMan916

Thanks man, I appreciate the advice. Small blacktips would be fine by me, I'm still new enough that a shark is a shark and so be it haha.

What exactly do you mean by the B+T guys? I might be missing something haha.


----------



## repair5343

The local bait and tackle shops.


----------



## AFMan916

Haha ok that's what I thought I just wasn't sure. Yeah, The Bait Box is one of the first stops we make on the island....either that or Jerry's comes first, depends on how hungry we are!


----------



## SnookMook

AF--I'm not much help on the gear, but I do know that a great place to shark fish from shore on Sanibel/Captiva is just north or south of Blind Pass. 

They recently dredged out the pass again and is open and flowing again. Years ago I used to see good size sharks 3-7 feet caught near the pass from the beach.

Here's a shot of the pass from back in October.


----------



## AFMan916

Thanks SnookMook. And WOW, the pass looks great! Last I saw it was a barren desert...now that it's up and flowing again I might have to give it a try one day.

Aside from sharks, any tactics you can give me for fishing the pass? I'd imagine I'll need some more weight to get my bait on the bottom...what all can I expect to hook into at the pass in late May?


----------



## AquaHolic88

We fish at Fort Desoto for sharks and have been using an Okuma Avenger 55 and it's been working great. Haven't had one complaint yet and holds up great compared to my other.


----------



## SnookMook

AFMan916 said:


> Thanks SnookMook. And WOW, the pass looks great! Last I saw it was a barren desert...now that it's up and flowing again I might have to give it a try one day.
> 
> Aside from sharks, any tactics you can give me for fishing the pass? I'd imagine I'll need some more weight to get my bait on the bottom...what all can I expect to hook into at the pass in late May?


AF--Mangrove snapper should be thick around the pilings under the bridge. The first set of pilings actually in the water as you walk north over the bridge on the west side were loaded with snapper back in late October. 

That was toward the end of snapper season. The May full moon should bring them in big time and they should be stacked up on the pilings.

You'll need probably a 2 oz weight min to hold bottom when the current is flowing good. Maybe a 1 oz when not so strong. 

There may be some sheepies on the pilings too, but that could be crap shoot in the summer. 

There should also be some nice nice black drum from the bridge at night as well. 

Snook will be good along the jetty on the north side of the pass. Freelined shrimp, sardines with a small split will do the trick. 

Spoons and white bucktail jigs will catch them as well.

Don't over look the surf north just north of the jetty for redfish and big whiting as well. 

The surf on the south side always holds trout and mackerel as well.

That place is a fisherman's dream. I'm heading down there again third week of June. I'm usually down the week before Memorial Day, but my best buddy who I meet up with down there every year, had a schedule conflict this year. His kid is graduating from school.


----------



## AFMan916

SnookMook-

Once again, THANKS! In talking with the guys at the Bait Box I'm gathering that for the week I'll be down there (22-30, full moon on 27th) the best fishing will be at night. So I'm actually thinking of taking an evening (potentially the WHOLE evening into early morning) and heading up to Blind Pass to set up a shark rig and toss a few near the bridge while my shark bait soaks.

For a guy who ONLY wants the big dogs (species notwithstanding) what would you recommend at the pass? I've got my shark rig pretty down pat, so I'm ok with that, but when it comes to hooking into some of the other big ones any further recommendations?

I've got some redtail hawk bucktails that I plan on throwing (biggest ones are 2 oz) and I'll be castnetting while I'm down there so I should be good to go with pilchards/whitebait.

My whole thing is, fishing in FL is my time to hook into some BIG FISH. I catch my fair share of large bass and trout up here in PA, so when I go down there all that's going through my mind is "something big, something big, I don't care what it is but I want BIG!"

So, if you were going to the Pass for an evening, aside from staking out your shark rod, what would you be doing to try and hook into something big? I'll probably be limited to one full evening at the Pass, so I want to make sure I'm doing this right. :fishing:


----------



## SnookMook

AF--If you want big fish there at Blind Pass at night. You gotta think live bait. The biggest shrimp, sardines, or pinfish you can find. The shrimp of course at the bait shops. Go early and keep them in a bucket all day on air. That is what I do. 

Also a good choice is to sabiki small whiting off the beach in the trough. Everything will eat them and you can catch them right where you basically fish. Small pieces of shrimp tipped on the sabiki rig is a sure fire way to catch them.

Sardines can be cast netted off the beach and near the jetty. If you don't have net you can sometimes get them at the baitbox. If not sardines they will usually have pinfish. Once again you gotta go early.

You going to have to have at least a 2.5 gallon bucket, best being a 5 gallon and a good aerator to really fish for the big ones at night.

Trust me on this one. If you don't have live bait. Go with white buck tail jigs in the 1/2-3/4-1oz size. White and only white. The Gulf is different than the Atlantic. Another option is big bait fish imitation lures. Take your pick. MirrOlures, Bombers, Rapalas, etc.

This is only for night fishing. First light is a whole new ball game. 

At night though, I've not had much luck on artificials except for the bucktails and big baitfish imitation lures. 

Feel free to IM me, I'll shoot you my cell number. I


----------



## AFMan916

Sent you a PM SnookMook.


----------



## pierjunky

If you want big, you should target black drum. If they're there, a live crab placed against a piling should hook you up. And black drum can put a hurtin on you!


----------



## SnookMook

Pier--That's good advice on those crabs. I forgot about using them. Hell, you might even get a tarpon on a crab down there this time of year. About once a year during May/June I hook into a poon down there at either Blind Pass or Redfish Pass. 

The problem is, unless it's a juvi in the 25-45 lb range they are most likely going to spool you from shore.

My buddy hooked into one that was a triple digit fish, probably 135lbs at our best estimate the first morning we were down there about four years ago.

Needless to say that fish headed for Texas and never looked back. It spooled my buddy's reel which was loaded with brand new braid. He was jazzed to get a jump out of the fish, but nevertheless, ticked about losing his brand new braid. LOL


----------



## yogai

I haven't posted for a while on this site, but I just saw this thread so I'll chime in.

I was just in Sanibel for 2 weeks and fished from the lighthouse pier (like I always do) for a great deal of time. The mangrove snapper population has really thinned, but I saw several tarpon hookups, lots of snook, tons of mackerel, and a few redfish caught while I was there. Lots of ladyfish in the evenings. I managed to catch 3 blacktips 3-5 feet with mackerel as bait.

i'll be fishing down there for 2 weeks starting June 12th if any of you guys want to pm me. I've been fishing on that pier since i was 5 and thats the only reason i'm there any more.


----------



## SnookMook

yogai--You should really consider making the drive out to Bling Pass now that it's open, established, and flowing real good again.


----------

