# shark fishing @ Holden beach july3rd-12



## my308 (Feb 15, 2010)

ive been searching around online for rules and regs on shark fishing at holden beach. im not having any luck finding out anything... i want to try surf fishing for them, im new at this, so im not going to extreme. if any of you can point me in the rite direction as to the rules, gear and tackle it would be very helpful!

my gear so far...

i picked up a 6'6 ugly stik tiger rod

30-80 LB line rating, a penn 6/0 wide spool. this combo set me back about $225.00 ive spooled the reel with 500 yards of 65lb power pro. bought some rigs online 225lb 4ft steel leaders with 16/0 circles. i dunno if this is sufficent but im hoping to get into some 6ft blacktips or better 

as i said before im not fully aware of the rules this time of year for sharkfishing in nc. but i know in myrtle beach and horry county around july 4th NO WAY NO HOW!


also... kayak rentals for a week are $125.00... i can paddle out to 100+ yards an drop the bait.


bait ideas would be great also !


thanks guys!


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## Smally (Jan 16, 2009)

I'm not shark fisherman but I would think the best thing to do is have an extra rod & use it to catch small stuff & use whatever you can hook for bait. Aside from that I think alot of folks use barracuda for shark bait, I dunno if you can find any of that or not?

As for the 6'6 shakespear tiger rod... I've used a couple of those tiger rods, they were 6' & 7'. They were not heavy action rods, & they worked real good for catching small stuff from the pier & small stuff in the surf. But I would think you would want a longer rod for shark fishing from the beach & yak'in your baits out. Not to meantion maybe a better quality rod than that, as for the penn 6/0 I think that will do just fine. 

This advice is really only helpful if you are totally new to this & don't already know better. I'm not sure how much experience you have. Hopefully someone with some real knowledge will chime in & help out


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## Smally (Jan 16, 2009)

This isn't the best camerawork but here's a video of a shark rig. & this kid BlacktipH has lots of cool videos. I think he lives in Palm Beach & he's caught lots of nice sharks.


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## my308 (Feb 15, 2010)

thanks! yea ive spoken to him a few times about what gear an tackle to use.. he uses a penn open face reels, im not a fan of them.. but he catches nice fish.

as for the rod being to short... ive asked a few people and they said that the longer rod would take away my leverage and the shark would feel as if its pulling more... i assumed as you said longer rod would give me more power over the shark... but im fairly new to this.. thanks


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## cidman (Sep 10, 2007)

http://www.northcarolinasharkfishing.com/

http://www.tx-sharkfishing.com/shark-fishing/

might be of some help


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## CarolinaNemo (Dec 11, 2008)

my308 said:


> my gear so far...
> 
> i picked up a 6'6 ugly stik tiger rod
> 
> ...



The links magx posted are great. Go to the messageboard and start reading.

Good luck, let us know if you need anything else, and how the trip turns out!


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## medicdav66 (Sep 27, 2007)

What's this? Stingrays are great bait? I have never heard this before!


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## my308 (Feb 15, 2010)

awesome.. thanks guys, i just bought some 80lb mono gonna topshot it with 50yards or so. i will deff wait until dusk and most people are out of the water.i acutally have a deer shoulder from lastyear, has a little freezer burn, i was thinking about tryin it out. i know that once its at room temp.. there usually a bloody mess! i was also goin to fish the inlet behind the house were stayin at an using some croaker or whatever i catch. 

THANKS ALOT GUYS! ive been reading those forums up and down!!


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## ORF Pete (Sep 26, 2009)

Everything CarolinaNemo said is great advice. Please remember to be damn careful yaking out baits at night. Bring a two-way radio, have someone on shore helping you out, have them shine a spotlight out your way while you paddle out using a headlamp, wear a life vest, etc.

The general advice I've seen for when you're actively targeting decent size to large sharks is to size your bait for the sharks and size it to avoid unwanted fish. Larger baits sized too big for a skate or ray to pick up in it's mouth can help avoid those suckers. Tuna heads are an old-time favorite bait, along with any big fish head. Pretty much big pieces of any meat.


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## narfpoit (Jun 16, 2004)

my308 said:


> i acutally have a deer shoulder from lastyear, has a little freezer burn, i was thinking about tryin it out. i know that once its at room temp.. there usually a bloody mess!


IGFA rules don't allow the use of mammals as bait or chum when applying for records. Not that you are chasing a record shark but you never know when one will bite. I have caught all of my sharks on bait caught right where I am fishing usually nice big whiting. Also you want you leader to be double the length of the shark you expect to catch. And I have caught more sharks on mono leader than cable leader. If it is nylon coated cable the bigs one don't seem to care when it is in a big bait but smaller sharks will pick up mono leaders much quicker.


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## my308 (Feb 15, 2010)

yea im not really worried bout records and what not. whatever bait i can get ill try to use...i would like to catch some rays or blue fish... no idea what will be biting when im down there. i know croakers will be caught in the inlet behind out house.. but id like to catch a shark in the 6ft range... im 6'2 so something my size would be great!:fishing: i just want to make sure i have enough A$$ behind my reel incase a larger one take hold

so far ive spooled the 6/0 with 65lb power pro 500 yards, added top shot of 50 yards of 80lb mono. ill try the mono leaders, but i also have the steel leaders aswell.

can anybody tell me what size bait to use?? say a 6-10inch piece of ray or a good size croaker? i want to stay away from small sharks an those annoying dog sharks. i believe im goin to try an fish off the pier also, prob use a balloon rig with live bait.


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## CarolinaNemo (Dec 11, 2008)

my308 said:


> so far ive spooled the 6/0 with 65lb power pro 500 yards, added top shot of 50 yards of 80lb mono. ill try the mono leaders, but i also have the steel leaders aswell.
> 
> Is your reel full? I would have thought that it would hold more mono than that on top of the braid. Also, what knot did you use? As far as a mono bite leader, they can work, but he is probably talking about 400-500 lb mono. For yakked baits, I use 20-30' of 400 lb mono connected to about 5' of cable or #19 singlestrand.
> 
> ...


:fishing:


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## my308 (Feb 15, 2010)

i cant really afford to fill the spool rite now with more then 500yrds of braid. i can put more mono on there, but i doubt ill be fishing any farther out then 100-150 yards. the steel leaders i have are 5ft long an rated at 225lbs

as for hook sizes, i didnt want to use something to big, say a 20/0 unless it doesnt matter? if i fish off the pier ill use live bait,an smaller hooks so they cant assume im shark fishing, since we cant control exactly what hits out baits, i think hooking them an reeling them in close enough to cut the line would be fun for me off the pier.


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## Bigfisherman (Apr 22, 2005)

I was at Holden last year and if memory serves me correctly there is no shark fishing allowed on the pier.


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## CarolinaNemo (Dec 11, 2008)

my308 said:


> i cant really afford to fill the spool rite now with more then 500yrds of braid. i can put more mono on there, but i doubt ill be fishing any farther out then 100-150 yards. the steel leaders i have are 5ft long an rated at 225lbs
> 
> as for hook sizes, i didnt want to use something to big, say a 20/0 unless it doesnt matter? if i fish off the pier ill use live bait,an smaller hooks so they cant assume im shark fishing, since we cant control exactly what hits out baits, i think hooking them an reeling them in close enough to cut the line would be fun for me off the pier.


I wouldn't worry about more braid, what you have on there is plenty. Mono is cheap, and filling the reel is just a little more insurance if you do happen to hook a good one. You might be fine at 100-150 yards, but the water at Holden is a lot shallower than beaches further north. It may take a longer drop to reach deeper water. The 16/0 hooks should be fine, but like I said, just be careful about hooking the bait. I use 20/0 almost exclusively now, even on casted rigs. You would be suprised at how small of a shark can be hooked on a 20/0. If you do happen to fish the pier, instead of cutting your line, try to cut it off on a piling as close to the fish as possible. It won't be carrying around as much line that way. I would rather fish the beach than the pier, just less headache and I know the shark has a better survival chance if I can release it without trailing the hook and 5' of cable behind it.


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