# Fernandina Beach - Shark Week?



## PullMyFinger (May 29, 2005)

Went out just past sunrise (6:30 a.m.), rigged up a pompano rig with some peeled frozen shrimp - salted to toughen it up -- and tossed it out to see what might come along. Also tossed out a second line with a fish finder rig & same bait.

Five small sharks later, I decided to pack it up and head back to the ranch. Looks like these were the only dudes interested in my salty, shrimpy offering. Caught two bonnetheads and three pointy-nosed devils. Spinner sharks? Baby sand sharks? Black tips? Not sure; they had black edges on dorsal and tail fins. Maybe one of you icthyological types can ID these for me.

After getting bored with the juvenile sharks, I spent awhile tossing out a DOA shrimp, a silver spoon, curly-tailed jig, all hoping to attract something else. No luck with the artificials today.

Does anybody have a favorite bait shop in Fernandina / Amelia Island? I'm new in town & only know of Hall's Beach Shop at the end of Sadler road. He's got frozen shrimp, sand fleas, etc., but I'd like to find someone who has fresh-dead (not frozen) shrimp. Live shrimp would be good, too. I've got the itch to get a kayak and get out on the water to try my luck eye-to-eye with the scaly critters.

Good luck out there!

PullMyFinger  
Yulee, FL


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## Bennie (Apr 10, 2004)

*Bait store*

Try the 14th street marina ,they should have live shrimp. Put 'em in a plastic bag,in the cooler. Much better bait for pomps. Water has gotten very warm and has slowed the fishin way down from last month. Bout the sharks, everyones catchin them now. They will go away in a few weeks and the whiting,pomps ,reds ,drum should return unless the water stays warm. Last summer it stayed cool all summer and we had a banner summer. Hope this helps. There is also a good bait shop at the fishin bridge at Nassau Sound .


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## PullMyFinger (May 29, 2005)

*Thanks*

Thanks for the tips on the bait shops, Bennie. I'll give 'em a try.


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## mojogator (Apr 18, 2005)

Sounds like a black tip shark.


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## PullMyFinger (May 29, 2005)

*Blacktip or spinner?*

That's what I thought, too. Did a little research on the net when I got back home. Turns out spinners and blacktips are very similar in appearance. Spinners have  a black tip on the anal fin; blacktips, curiously enough, do not have a black tip on the anal fin. Go figure.

At the time, I was concentrating on keeping my fingers out of his toothy mouth and wasn't paying particular attention to his nether regions... Not that it matters a whole heck of a lot. I was out to bring home some dinner & these guys weren't on my menu. They were fun to catch, though. They also tend to capture the attention of passers-by, much to the chagrin of the local tourist bureau, I imagine.

"Welcome to our beach! (now go back home...)"


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## rsieminski (Jun 13, 2005)

How do you salt the shrimp to make them tougher?


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## PullMyFinger (May 29, 2005)

*Salted Shrimp, Clams, etc.*

You'll see several other posts here about salting bait, usually clams. Use SEA salt, not the iodized table salt. I simply put the peeled shrimp in a ziplock, dumped a generous layer of salt, another layer of shrimp, more salt, etc. Use plenty of salt, you really can't use too much. Too little though, and you end up with a bag of gooey stuff with shrimp in it. :--| 

The salt pulls the moisture from the shrimp/clams and makes them more firm, almost like beef jerky.
The bait stays on the hook much longer, making it less vulnerable to bait stealers.

Keep in mind, this was the first time I tried this method with shrimp. Not sure if it affects the palatability for desirable fish species, as all I hooked up with on this day were small sharks.
I'll try it again, though.


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