sharks to the left of me.......

[phatdaddy]

Nice day, Charlie. That s what makes all the hassle of boating worth it.

[SkunkBoat]

They can be fun when you are tired of catching nothing.

Just be aware, to "target" sharks, even if you are releasing them-

You are required to have a HMS permit with Shark endorsement
you are required to use circle hooks

Dusky sharks and any other "ridgeback" sharks are protected, great whites are protected, Makos are now protected.

The only shark worth keeping to eat are Threshers. There a lot of them in close feeding on bunker and they get very big and are really fun to catch on a 50# class outfit


And hey, guy at my dock has been running up off Rockaway..Ambrose light area. 400# Bluefins are in that bunker. They had one on a spinning rod for 3 hours. he showed me cell phone video of them jumping clear out of the water crushing bunker schools.

[charlie_the_tuna]

yeah, there are bluefins inside 5 miles. i don't have the gear or the knowledge to go after them. as far as the sharks, we were rigged for bluefish so i think we're good. and as far as gear, 50# would have been a bit stout for the little sharks. we were using 8 pound fluke gear. they were pretty much having their way with us for about 15 minutes. when we got a hold of the leader it was all over. most every one was hooked right in the corner of the mouth. it was a quick twist of the pliers and they were gone.
G, the threshers follow the bunker along the shore every season. those are the breeders. their appearance is followed by a crapload of tiny little threshers everywhere. they babies have a habit of taking the fluke off your line and leaving half over.
yeah, threshers make excellent table fare. they slapped a moratorium on mako. honestly, i'd like to see a moratorium on most fish for a year or two.
as far as taking a fish for the grill, i rarely take anything from the ocean. i might keep a couple fluke, seabass or blackfish. i don't like to destroy fish. i take great satisfaction in watching them swim away.