Everyone will probably agree that doing the same thing over and over again gets old. Sometimes a new challenge is what is needed to get the juices flowing again. This is the mindset of the fishermen who leave the small fishes for the kids to hunt and turn to face a greater challenge: the shark. Though sharks do not provide much in the way of "fine dining", the hunt itself is rewarding enough because of the extreme challenge it presents. Fishermen love the challenge of attempting to reel in a giant fish, especially the king of all water animals, Great White sharks.
In order to have any success with the big Whites, you will need some good tackle. More specifically, heavy duty fishing line and a solid pole. Once you have the right equipment, you can set up shop on the beach and cast out past the breakers or drop line from your boat. For bait, you can use anything from whole bluefish to chunks of mullet. Sharks will pretty much eat anything that moves in the water.
Many fishermen argue that the most important aspect of baiting these monsters is the properly using chum. This is a bucket or bag that is filled with either ground up bunker or ground up mackerel. You can either poke holes in the tin that the chum comes in or use a bag that is made specifically for chum. You then drag this in the water beside your boat and just wait to the sharks to come! They will be drawn immediately by the smell and may even attack the container!
Shark fishing is not just for personal satisfaction. There are competitions all over the world where you can compete with other fishermen for the biggest and heaviest shark. These competitions are generally inexpensive and easy to enter. There is normally a cash prize given away to winners of different categories. Sometimes this prize is as high as $10,000! For these competitions, there is often a minimum boat length to be sure of safety, but other than that, anyone can enter and have a chance to win!
The biggest shark that was ever caught by humans on purpose was about 2,664 pounds and was caught back in April of 1959. This Great White shark beat the old record for the heaviest caught shark by a whopping 1,596 pounds! Alf Dean, the man who caught this shark, used a porpoise as his bait. This technique is now illegal. Attempting to beat this world record is a great source of inspiration and competition for shark fishermen all over the world.
If you're going to fish for large sharks, it's best done in sport fishing boats!
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