This winter I am going to Florida to fish the Gulf, around Cedar Key for Lemon sharks. I am looking for advice as to what to build. I am looking at a Rainshadow IMU 25-50 lb, FSU 30-50 lb Stand up, or a solid fiberglass. I like the FSU757 because it's only 2.75 oz. But the others are half the price. What do I need? Also will I want all rollers or just roller tip & stripper guide? And what size forgrip & butt grip is best? I'm new to sharks so I don't even know what line I'll need!
Thanks, Brian Althouse

I live in Tampa. Not sure how well you'll do as far north as Cedar Key for sharks in winter. Summer is much better for sharking, they like the warm water.

Lemon sharks you can get by with 30-50lb tackle, but I'd go heavier. This summer I caught bull sharks in Tampa bay that were tailwhipping 110 lb mono like nothing, as soon as I set the hook. This was using 15-20 foot leaders of 400lb mono with 2 foot of wire at the end.

I use stand up tackle, and found that the softer rods just didn't give me a good hook set on a shark screamin drag.

For blacktips- which are much more common, the rods you mentioned are about perfect.

Shark fishing in FL can range for a bunch of different species and it can be hard to pinpoint which one you are going to get.

Guides are personal preference. The roller stripper and tip only rods work fine, but I prefer to go complete roller or complete regular. For a 30-50 lb rod, Fuji SiC's or the new Amtack turbo's should be good options as well.

Here's a pic of the 466lb bull I caught by myself in Tampa bay in 9feet of water this summer. It was 9' long. Rod was a Japanese custom rod w/ Fuji SiC Turbo guides, reel a Duel 9/0 with 300lb spectra. This heavy tackle and I still lost two fish to broken lines earlier in the evening!

Phil

I build and use short 5' - 5 1/2' shark rods. The shorter dimension gives you better leverage than a longer rod. I like to cut the blank so I end up with about a #20 tip and cut the butt. This will usually produce a rod which progressively places the strain closer to the butt. As for guides the simplest is turbos. Rollers are cool looking but I've not seen an advantage. Also, with a large tip top you can wind the leader through the guide. As for line I would use 80 - 100# test mono. (let your new line trail the behind the boat on the way out to stretch the mono.) Use about a 12 - 15' leader of 500# mono tipped with 3' of 400# stranded cable. Use 20/0 circle hooks for easier catch and release. CAUTION - IF YOU ARE GAFFING THESE FISH ALWAYS GAF NEAR THE TAIL SECTION. MOUTH GAFFED SHARKS HAVE BEEN KNOWN TO LAUNCH THEMSELVES INTO THE BOAT CAUSING HAVOC AND DESTRUCTION.

The heavier gear serves 2 purposes: 1 - if you do get a really big shark you have the tackle to handle it. 2- the heavier gear makes for a shorter fight which is easier on the shark (if releasing) and the fisher.

Dear Brian Althouse - Cedar Key is the point on the Gulf of Mexico nearest Gainesville, FL, where I live. There may be a hush-hush fishery on the Gulf for sharks in our winter waters, but I am not familiar with it. And I've been paying attention for 25+ years.

In the Crystal River area, ~ 30 miles south of Cedar Key, the hot water discharge from the Crystal River Nuclear Power Plant may be what you were told about. There is a winter fishery there for the summer holdovers, and that can include near-shore grouper, and some tarpon or shark. But the water near Cedar Key per se will routinely get below 62 degrees Fahrenheit in winter, and that’s the end of the shark fishing until Spring. Right now (Nov. 12th), the sharking is essentially over now until April.

I have a friend who fishes at Cedar Key specifically for near-shore sharks and tarpon from a rental boat. He hasn’t had a shark in about 4 weeks, since before we had a cold-snap (upper 40’s F, low 50’s F for several nights) that signaled the shallow water baitfish (mullet, pinfish) to find water with more stable temperatures. Apparently, the sharks did the same, and moved back offshore and / or south. There’s not much expected for sharking that I am aware of until a warm March 2006 settles in. In March 2005, my friend Bill got his earliest shark ever, a 7-foot sandbar. He has fished C.K. hard for the last 5 years (10-20 trips each year), and only caught one lemon shark. He is originally from Miami, FL, and says that lemons tend to prefer really warm water. The mainstay of the summer shark fishery at Cedar Key is 2’-3’ black-tip sharks, with the occasional 4+ footer.

Here are some area contacts for the latest information on the saltwater fishing scene in the Cedar Key, FL area:

Gary Simpson The Tackle Box Gainesville, FL (352) 372-1791

Capt Paul Oliver FishBonz B&T Cedar Key, FL (352) 543-9292-(?) - Call 1-352-555-1212 for Directory Information if that's not it.

“TheWeekendAnglerOnLine.com” Telephone Call-In FW & SW Fishing RADIO Show Saturdays: 6am-8am WSKY-97.3FM Gainesville, FL (352) 380-0973

The Gainesville Sun Newspaper Friday’s Sports Section – Fishing
Gary Simpson Tim Tucker www.gainesvillesun.com

Brian, Check your facts independently before you stake too much cash on winter “lemons" in Cedar Key”. - IMO,-Good Luck. Sounds like a great rod you got planned.
–Cliff Hall, Gainesville, FL-USA+++ cmkmhall@ufl.edu

Thanks fellas, that pretty much answers all my questions. I can't believe how helpful this site is. A tribute to rodbuilders!