you have 4 problems # 1 casting rod for bait , # 2 you need a fighting rod , [not same as casting rod] # 3 a reel to hold all the line [BIG SPOOL] # 4 need a big spike to tie you too when he runs, to get the bait out use a KITE, BALLON, or a RC modle plane { need a 2nd person to fly it ] good luck let us know how it works out for you

Bill

Charles, is your customer the guy that fishes Lower Matacumbe Islamorada at about mile marker 74 just north of Ann's beach? If not there is a guy there that fishes big sharks and always draws a crowd. The bull shark that I saw him catch was 8 or 9 ft. long. I had been wade fishing for bone fish there a couple days before kinda gave me the willies. He fishes mostly at night and it is not unsual to see him fighting a fish late morning.

As a Michigan guy fishing mostly small inland lakes I am really enjoying reading this post.

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Super Tight Lines......Don

Don't know how heavy the fish was, but we caught a huge great white using the entrance buoy to USCG Johnston Island Loran Station as the bobber. Not so sure I would have wanted to be on the end of that tussle, the buoy took a serious lik'en for quite some time.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/24/2011 10:14AM by Spencer Phipps.

Hi Kevin, His name is Justin, he does fish that area quite a bit, and I've fished that area with him a few times.

That is his stomping grounds, he drives a blue chevy pickup truck now-a-days. I wouldn't be surprised at all if it was him.

We have pulled numerous bulls off those flats, and just a little further south, between "bud and marry's and "Robbies" where you hand feed the tarpon, we get big hammerheads in excess of 10 feet, around the bridge. I don't swim there anymore!

Long rods are only a problem if you keep the tip UP when fighting the sharks. Point it at the shark while fighting and the leverage problem starts to go away.
Closer in raise it for last minute surge absorption/wave action and head of fish control.
Wear a fishing belt always for the butt of the rod or you can literally die from internal organ damage. 500 Lbs of bull shark, 12 ft of rod tip and 18 inches from reel to butt and you are in very serious danger if things go wrong.
Kites are your friend for getting baits out from rocks where there is wind. As are balloons with lifesaver candy melt away tie on rings. Great in a rip current, plus where the shark would expect food to be.
Sliding your bait out to your pre-cast weight also helps with distance casting if you cannot slide or kite the bait out. You can slide a whole blue fish out way farther than you could ever cast it.
I fished for raggies ( sand tiger?), cow shark, bulls, giant rays and skates back in South Africa on 13.5 ft rods and never had a leverage problem from too long a rod.
All from a rock or beach position.
OK plus i was 20 years younger!
Cheap nylon line is your friend here as a leader, it stretches and takes the place of you rod tip to a degree as a shock absorber. After first few runs crank down the drag, point the rod AT the fish and you will be amazed at how fast you get that shark out.
Oh and the blanks were all New Zealand made, cannot recall the make.

I fish down in the Florida Keys on occasion. In the daytime we fish for small Snapper, Grouper, and Sea Trout with the same custom popping rods I make for bass.

At night, I'll throw a small 3.5" - 4" live bait out on a balloon for small sharks and tarpon. I use a 25lb. rod and a 5000 size spinning reel. We catch sharks up to 5' long. Every now and then, a big one will hit and spool the reel and just keep on going. If it's too big, I don't want to see it, LOL! Pulling in cars is just not my style of fishing, LOL!