If someone would tell you - i'll pay you $2,000 to make me a rod that can handle a 1,500lbs shark from land - meaning - no option to chase the shark with a boat - what would be your answer on that?

A potato gun to launch the bait on a steel cable attached to a winch on the front of a truck. After the shark swims off with the bait, flip the switch on the winch, and hope that the winch wins.

I look forward to the responses on this one :)

Joe

Hi Boghy,
There was an Aussie guy in Newcastle landing a lot of big White Pointers off Stockton Beach. Got no idea what sort of rod he was using but it was a 130lb game rod and he had a game chair set up on the front of a four wheel drive. They used a surf ski to take the baits out and he landed quite a few very large pointers before he got banned from doing it.

ESFNEM Col
Port Kembla, NSW
Australia

Hello Boghy

Seeker IGFA130 5'10" 130+ line tip: 29, butt: 1.180. an American Tackle SB6 3piece butt. Aftco wire roller guides,a veerryy large reel, a lot of wire, a big hook, a lot of rope and a big tree to tie yourself to.
Oh yea a large road kill animal(or half a cow) for bait.

Good Luck?!

Bob,

New Bern, NC.

Joe,

That is a hillarious answer.


Bill

Ohio Rod Builders

Canton, Ohio

Hands down, Calstar IGFA 130 or the 180 full length with 6 rollers.

Take a look at my website. Thats pretty what much I build for.

Kevin

www.anglersenvy.com

How would you get the bait out there, sans surf ski?

Joe's answer appears to have the best chance of success!

Yup, getting the bait out there and fighting the fish are at odds. For one you want a longer rod and for one you want a shorter rod. All the surf stuff I see leans towards a longer rod than what one would choose for a boat for the same fish.

In my area some have used radio controlled boats to send the baits out.

Personally I would go a little longer and lighter on the rod and go with a lot of line on the reel. I want the line/rod to absorb shock and keep a tight line as the waves and the fish moves. These days you could get about 2 miles of 130# JB hollow on an 80 wide two speed.

Russ in Hollywood, FL.

How about the one like the guy on ther movie Jaws?

This oddball stuff fascinates me. Here's a weird idea that just popped into my head:

Build two rods: one for casting, one for fish fighting. For casting, use a 12- or 13-foot high-tech surf blank, like the stuff from CTS or Century. Match it with a real that can really cast, like the Daiwa Emblem Pro or the Penn Squall if you prefer convench. Line capacity is not hugely important, because this reel will be casting, not fighting the fish. Use whatever gauge braided fishing line you think is needed to fight the fish (80 lb.?). Configure the rod the way distance casters do, with everything set up for casting distance, not for fish fighting.

The second rod is your basic 130-lb. pelagic rod, about five feet long, with roller guides, etc.

Now here's the fun part: you set up the 130-outfit on the beach: you get a fighting chair, harness, etc., and you put the rod in the gimbal. The reel is spooled, and the line is through the roller guides, but there's nothing on the end of it.

Then you cast the long surf rod. After the cast, you cut the line, and splice it, either with a knot or some kind of swivel, to the line on the 130-lb. outfit. Sit in the chair, pop open a Grape Nehi, and wait for this 1,500-lb. shark to take your bait.

What the heck -- this might work, right?

Chris,
I would expand on your thoughts.
Two rods - one for fishing and one to get the bait out. But to get the bait out, as long as you had off shore winds, use a Kite and a kite rod. Then, use a radio controlled line drop so that when you had the bait out far enough with the kite rod, you could push a button and drop the bait into the ocean.

Pick up the other rod and start fishing. I have plenty of radios and equipment to easily build a drop for the kite rod. Of course, this only works well if the area you are fishing has off shore and not on shore winds.

Roger

Check out www.southfloridasharkclub.com

It is a site dedicated to fishing large sharks from land.

~ Rich O

It's common practice among many local King fishermen to use a long surf rod to fire out an anchor line, and then run another line out on that one to hold the bait and fight the fish from. When the fish (shark) hits the bait, the fighting rig snaps loose from the anchor line and you're back to direct contact via the shorter, more powerful fighting rod.

Maybe you can sell the guy two rods.

..............

Tom's idea is most the practical, but personally I'd go with the potato gun. Way more fun!

I had a build I completed for a guy in the Florida Keys that was kinda similar, here's what worked for him.
the objective was that he wanted to "be able to catch Volkswagons" as he put it.
He fishes for large sharks from land, and sometimes bridges in the florida keys.

What ended up as the final result was a 9 foot rod built from a " boat arial antenna"
found a 20 foot shakespaer yacht antenna at a flea market, bar none the beefiest fiberglass blank I have found!
after finding a suitable section that would give the power needed, I cut it to size and built the rod , used aftco bigfoot rollers, and everything else was built just like any other build.

the thing turned out awesome, and indestructible, he fished with an 80wide international as the reel of choice, and consistently catches bull-sharks, hammerheads, and the likes from the 400pound range up to 800-900 lb hammerheads with it, all from land, he just uses big balloons to float the baits out to wherever he wants it, like a big bobber.

His fighting technique is to wedge himself into the sand sitting down, jam the butt of the rod into the sand like a fighting belt, and "go to work"

I know it was un-orthodoxed, but it really gets the job done.. will post pics of it soon.

static test was to hook it up to the bumper of his bronco and pull it down the street.. it was a complete success..

Now that's what I call a custom rod.

..........

Here are more for the list [www.mudhole.com]

Bill - willierods.com

just posted a pic on the photo page of him "static testing the rod, sorry for the poor quality, but you'll get the idea of scale, and fighting position he uses as the "optimal fighting method".

he was successfully reeling in his '79 ford bronco in this pic.

I can see him sliding along the ground as he pulls it in LOL

Bill - willierods.com

yup! he did , it was awesome, and funny watching him in action.

he left "tracks in the sand". but he always won.