White Shark from the Surf.....You're gonna need a bigger stripping basket. :)

[Fishidiot]

Okay, so this isn't a fly fishing article.....but I though this would be a fun story for the salt, surf guys.

A great white was caught and released by a young Marine surf fishing in CA. While giant tigers, hammerheads, and bulls are caught from the beach all the time, as far as I know, this is the only surf caught white shark. Whatever the case, it's certainly a rare event. The fish was released. Whites are protected species in US waters and targeting them deliberately is illegal. Nevertheless, they show up as "by-catch" from time to time.

Jaws on the sand

 

[Swattie87]

Cool to see. Funny to think that 10ft is still a juvenile for Whites, but it is probably.

Even operating under the assumption that the angler's intentions were legit and sportsman like (which I am), I probably wouldn't have shared that story with too many people. Snapped a quick pic or two for a good memory and story among my "inner circle" sure, but I wouldn't have gone to the media. Too much gray area and the potential to get in trouble for something like that. I would think the wardens and biologists would hate the attention it gets in the media out of fear of attracting other anglers to try for a White. I would fear that alone may result in a few questions, right or wrong.

 

[KeithS]

Why not post? No telling what you'll catch. it's not like hunting, where you ID your target before firing. Nothing illegal there. Also, it's on the beach at Camp Pendleton, if I read it right. I would assume there isn't general public access.

 

[KeithS]

Why not post? No telling what you'll catch. It's not like hunting, where you ID your target before firing. Nothing illegal there. Also, it's on the beach at Camp Pendleton, if I read it right. I would assume there isn't general public access.

 

[sandfly]

And that is the reason I want an 18 wt. rod !

 

[marcq]

haha that's sick. I got to say I have done some sharkin in the summer and its a ton of fun. not on the fly of course but its still sick. not much in our waters that will break 6 feet. although I recall hearing that there are some big bulls in south jerseys back bays. if you haven't done it I highly suggest trying it.

one guide I have been out does some sharks on the fly. looks awesome to. might try to get out next summer. cant fathom catching a 100 pound fish on the fly.

marc

 

[boychick]

I saw this earlier this week. I joined a CA saltwater forum called SCsurffishing.com to learn as much as I could in preparation for my trip to CA. One of the guys from that forum was the guy that caught that shark. That's some crazy sh!t. You don't see anything like that in Lake Erie!!

The guys on SCsurffishing.com are a nice bunch and are very helpful. Its reminiscent of this forum. It's a bunch of bait, hardware and fly guys; a little something for everyone. The interesting thing is that it seems there are a lot of bait and hardware guys that are trying to make the change over to fly fishing based on some of the posts I read.

If you ever take a trip out that way and plan to do a little surf fishing I highly recommend joining their forum and asking a few questions. They were very welcoming and there are a few extremely experienced fly guys who are regular contributors that broke it down really well, simplifying things to help me get up to speed fast.

 

[David]

Big sharks can be caught... at least hooked... on the fly.
I was relaxing on the rocks on Cape Ann's Pigeon Cove one evening when I lived in Boston many years ago. The wife and I watched a shark appear a good distance off shore and make lazy circles... then it would burst off after some prey (it was a great striper spot). It circled closer and closer to the rocks. I said to my wife it's gonna get within casting distance and sprinted to my car to grab my rod.

I threw on the biggest fly I had. It continued to work closer to shore. When it finally got in range (it came within about 25 feet of the rocks), I made a couple casts that the shark just ignored. Then, a cast no different than the others, it made it's burst towards my fly and I hooked up!
Zing, snap... and it was over just like that. The best second of time I'd had in a long while!

Having watched it for a while, and getting a good look at it, I know it was a 15 foot shark. I wasn't "schooled" enough to know what kind it was.
That was absolutely one of best moments I've experience... even just watching it casually circle was a sight to see.

The great whites up there were known to go after seals. One seal could keep them fat and sassy for most of the winter...

 

[Swattie87]

Not too many predatory shark species that grow to 15 ft and will come close to shore like that...basically just Tigers and Whites. Given where you saw it, if it was a legit 15 ft, it was likely a White. The circling and short bursts of power are all White traits as well.

 

[sandfly]

could be a thresher too. we get them on the beach in summer