Thread: Big sharks of the beach...looks like a good season!

After last seasons go at shark fishing of the beach for big sharks the success got me excited for this season.
Last Dec i got a PB that i doubt i beat (on that line strain anyway) when i landed a Bronzie just over 10 feet on 30lb line after a 2.5 hour fight!

Lost another big one when im sure i foul hooked or got tail wrapped around the line and broke off .
My Mate landed a 9 foot 6 on 24kg and one just over 7 feet as well plus we had a number of runs without hook ups over the few weeks we managed to get out at the local beach,
plus one double hookup.
Two nights ago the same mate went down and had a fish and caught the first bronzie of the season on 24kg that was around 6.5 feet after a 15min fight.

We went together last night at midnight and threw our baits out and waited for a strike.
I was using a Penn senator 114 reel, 24kgb braid on a stand up game rod using a whole large trevelly . Mate threw out a 30cm snapper on his finnor on 24kg .

At 220am my mates rod bend over and line started pouring of the reel... 1 minute later we are hooked up to something big.!
Big first run, took alot of line before my mate stopped it then it started slowly to come in. Stayed deep and straight out, not like last season when i had one jump and all run right to the open ocean.

We were thinking was it a shark or a big ray but as it got close it woke up and another big run lost all the line he just won back.

This we on for 45 mins, big runs like there was no drag and hanging on for grime death. When it stopped he pumped the line back in and just when we think we getting somewhere
it was off again.
Never came to the surface, never saw anything, just a big fish that certainly wasnt a ray.
As it made another run suddenly the line just snapped and that was that....gutted.
Thought we had it but maybe the tail hit the line as something went but the drag was pretty tight. Oh well was exciting stuff but 3 weeks earlier than last season an 2 fish hooked
in 2 nights, cant wait to try again.
Mate had some tags to tag the next one we get.
Meant to be going deer shooting tomorrow morning but .....tides good at 1230am tonight so i see lol

Had another go for the sharks, stayed until 340am but nothing happened tonight.
Be a couple of weeks and i give it another go

It sure is fun

Photos would be good on this thread! It's on my bucket list. I've done it in Aussie, but not here. How do you get your baits out?

Originally Posted by MB

Photos would be good on this thread! It's on my bucket list. I've done it in Aussie, but not here. How do you get your baits out?

I vote swim them out, kayak close second

an offshore wind with a small inflated bag would work like a little kontiki
I have a feeling getting it out far isnt really an issue. more burley then a little bit more would be the trick

Originally Posted by MB

Photos would be good on this thread! It's on my bucket list. I've done it in Aussie, but not here. How do you get your baits out?

you are in shark central mate, I try my hardest not to get them and still get them all the damn time
I got an 80wide goldie with 80lb on it and a stand up harness if you want to supply the beers and ill sit back and watch
it all sounds like too much hard yakka just to let the thing go for me to wind it in if its going to just be let go again

Yeah, plenty around here. I try to avoid them too, but could be fun once or twice.

There are so many in the Tauranga harbour

Back in the late '60's we used to tow sheep carcasses in Foveaux Strait behind an ancient clinker-built 4-cylinder day fishing boat with me sitting on top of the wheelhouse with a rifle (sometimes a Garand but usually an M1 carbine). Ordinary grey sharks were about 6 feet long, but the big white pointers were 15-18 feet and scared the crap out of us. The boat was only about 15 feet long and 4 feet wide and the big ones would swim right up under the boat and have a good look at us. We knew when they were coming as all the smaller sharks would disappear. I don't think that type of 'fishing' would be very acceptable these days. Back then all the fishermen had a .303 in the wheelhouse for sharks.

Geez sounds like you guys in Nelson have it too good. Using snapper for bait
Biggest shark I caught was a Bronzie about 5 foot long off the rocks on the north east of Great Barrier, stunk of ammonia as soon as I pulled it up on the rocks so let it go again as I didn't like the idea of eating it

I’m keen to help out …box bbq and a few snags , not a fan of bitey things ….but what a creature to battle! Can do photos etc got a new comfy seat ..if you have a free spot after Xmas …

My PB is only a 50kg school shark off the Canterbury coast when balloon fishing in a norwest. Would love to get a bronze next when I'm in New Plymouth

Originally Posted by Billbob

My PB is only a 50kg school shark off the Canterbury coast when balloon fishing in a norwest.

Congratulations, you're a world record holder by quite some margin!

I haven't actually caught a big shark, but when I was Kayak fishing in Auckland harbour, I had one follow up, the trail of blood and guts I was making, whilst gutting and scaling my Snapper and Kahawai.

The Kayak is 14 ft long and the Bronze Whaler, when it pulled along side, it's tail was at my stern and the head nearly to the bow. I estimated was 10~12 feet. Fat and round as a bulldozer, must have been up there to pup.

It swum around me for a minute and then lost interest, as I'd stopped putting guts into the water, from an abundance of caution you see...

Originally Posted by MarkN

I haven't actually caught a big shark, but when I was Kayak fishing in Auckland harbour, I had one follow up, the trail of blood and guts I was making, whilst gutting and scaling my Snapper and Kahawai.

The Kayak is 14 ft long and the Bronze Whaler, when it pulled along side, it's tail was at my stern and the head nearly to the bow. I estimated was 10~12 feet. Fat and round as a bulldozer, must have been up there to pup.



It swum around me for a minute and then lost interest, as I'd stopped putting guts into the water, from an abundance of caution you see...

@MarkN what did you use as a bailer?