Blue Snapper fishing

[crankybait]

Ok, so being a bass angler, when I catch a fish, it is only natural for me to lip it. Well, my family and I went crabbing last week, and again today. Both times I casted around for about 15 minutes by the bridge, then went crabbing. Anyway, I come up with these snapper blues. The best part about these is that theyre easy to catch, and using light gear (courtesy of Huck, thank you so much), they put up a great fight! The light combo I was using casted a spoon lure like a rocket, easily 40-50 feet. To hook in and reel in a fish at that distance is great fun. Well, the first few times I got my thumb ripped up pretty badly... Now I just grab them by the stomach.
Pics:







The odd thing is most of the times, these fish are not hooked by the mouth. They thrash around like maniacs, and I get plenty hoked in the gills, sides... anywhere but the mouth. I lost a horrendous ammount of fish probably because tey were not hooked properly. Well thats my report

[JB]

Nice pics cranky
your family is on the go this summer huh?
cranky+ crabs = photoshop opportunity ROFL

[texasbasser]

Nice fish cranky, those are also called Bluefish... Boy do they grow big up there! And you do not want to lip them LOL!

[JB]

[crankybait]

For some reason I had the oddest feeling that I would be photoshopped soon after I posted that... LoL.

Texas- Actually, snapper blues are just baby bluefish. These things are tiny compared to the things being nailed Deep Sea. I've only caught two of the big ones, but man do those things run. Im talking like the Drag screaming and line peeling. Its great.

[bassfisher02]

Nah you dont have to go deep sea for big Blues, I catch bigg'uns on the flats usually, they've died down now, but I was nailing them early summer. They sure do fight like no other, also bleed like no other. And yes, they're teeth will shred a finger to pieces.

If I were you, I would have caugth some baitfish, cut them into pieces, rigged them up on heavy tackle, and bottom-fished around the pilings. Depending on how far you were from the coast, and how deep the water was, you could have slammed some huge flounder.

[crankybait]

speaking of huge flounder, the world record was caught about half an hour from my house. Of course this river is like 4 feet deep at the deepest I found it...
Plus I lack any gear over MH, and the thickest rod I have is a medium action Ugly stik.

[bassfisher02]

Caught a 4 foot shark on my M Ugly stik[not on purpose, hit a 3" grub, imagine that], those Ugly Stiks will just about put up with anything you can hook into on the other end. But you should deffinitely get some larger tackle and go hit some of those saltwater fishies, you think bass give you a fight, wait till you hook into a saltwater monster. PS, dont lip anything in saltwater, as a rule. [Excluding small sea-bass, and snook. Redfish and catfish are ok with caution, as they have shell crushers].

[texasbasser]

You could always try catching some bluefish and throwing them on a treble hook with 4' steel cable and have a good chance at sharks, but you will need some heavier tackle.

Biggest blues we see down here are around 2 or 3 pounds, 1 pounders are everywhere right now.

[bassfisher02]

Can only use those bluefish for bait if they are of slot size. 5lb+ were pretty common earlier in the summer. Just use pinfish for shark that or ladyfish,. We slam them all the time on those 2. I'm about sick of catching shark, everytime the big rod screams its always a shark. Biggest so far was 7Ft+ Bull. Usually we only get little 3-4ft'ers, its boring.

[texasbasser]

I dont think we have a slot size on blues here.. I prefer stingray for shark bait, but since blues are so abundant and work OK why not let cranky try

[leroy]

What do you do with a shark once you catch it?

[crankybait]

Wow... I didn't even think there would be sharks anywhere around where I fish. Would there honestly be anything huge in such shallow water? I could easily stand in this water, and I've seen a few weakfish and fluke pulled up, but not much else.

[bassfisher02]

Shark is a very good food source, they have no bones making them a treat to clean and eat. But with that being said, we've never kept a shark. So many people are catching them these days and a lot are keeping them around where we fish, so we just let them be on their way after a good fight.

Texas, I'm sure the Game Warden wouldnt be too happy with Cranky using small blues for bait...

Cranky, there are HUGE sharks in shallow water, they pretty much roam into any waters looking for food and what not. But, I dont know where you are fishing, whether or not these are good shark ground are questionable. I would say if looking for shark, going out onto 4-5ft flats off the coast [usually about 2 miles off] will be your best bet. Shark fishing isn something you can just do, you need to have the proper tools with you. these include: A good pair of leader cutting pliers [usually you wont be able to release the hook, dont even try if the shark is over 3ft, and cut the leader as close to the hook as possible, dont even bring the shark in the boat, let him stay on the side] Atleast one glove to grab the line with [when the shark is at the side of the boat, you need to be able to hold the line steeady for a quick and easy leader cut, again as close to the hook as possible]. You will a 7ft rod of heavy action, and heavy spinning gear, with atleast 50lb test, and we like a 100lb test steel leader. For bigger sharks, you may want a fighting belt, make sure to see if your rod will fit into it. And always remember safety, be aware at all times and be careful when cutting the leader. [If cut properly, there should only be about 6" at the most left attached to the hook].

[texasbasser]

Originally Posted by leroy

What do you do with a shark once you catch it?

If your in a boat, do what 02 said. I shark fish from the beach, and if the fish is under 3 feet then I just grab the tail, but be cautious! If it is over 3 feet, then We usually tailrope it and bring it in to the shore, but still the shark is on wet sand. then have someone hold it down, and try to get the hook out if its exposed, if not, cut the wire as close as possible, and take the rope off and bring it back to life yourself. Somtimes you need to go in a bit, like around 2, 3 feet deep, but once you get the hang of it you will be alright. Very rare to have a shark turn on you once its been caught.

[bassfisher02]

There is this hypnotic state you can put a shark into, researchers and biologists have just started really experimenting with it... I forgot the actual term for it.

TexasBasser, if you ever catch a very small shark, and you are comfortbale enough with it, its actually a neat trick to do, and makes getting the hook out a breeze if exposed... What you do is grab the shark by the snout, this is a sharks most sensitive area, with hundreds of thousands of sensors. Covering the sensors puts the fish in a state of confusion, but in order to achieve the hypnotic state, you have to flip the shark over in the water, so they are belly up. The sharks body must be completely free of anything touching it once you flip it over [excluding your hand on their snout] and if done properly, the shark will literally begin to sink, not moving or anything. You can release the snout and craddle the shark once in the hypnotic state, and get the hook out. The fish continues to breathe, as it pumps water through the mouth into the gills. And once all finished, simply flip the shark back over and he will swim off. Now, its a very presice thing to do, and there are many factors that will bring the shark back before wanted, such as [at times] getting the hook out. Thats why I reccomend a small shark, if any at all. But its a pretty nifty thing, I watched divers do it to huge 6ft+ sharks on the Discovery Channel.

PS: I'm not liable for any lost fingers or hands in the process, ahah.

[texasbasser]

Originally Posted by bassfisher02

There is this hypnotic state you can put a shark into, researchers and biologists have just started really experimenting with it... I forgot the actual term for it.

TexasBasser, if you ever catch a very small shark, and you are comfortbale enough with it, its actually a neat trick to do, and makes getting the hook out a breeze if exposed... What you do is grab the shark by the snout, this is a sharks most sensitive area, with hundreds of thousands of sensors. Covering the sensors puts the fish in a state of confusion, but in order to achieve the hypnotic state, you have to flip the shark over in the water, so they are belly up. The sharks body must be completely free of anything touching it once you flip it over [excluding your hand on their snout] and if done properly, the shark will literally begin to sink, not moving or anything. You can release the snout and craddle the shark once in the hypnotic state, and get the hook out. The fish continues to breathe, as it pumps water through the mouth into the gills. And once all finished, simply flip the shark back over and he will swim off. Now, its a very presice thing to do, and there are many factors that will bring the shark back before wanted, such as [at times] getting the hook out. Thats why I reccomend a small shark, if any at all. But its a pretty nifty thing, I watched divers do it to huge 6ft+ sharks on the Discovery Channel.

PS: I'm not liable for any lost fingers or hands in the process, ahah.

Hmm, seems interesting... Ill see if I can try it if i get the chance sometime.

[3dkicker]

Bull sharks are caught in salt and fresh water. Next time you're out wading in brackish water and you feel something nibbling at those toes watch out!

I've caught blues on buzzbaits on Potomac Creek on the Potomac river. Still have the bait with the teeth marks on the blade. I'll see if I can get a good pic to post.

Stock hooks on a Kastmaster need to be replaced if you don't want to lose the little blues. and it's still a lot of fun catching them! Especially on light tackle.

[crankybait]

You know what, I will put a gammy treble on the kastmaster right now.