Shark Fishing Setup????

[couch fisho]

Hi guys, just wondering does anyone have any experience with shark fishing, not looking at any overheads or kayaking baits.

Thinking of either getting a pe8 popping rod and spinfisher 6 10500

Also maybe aswell penn prevail II 12ft 15-37kg with another spinfisher

wondering about braid, capacity, other rods/reels

Cheers

[slothparade]

Im not the biggest fan of spinning gear for shark. what I use is a slammer 10500, spooled with 150lbs braid (getting repsooled to 80lbs) on a pe8 saltist popping rod. Yes it handles a 8ft shark well but I wouldn't be going much bigger. 

If yiur just starting, look at a soinfisher 950ssm on an aerwave or prevail, 50 lbs braid. Cheap good setup which will get you started before dumping $500 - $800 into a type of fishing that is not the most common. Its better to dip your toes in before jumoing in and spending a huge amount of money. 

yeah spinfisher 10500 would work but a slammer 10500 would be better. Spool it with 80lbs braid, as much as you can. Then you must have a topshot, at least 100lbs to 150lbs, this will be attached to your wire leader. Your wire leader should be basically the length of the shark your targeting. 

A pe8 popping rod like a saltist is a bit short. The prevail is alright, prefer having a higher cast wieght though. Look at a custom if you really want to get into it. But a prevail will get the job done. I prefer overheads as they allow bigger line caps hence bigger sharks. 

Here is a section of my shark fishing guide:

Penn slammer 3/4 - At $350 Absolute beast reels, they have mind boggling drag capacities, great drag systems (Penn's Dura Drag, from their International reels), great sealing (IPx 6) meaning that the insides of your reel will be mostly safe from the harsh salt water and an extremely sturdy frame giving it all round great durability. The down side of this is the weight of the reel but since you are most likely going to have it in the rod holder, weight is not the biggest problem. This is a minor problem, which will only affect the 1% of people, when turning the reel as the spool reaches the bottom a little tap sound happens, which is completely normal. Though this might annoy some people. 

Saragosa - At $350, this is is a pretty solid choice, since it performs like a budget Stella. Now where to begin? This reel is basically Shimano's competitor to the Slammer, this reel is lighter, doesn't have the same heavy drag pressure and has a smaller line capacity and not as durable. Other than that, this reel is silky smooth, lovely to use, sealed and just a solid choice. 

Saltist – At $350, this reel is great, heavy drag, sealed, good line capacity and a metal body. This reel competes with the Slammer and Saragosa so you know the quality. Personally I have never used one but I know they are good. My main complaint would have to be the Dawia customer support (it’s a joke) but other than that, it’s a solid choice.

 

Edited April 4, 2022 by slothparade

[JonD]

Another cheaper option is a penn battle mk3, very good drag and good capacity. For some reason penn calculate capacity leaving a fair gap to actually filling the spool to the top. I put 500m of Jerry Brown 40lb braid on my 6000 and still had enough to topshot 20m of 80lb mono.

When you hook big sharks it becomes more of a tug of war with the rod pointing straight inline with the shark much of the time. This is where the reel seat becomes very important, as does the stem of the reel.

Is this in regards to shore or boat ? these comments are in reference to shore.

Edited April 5, 2022 by JonD

[Pickles]

Totally agree with @slothparade- Penn Slammer an awesome reel for the price for big “stump pulling beasts”. Big and clunky, but that’s what you want - robust and heaps of drag. I use a Penn Slammer111 850 (pretty cheap now the new model is out) and bought 3 m sharks to the boat - Mako’s Hammer’s and even a Bull shark with this outfit (85lb braid and 180ln leader to wire trace with SS circle (tuna) hook.

A good rod with medium taper is good (I’ve got a Daiwa Monster Mesh - excellent).

As @JonD says, the battle 111 is also a great reel.

Another and much cheaper option and excellent value for money, but very “Agricultural” is the  Finnor 850 Off shore. You can pick these up for around $150 and also excellent drag for big fish which also pull hard, paired to a heavy glass tipped rod (Ugly Stil” etc) you’d have a cheap setup that would stop MOST, big fish.