Shark Fever

IT'S ALMOST TIME FOR THE MAKO TO ARRIVE!!! The beginning of June is traditionally the start of mako season in the Mid Atlantic region, and anglers up and down the coast are getting pumped and ready to take on these pelagic bruisers. Is there any fish you'll ever attempt to catch which is more dangerous? Doubtful. Will you ever have a greater thrill then taking one of these beasts? Again, doubtful. To get some insights on the do's and don'ts that will make you a more successful mako angler, I talked with Capt. Mark Sampson, author of the book Modern Sharking (you can see it and even read some free samples at www.getgup.com). Here are a few of the tricks he shared with me:

1. Try flying a kite. Mako are attracted to disturbances on the surface, and dangling a live bluefish from a kite is a great way to draw the sharks up from the deep.

2. Restrict your chum flow. The idea is to attract sharks, not feed them. Pour too much chum into the water and it'll create a cone-shaped slick that the fish may find confusing. Maintain a limited but steady supply of chum, and it'll make a fan-shaped slick that the sharks quickly swim through. That enables them to easily detect when they swim out of the chum--so they can weave back and forth,  in and out of it, and follow the scent right up to the boat.

3. Rig with circle hooks. Many anglers use circles for other types of fishing, but they don't seem to have caught on for sharking. Yet circle hooks will boost your strike-to-catch ratio, and since circle hooks usually grab right in the corner of the jaw, the mako can't chomp on your leader or line.

4. Use fish, fish, and more fish for chum and bait - forget about mammal blood! Sharks are used to eating fish, and those myths about catching sharks on chickens, stray cats, or bunnies are just that: myths. In reality, you'll do the best using oily fish like bluefish, false albacore, or bonito. What's the best shark bait? Fresh tuna. Those sharks may be vicious, but they aren't crazy!

5. Gaff mako just behind the dorsal fin, not in the head. This allows you to pull their tail (read: power-plant) out of the water, eliminating their ability to try to swim away from the boat. After gaffing get a tail rope over the tail, and if you need to bring the shark into the boat, place a five-gallon bucket over it's snout and tie it in place, to keep those dangerous jaws locked down tight.