Sharks on the fly

When people think of fly fishing, the last thing they think about is casting a fly at a shark. As a fisherman who loves chasing exotic species on a fly rod, my mouth was watering when I was scrolling through Instagram and saw a picture of a giant spinner shark caught on the fly in New Jersey. Upon further inspection I found the account to be local sea Isle guide, Joe Hughes of Jersey Cape guide service. Within minutes, I called Joe up, booked a trip for August and got the 411 on fly fishing Jersey sharks. The species to catch includes brown sharks, dusky sharks, and spinner sharks. While I had heard of people catching sharks on the fly I never met anyone who successfully spent summer day’s getting towed around by sharks on a regular basis. 

As we approached the dock we were greeted by Joe and his custom 24 foot center console “NorthEastern”. With ample casting room and comfortability, I knew it was the perfect setup. As Joe rigged up the rods, I was expecting an aggressive large deceiver tied on a 12/0 hook with 300lb wire, boy was I wrong. Joe rigged up two 10 weight’s and and a 12 weight with 30 lb wire and a strange orange foam fly tied on a 3/0 hook. As I picked up the rig, I looked over at Joe and questioned the integrity of the setup as I was sure that a shark would chew through the wire or break the hook. That being said, Joe assured me that he rarely breaks fish off, and explained that the set up is more sporting and less harmful for the sharks.

With all the rods rigged up it was time to travel to the shark grounds, in flat calm seas I could see Cow Nose Rays breaking the surface in the distance, quite a sight to behold. An hour later we were a few miles offshore. As we slowly came to a stop, Joe grabbed two large chum buckets and tied them off to the front and back cleat of the boat. Then he picked up a rod and gave us a crash course about sharks on the fly. He explained that as the chum thawed out a grease slick would form creating a scent and feast for any sharks in the area. Next, he grabbed the bizarre looking bright orange fly and explained that the fly consisted of deer hair and foam which creates a neutrally buoyant fly pattern, thus mimicking the chum. He finished off by explaining a few rules for shark fishing.

1. Wait for the sharks to come into the slick before casting
2. Cast directly in front of the shark and let the fly sit without dragging
3. Mend or feed line out to ensure the fly moves at the same pace as the chum
4. When the fish eats, simply come tight with a small strip, do not give it too much power or the fly will break off

With that information in mind, we sat in the 90 degree Jersey sun waiting for a sign of life however to our dismay two hours went by without a sighting. During that time I was so hot that I jumped into the water to cool off. After what felt like an eternity, we watched two twenty pound dusky sharks come into the slick approximately 30 feet away. As we watched them inch closer I could see their mouths slowly open to inhale pieces of chum. With a quick cast of my 12 weight I plopped the fly down and watched as the shark slowly swam over and inhaled my fly. As I came tight I felt the shark make small aggressive headshakes. After a minute long battle we boated the fish and sent it on it’s way. With the skunk off our back we breathed a sigh of relief. After about 20 more minutes of waiting we were surprised when 5 sizeable brown sharks approached the slick from 40 feet out. As they motored into the slick, I watched as a 6th shark made it’s way behind the pack, the largest of the group. As we watched the large shark swim towards the chum we could see its fin slowly slicing through the water. Next, the shark turned and swam 20 feet toward the boat when it suddenly took another long lap into the abyss. A few moments later it came back into the slick and edged closer. As it snacked on the chum slick we could see the sheer girth and size of the shark. With both of our flies preemptively in the water, it meticulously motored over and inspected my fly. As I prepared for the battle of a lifetime the shark turned last minute and vanished into the depths of the ocean. Certainly a heart stopping moment. Minutes later it was back in the slick slowly advancing toward the chum pot, when it got about 10 feet away my buddy chris dropped a cast directly in front of it. After a short inspection the behemoth inhaled the fly and he immediately came tight to the shark. While chris buried the hook perfectly into the shark, the monster had no idea it was hooked.

After I screamed a few times in excitement, I watched as chris tightened his grip on the 10 weight and Tibor reel which bent down to the cork. Next, the spool began to spin at a pace that was incomprehensible. As fly line dissipated into backing, we turned the boat on and chased the shark as it darted toward the bottom. The first 30 minutes of the fight was marked by long runs and small line gains. About 35 minutes in, Chris finally began gaining line on the shark. As he slowly pumped the fish off the bottom I could see his arms strain on each lift of the rod. The next 25 minutes were spent fighting the shark vertically, a few times chris had managed to get it on the surface only to be greeted with another 30 second drag screaming run. Eventually, chris managed to get it boatside. After a few laps around the boat we were able to pop the leader and get a release.

Nonetheless, we managed to get some awesome shots. For the rest of the trip we were riding the high of tangling with a monster. Upon setting back up on the chum pot, we were able to draw in and ultimately catch a few more sharks before wrapping up the day!