Florida surf fishing for sharks

March was a busy month! Shortly after arriving in Florida I saw reports that blacktip sharks were migrating through the area. It seemed like an opportunity that we needed to jump on, so Ally and I assembled our surf fishing gear and headed down to the beach. We had some frozen mullet from the bait shop and planned to catch fresh bait on light tackle while we waited.

Photo credit Ally Toth.

There were plenty of bait fish within casting range. We caught jack crevalle, bluefish, and ladyfish. Ally caught a huge ladyfish that turned out to be fantastic shark bait.

Ladyfish (Elops saurus)


Everything was going well until the sharks showed up. I got picked up first. My rod doubled over, the drag on the reel started buzzing, and I quickly realized that I didn't stand a chance against the fish on the other end. It was taking line even with the drag fully tightened, and I was worried that the rod might snap, so I pointed the rod tip towards the water and used my thumb to put extra pressure on the spool. The braided line snapped.

Less than a minute later, Ally's rod bent over. Another shark! Her experience was worse than mine. First her rod holder pulled out of the sand before she could get to it, and then in the process of diving on her rod she sliced her foot open. Finally, the shark somehow broke (or bit) through her 200 lb mono shock leader. We were clearly outgunned, and Ally needed to go to prompt care to get stitches, so that was the end of our session.

A few weeks later Ryan said he wanted to drive over from Tampa, so we decided to try for sharks again. Ally and I bought new reels and stronger braid, and I brought a new heavy surf rod that I've been holding for my friend Marc. We brought the ladyfish from the previous session, chopped it up, and cast out two baits on the two rods. It didn't take long before the first shark showed up. I was ready to do battle with a 100 or 200 pound beast, but I was actually quite happy when I realized it was a much smaller model.

Finetooth Shark (Carcharhinus isodon) - new hook & line species #714


All three of us had completed the FWC online shark fishing course, so this was a good opportunity to practice a quick catch, photo, and release with a smaller shark. We kept it on the wet sand where the waves would wash over it while we unhooked it and took a few photos. Then it was back into the waist-deep water, and off it swam. Success!

Ally's rod was the next to go off. She was using the 13 foot rod that I had used during the previous session, and it paired well with her reel. Her shark came in quickly as well. I'm sure she was glad it wasn't a monster.

Two sharks on the beach! This one was also a finetooth. It ended up being the only species we caught that day. Ally had caught a finetooth from a boat before, but this was much bigger one, so she was plenty happy.

We sent the baits out again, and this time it was Ryan's turn to grab one of the rods. It was a similarly sized shark again, and Ryan quickly got it in where I could grab its tail.

I'm really happy with how quickly we worked as a team to land, dehook, photo, and release these sharks. The practice will pay off when we catch something bigger next time.



Congrats to Ryan on his first finetooth shark! I'm sure it was well worth the early alarm and 3 hour drive from Tampa.

We still had a few pieces of ladyfish left, so we kept casting them out and hooking up with sharks. At this point we were really hoping for something new. A blacktip would have been great. A small bull shark or bonnethead would have been good too.

All five of our sharks ended up being finetooths though. And interestingly, all five of them were males. There was definitely a school of them out there hunting together.

After a picnic lunch, Ryan was interested in going to the small spillway that we had fished before. He wanted a spinycheek sleeper, Ally wanted a bigmouth sleeper, and I wanted to try for the sailfin catfish and mountain mullet. When we arrived though, we saw gar and bowfin. And when you see big gar and bowfin in front of you, gosh darnit, you fish for big gar and bowfin.

Longnose Gar (Lepisosteus osseus)


Bowfin (Amia calva)


After playing with the prehistoric fish, we downsized our tackle to fish for new species, and unfortunately I kept catching the bigmouth sleepers that Ally wanted. I wasn't trying to. I was using a #8 hook with a quarter of a redworm as bait. I also got a blue tilapia with interesting colors.

Bigmouth Sleeper (Gobiomorus dormitor)


Blue Tilapia (Oreochromis aureus)


The heat finally wore us down. Ally caught a really big blue tilapia, and then we decided to wrap things up. It's been a few years since Ryan and I have fished together, so we got a photo. Guys need to remember to get photos like this more often.

I didn't really mention how the hunt for sailfin catfish and mountain mullet went. It didn't go well, but I promise I'll keep trying.

Hey everyone, I live in Florida now

Hey everyone, I live in Florida now! At the end of February I packed my bags and headed east. A week later I arrived in Florida, ready to start the next chapter of my life. It should come as no surprise that I quickly started fishing.

My first new species came from an urban park near my house. It had an assortment of micros in the shallows - eastern mosquitofish, golden silverside, jewel cichlid, and juvenile bluegill. I was dropping my bait through small openings in the vegetation looking for something new. To my surprise I pulled up a swamp darter, one of the few Etheostoma species with a range this far south.

Swamp Darter (Etheostoma fusiforme) - new hook & line species #707


Next I gave saltwater micros a try. There's plenty of public access in Florida, which means there are endless shore fishing spots to check out. I saw some small fish along the rocky shoreline near one of the local causeways, so I got out the micro rod and Tanago hooks to see what they were.

The fish I saw, which blended in very well with the sand, turned out to be goldspotted killifish. I didn't know they were in the area, so it was definitely a cool find!

Goldspotted Killifish (Floridichthys carpio) - new hook & line species #708


While I looked for micros, I also set up a medium-light rod in a rod holder with a piece of shrimp as bait. It got picked up twice, first by a small stingray and then by a striped burrfish. Neither was a lifer, but I got good photos of each of them.

Atlantic Stingray (Dasyatis sabina)


Striped Burrfish (Chilomycterus schoepfi)


The causeway bridge looked like a fishy spot. Ally joined me here, and we set up in the shade where we could fish the bridge pilings and rocks. Mangrove snappers were the most common (or aggressive) species, but after losing a few Tanago hooks I was able to catch a checkered puffer and frillfin goby to add to the list. The gulf killifish was also an interesting catch, because this is the northern edge of their range.

Mangrove Snapper (Lutjanus griseus)


Checkered Puffer (Sphoeroides testudineus) - new hook & line species #709


Frillfin Goby (Bathygobius soporator) - new hook & line species #710


Gulf Killifish (Fundulus grandis)


Usually I avoid posting photos of dead fish on this blog, but this sheepshead will be a rare exception. I like to take fish home for dinner, so I was excited when I hooked into this guy next to one of the bridge pilings. It was my first time cooking a sheepshead. My passion is photographing live fish that I catch and release, but keeping and eating local fish is also an important way that I connect with nature.

Sheepshead (Archosargus probatocephalus)

Back to the microfishing! Ally and Damion had scouted out a spot where flagfish were known to frequent in the spring, and they tipped me off that they had showed up. Ally joined me there, and after catching a few other species, we both had our endemic flagfish. We also caught some incredibly colorful marsh killifish that looked nothing like the ones I caught north of Tampa several years ago. Ally caught her lifer sailfin molly as well. I'll have to go back for mine.

American Flagfish (Jordanella floridae) - new hook & line species #711


Marsh Killifish (Fundulus confluentas)


In the middle of the month we had a surprise visit from Uncle Pat and Lia, who were taking a much needed vacation from our nation's capitol. Pat wanted to fish a few of the local spillways, so we joined them early in the morning before work. The top targets were the various snook species, but they weren't biting, so eventually I switched back to micros. I didn't catch anything new, but I did get a really good photo of a crested goby showing off its namesake crest.

Crested Goby (Lophogobius cyprinoides)


The next day we tried another spillway known for bigmouth sleepers and several other cool native species. Again the action was slow, but on my last cast I got a hit and pulled up a good sized sleeper. Pat and Lia stuck around after I left, and Pat texted me a photo of a juvenile bigmouth he caught further up near some rocks.

Bigmouth Sleeper (Gobiomorus dormitor) - new hook & line species #712


I forgot to mention, it's been FIVE years since Pat and I fished together. It's been way too long!

My final new species came from another local lake. While on a morning run I saw a school of slender micros that could only be one thing. Golden silversides! I had failed to catch them at the other lake, but they were easier at this one. My 12 foot crappie pole made it easy to reach the school.

Golden Silverside (Labidesthes vanhyningi) - new hook & line species #713


Needless to say, there will be plenty more Florida reports this year. Hope you're ready for them!