Channeling Sharks
A quick overview of techniques used in the Quiznos Madfin Shark Series
By Nick Gebhardt
KEY WEST, Fla. — If you ever want a crash course on all things shark, become a sandfly (or biting midge) on the center console of a Quiznos Madfin Shark Series boat.
Although each team of professional guides can rattle off mountains of similar ways to identify sharks and describe different behaviors, every angler differs on what he believes is the best way to capture these dinosaurs of the sea in a channel.
The two most prominent methods to gather points during this year’s tournament were drifting with a current or sitting at anchor. After a team had made their decision on method and universally constructed their chum basket, the partially-submerged net filled with bloody fish pieces, next came the decision on a presentation option: Anglers would make the call between live bait or cut bait, kite or no kite, and balloon or no balloon.
The biggest advantage of drifting with the current means a shark boat covers a much longer area of water. With the chum basket spreading scent throughout a channel or pothole between sandbars and flats, anglers have an increased chance of gaining the attention of a hungry predator.
But depending on the tide, ocean current and wind speed, drifting may become too difficult to manage. Anglers then become forced to constantly manage the vessel and adjust the bait’s positioning to match the movement of the boat.
Anglers will often drift the length of a channel or follow the milky mud slicks stirred up by a mullet run, as sharks love mullet runs.
Sitting at anchor, on the other hand, maintains one constant position and makes for an easier management of tackle. Sometimes it takes longer for sharks to enter the chum line if you’re sitting at anchor. And if the chum line driven by the current fails to attract a shark, the valuable time spent in one spot equals a potential serious waste.
Many anglers use a combination of both drifting and dropping anchor.
Tony Murphy and Carl Marsiello, the duo winning the tournament for two years straight, employed both methods on each day at this year’s event. The team used cut bait for the majority of their time on the water during each event: Chunks of bonita, barracuda and other oily fish ring the dinner bell for the sharks below.
But live bait, positioned to swim among fish pieces in the danger zone, may create an even more enticing morsel. A shark’s natural reaction to attack movement equals a higher strike probability, just like any fish.
Sometimes anglers use a specially-designed kite to animate live or cut bait , increasing lifelike movement at the surface Mimicking an outrigger — complete with a clip that breaks upon a jolting impact — the kite pulls terminal tackle out of the water, leaving only the bait presented.
Once the bait attaches to the kite’s line, anglers then employ a stumpy half-sized kite rod to send out the kite and carry the bait . The angler must then open the bail on his fishing pole to match the speed of the fluttering kite carrying the bait.
When the line covers the target, anglers must coordinate the positioning of the kite and the bail to keep the bait tickling the water at the surface. The chore, by default, requires constant attention on the part of the team.
When an angler carries balloons to his boat, he is typically not going to a child’s birthday party. Those familiar, latex balloons, which thrill children, serve two purposes in hunting for voracious sharks.
Although not as efficient as a kite, balloons likewise work to float the bait on the surface. Their buoyancy overrides that of cut or live bait in keeping the rig on the surface. In addition, the balloon also works as an indicator: In muddier waters, a moving balloon signifies either bait running for its life or the obvious instant when a shark has decided to strike.
