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Castable Shark Leader?

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Andrew
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Joined: Mon Jun 27, 2016 11:19 am
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Castable Shark Leader?

#1

Post by Andrew »

Does anybody have a formula for a castable shark leader? I currently am using : 6 foot twisted 20lb nylon (only stepped down for the loop, so almost all of it is 4 strand)-> loop to loop connection to 10 inch 16lb break off FC > uni knot to 80lb swivel -> haywire to 3 feet of #7 wire bite tippet -> 3/0 fly. The swivel is there to theoretically prevent line twist when the shark spins.

I tied it up last night after failing bonefishing so it probably needs a bit of modification...Casted with 12wt tarpon technical.
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Paul Arden
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Castable Shark Leader?

#2

Post by Paul Arden »

Hi Andrew,

Why 16lb break off? What flyline are you using? I would expect a minimum of 35lb core possibly 50 or even 80 . I think your weak point should be your fly knot in the wire which is how I try to build my Snakehead leaders anyway.

16lb would be a waste of time with Snakehead and sharks are a helll of a lot bigger!!!

Cheers Paul
It's an exploration; bring a flyrod.

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Andrew
Posts: 20
Joined: Mon Jun 27, 2016 11:19 am
Answers: 0

Castable Shark Leader?

#3

Post by Andrew »

The problem with the current leader is that it hinges at the swivel (but I think it is more a problem with the the wire) and it kicks. So how do I change the leader so that the hinge and kick is lessened? more step downs before the wire, eliminiating the break off tippet and maybe 40lb fluro before a shorter length of wire? I tied the previously mentioned leader at around midnight so it is also a bit messy.

I was thinking
7ft 30lb nylon twisted leader with a 70/30 split
2ft 40lb fluro
Swivel
1ft of #7 bite leader
I am targeting sharks around 7ft in length (from the sharks I have seen so far) and I am fishing from a kayak or a flat with my kayak staked out.
Andrew
Posts: 20
Joined: Mon Jun 27, 2016 11:19 am
Answers: 0

Castable Shark Leader?

#4

Post by Andrew »

Paul Arden wrote:Hi Andrew,

Why 16lb break off? What flyline are you using? I would expect a minimum of 35lb core possibly 50 or even 80 . I think your weak point should be your fly knot in the wire which is how I try to build my Snakehead leaders anyway.

16lb would be a waste of time with Snakehead and sharks are a helll of a lot bigger!!!

Cheers Paul
I'm using 12wt tarpon technical. 16lb break off because I'm fishing on a flat/from a kayak so if I cannot safely land the fish then I can easily break it off. Maybe I should up it to 20lb or just get rid of it completely. The sharks where I am fishing are pretty big so I can't use knotable wire. I am pretty tired so I think most of what I am writing/thinking is not making much sense. How would you design the leader so the break off point is at the wire to fly connection while still maintaing a single strand bite tippet?
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Paul Arden
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Castable Shark Leader?

#5

Post by Paul Arden »

Hi Andrew, I'm not sure but I know James and Tracy chase sharks so they will have a better idea. I'm sure that 16lb will cause a hinge but I can understand why it's there!

Cheers, Paul
It's an exploration; bring a flyrod.

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Mangrove Cuckoo
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Castable Shark Leader?

#6

Post by Mangrove Cuckoo »

Hi Andrew!

Did you really mean 3' of #7 wire? That has to be a bitch to cast!

When we fish for sharks we modify a general tarpon leader only slightly. You want the leader total length to be longer than the shark so its tail doesn't ruin the tip of your flyline. And you want the butt section to be strong enough to withstand the tail abrasion. With a 12 wt: 60# fluorocarbon for the butt should be strong enough and much easier than a twisted or furled butt.

Put a Bimini twist at the end of some 20# mono and attach it to the end of your 60# butt section with an improved blood knot. Two feet is enough. (I assume you are not concerned about IGFA specs). To the end of the 20# add another 2 feet of 40# mono - this is abrasion protection from the sharks head. Use a simple blood knot for that connection... this will break at about 15# pull: that is your release point. At the end of the 40# tie your swivel, and on the other end of your swivel put no more than one foot of your wire. Then your fly.

Usually you see the shark eat, so setting the hook quickly will keep most of the wire outside the teeth. If you are spotting 7' sharks they are probably not Blacktips so spinning is not your main concern. If they do spin, well, you are going to lose some.

And, please stay in your kayak. If you do get one back near the boat point the rod straight at it and strip hard... the 20# to 40# knot will release them safely if you do it when they are 90 degrees from the kayak.
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Paul Arden
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Castable Shark Leader?

#7

Post by Paul Arden »

Re second question, quite easy! I use stronger mono than wire :) Lefty knot in 30 or 40lb wire is weaker than slim Beauty to 40 or 50 mono and then it goes up from there!
It's an exploration; bring a flyrod.

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Andrew
Posts: 20
Joined: Mon Jun 27, 2016 11:19 am
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Castable Shark Leader?

#8

Post by Andrew »

Mangrove Cuckoo wrote:Hi Andrew!

Did you really mean 3' of #7 wire? That has to be a bitch to cast!

When we fish for sharks we modify a general tarpon leader only slightly. You want the leader total length to be longer than the shark so its tail doesn't ruin the tip of your flyline. And you want the butt section to be strong enough to withstand the tail abrasion. With a 12 wt: 60# fluorocarbon for the butt should be strong enough and much easier than a twisted or furled butt.

Put a Bimini twist at the end of some 20# mono and attach it to the end of your 60# butt section with an improved blood knot. Two feet is enough. (I assume you are not concerned about IGFA specs). To the end of the 20# add another 2 feet of 40# mono - this is abrasion protection from the sharks head. Use a simple blood knot for that connection... this will break at about 15# pull: that is your release point. At the end of the 40# tie your swivel, and on the other end of your swivel put no more than one foot of your wire. Then your fly.

Usually you see the shark eat, so setting the hook quickly will keep most of the wire outside the teeth. If you are spotting 7' sharks they are probably not Blacktips so spinning is not your main concern. If they do spin, well, you are going to lose some.

And, please stay in your kayak. If you do get one back near the boat point the rod straight at it and strip hard... the 20# to 40# knot will release them safely if you do it when they are 90 degrees from the kayak.
Thanks for the advice, ill tie up the rig tonight and I'll try to see if I can hook one tomorrow. Yeah, upon further consideration, I will stay in my kayak lol. The only big shark I saw today was a hammerhead that popped out of nowhere when I was crossing a channel, scared the sh*t out of me. I also saw a couple of medium sized bonnetheads but they were moving too fast for me to get in position. I did hook a small nurse shark on an 8wt though. Basically I couldn't find any fish earlier on so I anchored my kayak near a mangrove patch and tried to see if any fish were hiding near the mangrove. I got to within around 30 feet of the mangroves when 5 or 6 bonefish spooked from the middle of the flat that the mangrove patch was on and I was thinking not again and how am I so bad at spotting fish when I saw a 4ft nurse shark meandering near the mangroves. It was moving away from me and quite slowly so I repositioned, got my back cast tangled in mangrove but once I unstuck my line the nurse shark was still there so I recast around 4 feet in front of him (this was like knee deep water with a spawning shrimp pattern with beadeyes) and he took it (even though its a puny shrimp imitation) and tried to run for cover between the mangroves. I was thinking not today and pulled to turn him, when I realized I only had 12lb test fluro tippet.
Paul Arden wrote:Re second question, quite easy! I use stronger mono than wire :) Lefty knot in 30 or 40lb wire is weaker than slim Beauty to 40 or 50 mono and then it goes up from there!
The wire I am using is like 68lb wire single strand, I don't think knottable wire would cut it (get it) for big sharks, I am still using it for my barracuda setup though. I think Mangrove's setup will work better for the big sharks. Have you tried the improved homer rhode loop knot? I find it quicker to tie than lefty's loop, especially for knottable wire.

Any tips for spotting bonefish/anticipating for where they will be? In the past days I have tried tracking them by following the holes that they make when they're feeding.
Most of the time I go on a wild goose chase but once I literally followed the holes to the fish and was close enough to step on them when they spooked.
I have also seen quite a few rays being trailed by fish, from what I could see they were jacks. do bonefish follow rays as well?
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petevicar
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Joined: Wed Jan 09, 2013 9:04 pm
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Location: Leverkusen, Germany

Castable Shark Leader?

#9

Post by petevicar »

Hi Andrew
Where are you fishing?

I don't know too much about shark fishing so I won't comment.

You should watch the tides when looking for bonefish. The fish will come on to the flats on an incoming tide and that is the the best place to look for them.

You can find all sorts of fish on rays and it is always worth a cast. There can be bonefish and also permit on rays.

Pete
IANACI
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James9118
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Joined: Thu Jan 10, 2013 6:59 pm
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Location: N.Wales

Castable Shark Leader?

#10

Post by James9118 »

I like to keep things simple. 7ft of 50lb nylon plus 2ft of multi-strand wire. The wire has loops crimped in to either end. the fly is attached with a split ring (having tried all sorts of snap swivels etc. I've found this to be by far the most reliable method). The flies I tie are not huge either, I want to be able to position these pretty fast on a #10wt - I fish for them whilst wading, so the water isn't deep enough for them to spin, they just run....and run :D

Here's my latest shark flies for my upcoming trip:
P3210073.JPG
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