I'm headed to the panhandle in 2 weeks and I plan on targeting sharks from the beach. I have an Okuma Contoura 453 on a 12' Ocean Master heavy. I've got the steel leader figured out but what about mainline? Capacity for this reel is 580/20, 430/25, 330/30. I planned on putting 50-65 Power Pro on the reel..... just filling it up. 500 yds or so.

Im having second thoughts after reading a few horror stories about braid. I'm not opposed to mono but I want a lot of line and I want to cast this as far as I possibly can. Please recommend.

If you are set on Power Pro....take it to a sports field and try it out and practice.....50# PP is a lot thinner then 50# mono....but I don't know how it will cast.....just my opinion....
Fishing in the Gulf



Richard
romara@3web.com

I have 50# pp on my Okuma Epixor EB65 and an 11' Daiwa Sealine med/heavy..... it cast just fine.

Perhaps 200 yards of braid backing and mono on top? What size mono? What would you do if you were me?

I know it's overkill, but for line diameter sake, and matching up braid to mono diameter, I would back the reel with 80lb braid (~200y) and topshot it with 40lb mono. Dont skimp on the topshot with cheap line. I have had great results with Momoi Diamond, It's not all that pricey, it's readily available and has proven to be a great light to medium sharking line...it does have a good bit more stretch than the copolymers like sufix etc.. but I've not found that to be a problem.

Another thing I started doing with my castable shark rods is using a 200lb braid shockleader. This allows for shorter terminal leaders which aid in castability and also protects against being tailwhipped and losing the fish.

barty b
Believe nothing,no matter who said it or where you heard it,unless it agrees with your own reasoning and common sense.

Thanks for all of the info! I just arrived home (not happy). I'd much rather be in Florida. Unfortunately the grass/algea in Navarre was so bad that it was a complete lost cause for the first 4 days. Fishing was just not possible. I opted to fish in the sound off of the Navarre Bridge from time to time and did have fun. Caught a Stingray, Redfish, a good sized Sheepshead, and plenty of catfish.

On Thursday we fished the new pier which turned out to be alot of fun. We caught a dozen or more baby Blacktips which was a blast for someone who has never seen a shark that close and personal. My 4 year old will remember it forever. We were amazed at just how strong those little guys were. Easily the strongest fish pound for pound I've ever held. They were all around 18" or so and pure muscle. I can only imagine dragging a 4 or 5 footer up on the beach.

Thursday night, the surf was totally clear of grass, so I headed down to the beach outside of our condo. I managed to launch a large hunk of the Stingray quite a long way (for a rookie). After a half an hour of silence my clicker seemingly exploded! Something grabbed a ran off at what seemed a few hundred miles an hour, but only for 2 or 3 seconds. He was gone but it was reassurance at least. It's a rush hearing that clicker. My bait was destroyed and I had no luck the rest of the night.

The next day I drove down to the Gulf Islands National Seashore at the second parking lot. I fished for a bit and realized my bait was sitting in a foot of water. I decided to reel in and and wade out to cast a little deeper. As soon as I neared the first bar I noticed a large shadow about 25 yards ahead of me that looked similar to the small patches of grass that were still here and there. I had an odd feeling so I stopped and watched it. Sure enough it moved to the right the turned around and went back and stopped. It's hard for me to gauge how long it was but I'm very comfortable saying that it was longer than me. I'm 6'2. I threw my bait at it and he definitely swam over to check it out. He didn't take it but swam around it for a bit as I watched. I decided to not wade out anymore .

I never got my big shark. Saturday meant back to St. Louis and reality. Not good. I'll spend the next year reading this site and others, trying to figure out how I'm going catch a decent shark next year (just like I did since last summer).

PS There wasn't a drop of oil or a tar chip to be found. You can officially thank the media for stomping all over your economy down there. I knew this from the start and said all along that we were coming, oil or no oil. It may not mean much but you got some money out of me! Be back next summer.....................