Great White Shark fishing

The great white shark is truly a giant of the ocean. At once majestic as well as brutal, this beast has long been an object of fear as well as worship. Loved for its magnificence and rarity, feared for its predatory instincts, this 'man-eater' has been immortalized in the mind of man through the 'Jaws' movie. No doubt that the mystery that shrouds this inhabitant of the deep dark ocean waters is largely responsible for the respect and the fear that is attributed to it. Few anglers have the courage to go after a Great White, and fewer still have the hardware for it. Still fishing in the silent ocean for a great white shark is a thrill that one cannot easily forget. It truly is an experience of a lifetime.

The Great White Shark is present all over the world. But it is warm-blooded and prefers warm temperate seas. Cooler waters off Iceland, South Australia and Nova Scotia also have reported the presence of these sharks. The great White shark grows to truly legendary sizes, and can be 6 meters long and weigh a whopping 1200 kilos or more. The females are larger than the males. The great white shark is always on the move and mostly patrols alone. It is rarely found in the open ocean and prefers to be offshore. It prefers to move towards the warmer waters.

The easiest way to go great white shark fishing is to capitalize on its feeding methods and use this to attract the shark. Many of the great white sharks are often found near the shorelines and do not wander too far into the ocean. Since sharks do not readily come to the surface and need to be coaxed to the top, using some food to attract the shark is the best way to catch their attention. This is known as chumming. The Great White shark eats tuna, swordfish (this is a favorite) ray fish, dolphins, sea-lions and turtles. The snout of the Great white shark has many tiny holes that allow the shark to sense even minute drops of blood in the water. Chum usually consists of minced meat of fish, usually tuna or rays. Placing the chum splat in the middle of an area known for the shark population is a sure fire method to attract the shark to the surface of the water. Placing the chum in an enclosed and protected container ensures that the chum is not lost. Sharks, especially the great whites, will get into a feeding frenzy when they smell blood. Once they bite they will not let go of the chum. Once the Great white has bitten the bait, it will put up a mean fight. The raw power and energy that the shark can release is confounding, to say the least. It is necessary to put the great white shark under pressure and hurt it. The silver lining is that the great white monster needs a lot of energy to keep itself going, and will tire off if you keep up the fight long enough. This is probably the only way to subdue this 1200-kilo of raw power.

Once the fish has been caught, you have to be extra careful while you try to release it. The fish will most probably land on the side of the boat and the cable has to be cut manually. Here are a few tips that come in handy while you go fishing for the Great white shark. Use a humungous lump of tuna as bait, as much as 150-175 lbs. Leave a trail of fish and guts. Follow the shark around till it gets tired. That way, it has less energy to fight. In any case, you can anticipate at least 1-2 hours of stiff muscular action once you catch a great white. Once caught, do not try to unhook the shark. This could be dangerous. Cut it loose instead.

Shark fishing

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