Chasing Sharks off New England with the long rod

[Dr. Fish]

Finally got out with my good friend Capt. Bill Brown out of Pt. Judith, RI a week ago Monday. We have been trying to "hook up" for a couple years now and go chase sharks on the fly rod.
Morning started off early (on the boat at 4:15AM) and a bit choppy but the seas smoothed out nicely as the day went on. After reviewing the latest satellite pics we knew where the temp break was which would hold the sharks.
The hope was for a shot at a Moko or Thresher on the fly between shots at the many Blue Sharks we expected to see.
Capt. Bill Borwn is THE expert shrk guy in New England and we were not in the spot for more than 2 minutes before the first sharks came to the boat for a look.

I was fishing a general baitfish tube fly I tie with SF Blend. The fly is about 6" long and easy to cast with a great profile. The fly was armed with a 3/0 Signature C68SZ hook which performed very well. From the moment the first big Blue Shark cruised by the action was steady all day.
The Blues were more than eager to eat the tube fly and with my G.Loomis Mega 12/13 and buttery smooth Islander 4.8LX and a fly armed with a strong Signature fly hook I was really able to put the screws to the fish. I ended up releasing 3 sharks right around the 200lb mark with another around 175lbs and a couple more in that 125-150lb range. Late in the afternoon I had a good shot at a perfect fly rod Mako of around 6' but was not able to seal the deal. The Mako was hot for the fly but the big Blue sharks were so thick at the time it was tough to get it to the Mako while keeping it from the Blue dogs.

It was a great time and a lot of fun to watch all the sharks swimming around the boat. It was like our own personal aquarium.

Hummm, look whose coming for a look



Hooked up with some serious heat on the fish. When this 8' Blue Shark felt the steel of the C68SZ it burned off over 200 yards of backing.



This Blue was real fired up alongside the boat and tried to remove some of the Gel Coat. Notice the tag in this shark. Looking forward to getting the tagging data so see when and where it was tagged.



Not exactly like the Greenback Cutthroat Trout I was catching just a few weeks ago.



This shark, like the others loved the tube fly



Here was the second nice Blue of the day.

[DEcevR]

Nice job Dr Fish ............ we usually use a chum fly for sharks. Very interesting fly you used.

Right now I would be going after the shark food instead ...... the albies!

[Dr. Fish]

That is the fly I also use for many other species like Sailfish and Wahoo. It's a general baitfish tube fly. as for the Albie's, yes they are fun but I've already caught a zillion of them this season to just under 20lbs so I've had my fill of them for now. It was fun doing something a bit different.