Not that I will be fly fishing for shark any time soon but I’ve heard SoCal waters hold a decent population of Mako and Thresher shark, does anybody have any recipes for sharks flies?
Since I won’t be fishing much for a few months I might as well learn something new like tying some of those. I already tried goggling the subject but I didn’t find much.
Thanks
The ones I have seen in the pics hanging out of shark mouths have the distinctive look of a bloody piece o’ meat.
Other than that, I have no idear.
I take that is red hackle.
The only info I got from somebody who fishes in San Diego was that you use half a chicken for those flies but that’s pretty much it.
I took the challenge of tying some shark flies for Mako and none of them had any chicken feathers at all. The bulk of the fly was synthetic. The only natural material I used was rabbit. Big hooks 6/0-10/0, 6-8" length min. and predominately red and orange were the most prescribed requirements. They caught 5 mako on them so the fish liked them. 
You can take a look here for the bulk of them …
I agree with Crawfly, big flashy red and/or orange flies. I use tube flies most of the time for shark flies since you can hide the wire connection in the fly and if you have a cutoff, you still have a chance to retreive the fly.
With shark, you have to get a quick reaction strike. If they take time to look at the fly they usually won’t take it.
What weight do you gentlemen fish them with?
Soak in blood and fling 'em…
I meant to say line weight…what is the name of the synthetic material you used and what hooks?
Thank you
I think you may as well just skewer a whole rooster on a hook and call it a fly, it would be that big anyway.
Well, i caught a five foot blue on a herring rig whilst salmon fishing in Santa Barbara Channel, so maybe if you created something like that it would work…eyes might be important and defined gill slits and i’m thinking if it looked kind of bloody you might have some luck. Use the heaviest wt fly rod you have and be prepared to clamp down on the spool with leather gloved hand…you know, just in case you tag a 20 foot great white.
Cheers,
MontanaMoose
I have caught sharks down in Outer Banks. The guides flies were red and orange zonker strips. The rabbit strip was then wrapped up to the eye with some red flash
The sharks were brought in to the boat by a chum slick.
Man I lost a big ol post so I guess I’ll recast the offering.
Wgt. & hook size is dependent on what size shark swims in to the slick.
12-14 wgt & 6/0-8/0 for around up to 150 lbs. 14-16 wgt. & 10/0 for above.
I tied up the equivalent of 6/0 tiemco 600SP (the difference being this latest version is black nickel finish)
The flies were a rush order. The synthetics were what used to be called Hairabou and I think is now call Big Fish Hair. I also had what may have been sample 16" red synthetic hank. No label or mfg. This stuff gave the needed length. Tied more in the body of the fly was Icelandic sheep and I finished off the head with rabbit strip. Eyes are important. I used 3/8 turned aluminum and usually 3d stick on which I epoxied in or halo stick ons which set in the recess.
I tied flash in at various points. I guess the 6/0-8/0 flies should be 6-8" long and the 10/0 10" to whatever you think you can throw.
Make sure you have a reel with a quality drag as these guys (makos) can hit speeds of 35 mph and they will shatter a drag on the run. Good luck and post some pics if you hookup, although video is the best way to go.
All the fish caught with the 6/0’s were 120 or less which I would venture to guess is more the norm. They had a big boy check them out from a distance and he never came in close enough to tease.
The one I intend to use is a Pflueger Trion 10wt…35mph??? Man! I’ve seen pics of people fishing for them (thresher) from a kayak I guess they go for a ride with the shark.
I will post pics or video but like I said, that is not happening any time soon, maybe the coming summer.
Thanks alot everybody and Crawfly, that is great info.
The guides that fish for Mako sharks out of San Diego typically use tube flies and tie their patterns using synthetics. Hooks were 8/0 to 10/0. All of the flies that I have seen from Capt Conway Bowman and Capt Dave Trimble are made with course synthetics such as big fly fiber or super hair for example. Wig hair works pretty good too and many others. The material doesn’t much matter. Synthetics will last for more fish. Flies with a lot of red, orange, and yellow seemed to work pretty good for makos. Tying instructions are similar to baitfish patterns like the Flashy Profile Fly.
Flies were not presoaked in anything. Sharks were brought in with a chum line then drawn cloaser with a teaser made from a dead mackerel. When teased up, the sharks would repeatedly come back and strike again at the fly even after getting a look at it. We would often pull the fly away from a smaller fish to recast to a bigger fish.
I have used 14 and 16 wt rods for makos and blue sharks up to 150lbs. Rio Leviathin fly lines, 50lb backing.
The images below show some flies
I have used 14 and 16 wt rods for makos and blue sharks up to 150lbs. Rio Leviathin fly lines, 50lb backing.
Several years ago I had the privilege of fishing with Capt Dave Trimble of Bowman Blue Waters for mako sharks off San Diego. They use a chum slick and then cast a teaser to any shark that shows up. Then you cast a fly to the shark. We had a 6 ft hammerhead almost take the fly but he swerved at the last second. A shortime later a five foot make was hooked and fought for 30 minutes before he broke off. We used a big streamer fly called the Mako Magic by Brian Mattchoss.
Here is an article on Mako fishing -
http://www.riverandreef.com/articlelive/articles/126/1/Giant-Mako-on-Fly/Page1.html
Conway has a great team to fish with! I recently saw where Conway caught a great white shark on the fly.
I have attached a photo of the fly I used.
That makes me think my 10wt would not be enough for the task, man, I just can’t find anything to use that rod for…
So if I tie smaller flies can I just try to catch smaller sharks? Not sure if that’s how it works for those.
That was my first thought because my heaviest hitter is my 9wt, so since i’ve caught a few sharks on gear, i’d try to sight cast to the little guys…maybe 3 and 4 footers…
Cheers,
MontanaMoose
a 10wt is plenty of rod…not sure of the limits but I know you can go several hundred lbs on it…this bull was caught on 10wt and I should also add that it was a dragless reel…
Wow…I wish I could fly fish for bull sharks right from the shore. My backing is 30 pounds, you think I should swithch to 50 pound backing? Also, the like my 10wt has is a Cabelas Prestige floating line.
How deep was the water? Catching big fish in shallow water where they do not need to be lifted out of the depths much is different than in bluewater where a big fish might get several hundred feet down.
I know several anglers who use 10wt rods for tarpon to 100lbs but will use nothing lighter than a 13 or 14 wt rod for 50lb yellowfin tuna. I have watched anglers with excellent fish fighting skill just get exhausted attempting to bring up with a 10wt rod 25 to 35 lb fish that sounded to 300ft or deeper because the rod didn’t have the backbone to lift effectively.
For Southern California thresher, blue, and mako shark fishing a 10wt would be okay for smaller examples, say up to 50-60 lbs if they do not sound, but 12wt and heavier are favored for lifting advantage.