“Sharks In The Surf”
A history of the elite sport of Land-Based Shark Fishing
-part one-

I’ve been fascinated with sharks and fishing for them since my brothers and I were kids. Most anglers are familiar with the typical strategy to catch 'em. Get in a boat, round up some bloody bait, find a good spot, lay a chum slick, drop some conventional gear over the side…and wait. Seeking sharks this way gives anglers a good shot at fish, and when successful, plenty of drag punishing action. But don’t get me wrong. It’s not always easy and isn’t without expenses, hazards and more than a few logistical considerations. Just towing a boat in some cases, along with fuel and gear costs can tally up time and money quickly. The first requirement, though, is having that capable boat available to fish in the first place.

Delaware shark. 1970...?	Tom getting spooled. Late '80's

Like some anglers, I have friends with boats, but I don’t currently own one. And some of my boat-owning fishing buddies aren’t as thrilled about baiting sharks as I am when we do get out. Considering the fighting skills of some species, that's always come as a surprise. As a result, about four years ago, I decided it was time to find a way of targeting large sharks whenever I wanted to without relying on anyone else…or their boat. Aside from boat decks, I've had previous luck catching sharks when working the surf. Fish caught when fishing beaches were mostly incidental and small, but it was exciting every time I landed one. For me, catching and handling sharks is tough to beat. Love 'em or hate 'em, they’re beautiful animals. This beach action eventually got my wheels turning, "where there’s small sharks…there’s got to be…and what if there was a way to use larger baits and gear from the beach to catch the big ones?” Sure, you've got the piers, jetties and bridges, but nothing beats the solitude of the beach. If there was a way to go big in that environment, I wanted to know about it.

After initial research online in late 2001, I had plenty of info on surf casting larger baits to respectable distances off the sand. That works, but it wasn’t producing the size or species I was gunning for. I kept searching and a short time later, discovered how anglers were successfully chasing big, trophy-sized sharks from the beach. Seeing them in action landing fish exceeding 10' in length was enough incentive for me. I was terminally hooked on a style like no other in the angling world called 'Land-Based Shark Fishing'. Thanks again to the internet, I soon discovered a dedicated breed of anglers doing what I had been imagining -- and then some.

	Capt. Jim going BIG at Assateague
Photo courtesy: Jim Adam

This is expeditionary fishing at its finest; involving: kayaks, large conventional boat rods and reels, intricate leader systems, exotic and innovative big bait rigging techniques, and more outdoor gear than you see on most fishing trips. For me, it's the perfect combination of outdoor adventure, the beach environment…and Big Game Shark Fishing. There is simply no other way to fish for and then get so close to these animals.

It didn’t take long to see the anglers involved in this sport took it very, very seriously. In Texas, Australia, South Africa, my home state of Florida, and the eastern seaboard of the US, there existed a rich history dating at least back to the 1950’s. I couldn’t get enough, and some of the catches I admired online were keeping me up at night. Not surprisingly, the anglers I got to know were generous with their knowledge, and within a few weeks, the club and I were making leaders, hauling equipment to the beach and paddling a kayak offshore to drop baits. Success didn’t come right away, but through trial and error and a lot more of the same, we started catching some sharks. They were small at first, but we maintained focus on what guys in Australia and Texas were catching and how they were doing it. As we continued pounding the sand, researching techniques and studying the history of the sport, the sharks started coming ashore on a more regular basis and they were finally getting bigger.

Storming the beaches of florida

First of '04

These days we're aiming for the illusive double-digit club and have also become involved in shark research for the National Marine Fisheries Service, Apex Predators Tagging Program. You can read more about our efforts on this site, but that’s not what the series is about. We're taking time to pay tribute to the pioneers first because thanks to innovative anglers like: Jim Adam, Mike 'Hip' Sowden, Doug Mizzi, Billy Sandifer and others, we enjoy a one-of-a-kind pursuit with a rich history going back a half century or more. And as the popularity of this sport continues to grow, a whole new generation is taking what we’ve learned from the past and pushing the envelope side by side with our predecessors. For us, it's a welcome opportunity and an ongoing story we look forward to sharing with you.

Base Camp: Venice

Coming Up:

We’ll explore the origins of the sport and its specialized techniques with land-based anglers Mike 'Hip' Sowden and Jim Adam. Both are big game masters who have been pulling big sharks on to perfectly good beaches since I before we were babies.

We look forward to bringing it to you. In the meantime, enjoy the rest of the site and good luck fishing. -Sean Paxton-