SHARK FISHING HANDBOOK

It is with great joy that I commence the creation of the third edition of the famous SHARK FISHING HANDBOOK. The original version was written at the end of 2002. That edition was revised in 2008 with the expansion of content. The third edition is being written now. If you are one of my friends reading this, I want to thank you for being there along with me as we conquered the WILD KINGDOM. Here you will find a TREASURE CHEST OF GOLDEN TECHNIQUES AND KNOWLEDGE.

The original 2002 SHARK FISHING HANDBOOK was written to solve the problem that new shark fishermen had…access to good quality information to get started. On the internet there were are variety of websites with messageboards for shark fishing. Many of these websites had “Gurus” posing as qualified shark fishing experts that had never caught much of anything. People that just repeated what others had said and wrote. So there was a mess of crazy information on the messageboards that was often incomplete or ineffective. I saw hundreds of people join websites with a sincere desire to learn this sport but with only a 1%-2% success rate and a 98% failure rate. So I did something about this and wrote the handbook. With angler training and development we boosted the success rate of new shark fishermen to about 30% to 40%, easily improving the odds of a new angler becoming suCcessful by 20x. 

The original SFH was written after my team won the first year of the  shark fishing rodeo in 2002. The tournament was 9 months long for Texas. So I just wrote up what we did and how we did it to win the tournament. I wrote up all of the information that many of the “BIG TIME SHARK FISHERMAN” never wanted shared. I put together the basic recipe that a guy that was a leader could put together a team of people from scratch and within a very short time start catching sharks out of the surf.

So how have I benefited? You cannot become a master at something if you do not share it with others. When you learn and then you teach you use more of your brain. By reaching out to others, I made the friends and connections to experience more than I ever would have be going at it alone. Many of you have helped me realize my dreams and been there to catch the giants of the surf. Many have helped me go beyond what I could do on my own. There is incredible power in teamwork and mastermind problem solving.

It is 2022 and I have largely been away from shark fishing for the last few years as my small children were born. But I still have possibly the best batting average to ever hit Florida. In my first 20 days of fishing Florida, within the 100 yards of sand in which I fished with my friends we have put 9 tigers, 5 nice hammers, and two big bulls on the beach. Three of the tigers in the 12 foot class. To this day as of writing this, we have never done a trip Florida without putting a tiger shark on the beach. Even made it to program, SHARK WEEK on world wide television, August 6th 2010, on the show Man VS Fish where we caught and released a 12 foot tiger shark. So what is here works. Many of the techniques are not the only way to do something but they do get people started on a path to enjoying success. What is written here is exactly how I fish, follow along closely and you may get similar results as I have. I wish you lots of happy satisfying moments catching the caliber of game fish your dreamed of as a little boy.

The aim of the 2022 SFH is to share even more detail and information than ever before. So if you fish Frazier Island Australia, or Cape Hatteras North Carolina, or Fort Walton Beach Florida the techniques will generally apply where ever you are.

I do ask that as a participant in this sport that you agree to use good judgement in conducting yourself of the beach and do not make every trip a bad publicity stunt.

Cautionary Statement:

Although shark fishing can be a lot of fun and thrilling beyond compare, it is fraught with pitfalls and danger. Safety and clarity of mind are of paramount importance when dealing with sharks and the surf environment. The ocean can kill you no doubt. Losing a hand to a shark is insignificant compared to the magnitude of loosing your life. You are more likely to drown than be attacked by a shark. Caution is important and getting into things slowly will allow you to navigate these inherent dangers in dealing with the surf environment and allow you to enjoy a very exciting sport. Think of the shark fishing camp as a construction site where safety comes first and there is no room for drugs or alcohol. Happy hour starts when the fishing day comes to a close and the last rod is reeled in. Fish together with other people and call for help when you need it. Be extra careful when you are tired or sleepy. Pick your fishing crew wisely and let them know you expect them to be both careful and sober while fishing. It never hurts to have a safety meeting in your campsite before you put the first bait out. Use prudent judgement on the beach and take care to be safe.