As certain as gravity taking hold, you cannot avoid hooking sharks in our bay waters especially if you put your bait on the bottom. And barring any major intrusions of fresh water via storms it’s a rare piece of bay bottom that does not have some type of local shark in residence.
The more common sharks of our bay include: the brown smooth hound, spiny dogfish, and leopard shark. Much larger species include: the seven-gill and soup fin, however, this column will concentrate on the smaller more abundant species.
And abundant they are. Once the boat is anchored up and a scent trail established typical of predators keyed on a free food source the action can be fast and furious. The larger brown smooth hounds and spiny dogfish will give a decent fight on lighter tackle, but the leopards are something else.
They run with speed and power rivaling that of a striped bass, and they have surprising endurance, which means it will take some sweat to bring one to boat side. But you’ll sweat even more because it’s not uncommon to get double and even triple hookups as a pack of its hungry siblings move in. If you’re an adrenaline addict and what angler isn’t, sharking will definitely keep one on a natural high all day.
Close And Cheap
Besides being a dependable resource year round, reaching productive shark territory in most cases takes only a matter of minutes, and setting up necessary tackle is relatively cheap and simple.
Teaching New Anglers
On another plus because sharks are abundant and willing biters, they’re perfect subjects for teaching new anglers the basics of angling particularly on how to fight a fish properly. And even if the novice screws up, there’s no need to fret because there will always be more willing biters sitting in the chow line.
Fascinating Subjects
Sharks are fascinating and well adapted creatures for their particular niche, and when young anglers get a chance to see one up close and see what makes them tick, they get a better understanding of how important sharks are.
Where To Go
Sharks populate the entire bay from top to bottom, and there is virtually an unlimited amount of shark territory one can fish. In fact, often you’ll usually find yourself being the only boater fishing sharks with huge swaths of surrounding water to yourself.
For starters and if you want to save gas money, depart from the public launch that is closest to your home base. If you’re not targeting any specific species of shark you can fish almost anywhere, but if you want to tangle with larger specimens especially the leopards, work the deeper water along the channel edges. The channel edges cut through the entire length of the bay.
To give you some ideas here are some basic areas to go in the bay. The deep water on the edge of the channel above and below the San Rafael Bridge, California City, and south to Angel and Treasure Island holds an abundance of sharks. Heading down to San Francisco the sandy sections off Crissy Field hold fish, and in fact my nephew Gabe caught his first leopard here. South of the San Francisco/ Oakland Bay Bridge the huge swaths of open water on both the east and west side of channel down to the San Mateo Bridge offers tons of places to go. From the San Mateo/ Hayward Bridge and downhill to the Dumbarton Car Bridge more productive shark territory is available.
Leopards favor transition areas where the bottom begins to gradually drop to deeper water, and they like a firm bottom or hard shell mix. Generally, if you anchor in 30 feet and greater, you’ll be sitting in hostile territory, and along with the leopards you’ll encounter other sharks. That of course keeps things interesting.
Using The Depth Finder
Before I drop anchor I’ll scan the bottom. If any sharks are in residence you may see individuals or small bunches, and they’ll appear as large arches on the depth finder screen. Some cruising fish will suspend off the bottom. If I continue to read more marks I’ll drop anchor on this active lane.
Herring Schools
Should you locate large masses of herring staging in a particular spot, you can bet the sharks are there as well. Herring is a favorite forage fish especially for very large leopard sharks.
Productive Tides
Sharks will bite on both sides of the tide but some of the best action tends to occur during short windows when the currents are beginning to speed up or slow down, like 2 hours before the top of the tide and 2 hours after or 2 hours before and after the bottom of the low. This is especially true during very strong tides.
Tackle
My favorite shark outfit consists of a seven foot one piece graphite trigger stick matched with Penn’s 965 or 975. Conventional reels though can be difficult for beginners so pack a spinning outfit or two. I’ve used Penn’s 7 foot, and matched with Penn’s 560 Spinning Reel with good results.
As far as line is concerned go with the braids. Their non-stretch properties and thin diameter provides sensitivity and an immediate hook set on the strike, and that’s something you’ll need especially when fishing sharks in deeper water. Excellent line choices would be Izorline, Western Filament, P-Line Spectron and Spiderwire for spinning reels in 50 lb test.
Shark Leaders
You don’t need to complicate things when rigging up for sharks. To create a shark leader I’ll cut a 2-1/2 foot section of 60 lb test Sevenstrand plastic coated wire and secure a 1/0 swivel on one end and a single 7/0 or 8/0 Owner SSW hook on the other end. Both the hook and swivel are secured into place with an A 5 sleeve.
To complete the picture, slip a plastic sliding sinker sleeve on your line then tie to the swivel on the leader. Your sinker is then attached to the snap on the sleeve.
When selecting sinkers for bay sharking bring an assortment of leads from 3 to 10 ounces to cover for changing conditions. For best results use enough weight to keep your bait on or near the bottom.
Baits
Leopards, brown smooth hounds and spiny dogfish will hit a variety of baits. Squid is one of the best for lots of action followed by shrimp, anchovies, herring, mackerel, and tuna chunks. My other favorite is American Shad. I’ll cut this bait into small bite size chunks, and when baiting the hook I impale a couple of pieces and that’s it.
Fishing Offensive
Lets assume the picture looks good. The tide is moving at a moderate pace, and you’re anchored over fish that are showing up in a brazen manner on the depth finder screen. Lets also assume you have several friends or family members on board.
The latter is a big plus because it allows the boater to legally fish additional lines. For those who don’t know you’re allowed only one line per angler when fishing inside the bay.
If you’re lucky enough to have extra bodies on board, and after you’ve selected the needed amount of weight to hold bottom, to maximize the coverage fan cast the lines over a broad area. This provides a wider scent base for the sharks to key on.
Generally, it doesn’t take long to get bit. The rod tip will bounce with sharp raps before it dips down. The moment it happens strike fast and hard. If you’re using braid the connection will be immediate.
Once word gets out, the chow line can get real busy, and who shows up can make for a fascinating guessing game.
If lately your schedule has been too busy to allow for a longer more expensive trip, and that young angler of yours is getting restless for action, give bay sharking a try. You won’t be disappointed.
Side Bar:
Pier Fishing for Sharks
If you’re a non-boat owner don’t worry there are public piers that can put you into shark country. Here’s a brief listing:
Point Pinole Pier is located near the Pinole State Park on the east bay side. To get here take I80 and take the Hilltop Richmond exit. Go west on Hilltop to San Pablo Ave. and go right. Follow this to Atlas Rd. and follow to the Pinole Pt. Parking lot.
McNears Beach Fishing Pier lies just south of China Camp on the west side of San Pablo Bay. To get here take Highway 101 to Point San Pedro Road. Follow this east for 8 miles to the park entrance and pier.
Paradise Park Pier is built into a natural cove along the Marin shoreline near Tiburon. To get here take Highway 101 to the Tiburon exit. Follow Tiburon Blvd. Then go left on Trestle Glen Blvd. Take this to Paradise drive and head north to park entrance and pier.
Oyster Point Pier is situated on the southeastern edge of South San Francisco. This smaller pier is easy to access since vehicle parking is very close. To get here take Oyster Point exit to Marina Drive. Turn right and follow road to pier located near the launch ramp.
Dumbarton Pier – The Dumbarton pier part of the old Dumbarton Bridge is located in the shadow of the new bridge on the east shore. To get here access Highway 84 traveling east bound. Take Thornton Ave. exit then follow state refuge signs west to pier.
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