By Richard Schumann
Photographs courtesy DDSC Library

I started fly fishing for sharks in the
mid-90s, when blacktip reef sharks would sometimes become a nuisance on the flats in the Seychelles, making an easy meal of the slowed-up and tired bonefish that were being released by anglers. These blacktips also readily took a well-presented fly and put up one hell of a scrap. After that, they quickly learnt to avoid us, which afforded us some respite to continue bonefishing. Since then, I’ve done a lot of fishing with Andrew Parsons who has a great passion for sharks, and I soon learnt that there was a whole new fishery out there waiting to be discovered. There are quite a few shark species besides the blacktip reef shark, the odd lemon and nurse shark that inhabit the flats from time to time and all of them make superb fly rod targets.

DISTRIBUTION: Red Sea to central Pacific and to southern Mozambique. CHARACTERISTICS: Roving scavengers of coral reefs up to 75m deep, they also frequent shallow water of less than 1m. Adults converge in reef channels at low tide. Have been known to enter brackish water. Although not huge by shark standards, they are aggressive and have attacked man, especially while wading in shallow water. OTHER FACTS: 2 - 4 pups per litter, born at 30 - 60cm are the norm. Blacktips attain a length of 1.8m and can weigh up to 25kg.

Always have someone help you land a shark - the author getting tied up in knots with a lively blacktip reef shark.

First light was just starting to define the horizon as we approached the flats next
to the main channel of the remote and uninhabited atoll of Suwarrow in the Cook Islands. We were on a GT charge, hoping to catch the big boys still up on the shallows, hunting for breakfast. As the skiff pushed up onto the edge of the flat, even in that poor light it was evident from the numerous dorsals cutting the water surface that there were more than just a few blacktip reef sharks out on the prowl. Thinking nothing of it, the four of us jumped out of the skiff and waded towards the channel. Mark was the first to fire off a shot and his popper was engulfed on the first chug by a nice bluetip, which streaked off for the channel. It had no sooner disappeared over the edge than it reappeared and made a headlong dash across the flats, pursued by a couple of hungry blacktips.

Mark horsed the fish in before it could be eaten and I tailed it on its first pass.
Trying to unhook a top and bottom jaw hookup isn’t easy at the best of times and the thrashing bluefin didn’t make things any easier. In hindsight, knowing that there were sharks around, I should have lifted the fish out of the water as soon as it became apparent that a quick release wasn’t on the cards. As they say, he who hesitates is lost, and in no time I had two blacktips latched onto the head of the bluefin, trying to help me unhook it. In seconds, there were ten or more sharks aiming to muscle in on the action and, as more sharks joined in, the situation got totally out of control. As I glanced up towards the channel, all I could see in that early morning light were scores of silhouetted shark fins heading our way at warp speed! I had to let go of the bluefin as around us the water was a heaving, exploding mass. It was a quick but controlled retreat back to the skiff. To the casual observer, though, it probably looked like a mad panic as we backed up, jumping, kicking and beating off sharks with the butts of our rods as they took swipes at us.

Blacktip reef sharks occur in very shallow water.	Most streamer variations will work well for blacktips.

Be that as it may, what that incident illustrated admirably was that although blacktip reef sharks are, on their own, no threat to one’s safety, in large numbers they can become a handful. I also found that, in general, the blacktips at Suwarrow were a lot more aggressive than other places I have fished – a trait which, by the way, also made them easier to catch.

Normally, a blacktip reef shark requires a fairly close presentation, leading the fish by not much more than a metre. When in the mood, however, the Suwarrow blacktips made
two metres or more to take the fly. Blacktips primarily eat fish and squid, so most
baitfish streamer-type imitations – from 2/0 to 6/0 – work well, as does the ubiquitous bright-orange, palmered streamer that seems to be the fall-back pattern for just about any shark. Occasionally, blacktips will also eat poppers and, when they do, this is the
most fun one could have with these fish.

Found all over the Indo-Pacific, blacktip reef sharks are probably the most common shark encountered on the flats. Although I have seen them in the company of silvertip sharks (Carcharhinus albimarginatus) and grey reef sharks (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos) on the outside edge of some flats, I haven’t seen the latter two species range right up into the shallows like the blacktip does.

Capable of attaining almost 2m in length, blacktip reef sharks, however, seldom exceed 1m and can be comfortably tackled with 8-wt to 10-wt outfits. My standard bite tippet would be #5 single strand wire, but if the fish are uncooperative and small, I’ll go
down to #3 wire. Blacktips are used to chasing down their prey, so a fairly fast
retrieve works well.

DISTRIBUTION: Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans, ranges south to KZN. CHARACTERISTICS: Commonly found in subtropical waters up to 92m. Have been known to attack birds and smaller sharks, and are potentially dangerous to man. OTHER FACTS: Experiments on lemon sharks have shown that they learn as quickly as some mammals and remember for at least six months. These sharks give birth to 4 - 17 pups per litter, born at 60cm, and attain 3.5m in length.

Lemon Shark (Negaprion brevirostris)

“That fish is on the prod,” said Jason, as he poled the skiff up towards the small lemon shark that was cruising in among the mangroves. He had just seen it bump a sapling mangrove and almost eat a leaf that fell. Now, if you want to see a strike every bit as fast as a puff adder, slap a big fly down on top of the head of a hungry lemon shark. I did just that and, as the fly hit the water, the strike was instantaneous. With amazing agility and lightning speed, that lemon swirled back and up, nailed the fly and spat it out before I could set the hook! For a relatively slow-swimming fish, that was indeed an impressive display of speed, agility and accuracy.

Lemons have poor eyesight, but their hearing and magnetic- and electro-sensing abilities are superb. Flies produce very little in the way of an electric or magnetic field for the fish to pick up on, so fly presentations need to be right up close. Slapping the fly down lets the fish know exactly where it is without their having to see it, but unless the fish are really hungry, this technique can also spook them – lemons are generally the shy, retiring types. Out on the water, that’s a call you or your guide will need to make, but if you’re not sure then err on the conservative side. The textbook presentation to a fish that isn’t fired up but swimming head-on would be to gently present the fly as close as possible, to either the left or right eye of the fish so it can’t help but see the fly. Then slowly slide the fly away from the shark, but never so far that it loses sight of it or loses interest. In other words, you need to “feed” most lemon sharks, but once they have eaten the fly, you also need to set that hook pronto. Most sharks (lemons in particular) can spit a fly in the blink of an eye and setting the hook on these creatures can take a bit of getting used to. Once you have the hang of it, lemons – although not the fastest on the block – put up a great fight and the bigger fish have good reserves of stamina.

Bright flies usually work best with lemons, and the stock standard, brightorange streamer is my go-to fly for these fish as it can be tied to give an enticing action, even during slow retrieves. Lemons love the shallows, especially around mangroves, and can be found on the flats in the Atlantic and Indo-Pacific. At the top of the tide, when there’s enough room to swim, I have seen some really big fish of 2m-plus on the flats in the Seychelles, but these larger fish are really shy and difficult to approach.

Lemon sharks will nearly always try to bite you - so handle with care! Although not the fastest, lemons put up a great fight, especially the bigger specimens, such as this one.

For the average-size lemon encountered on the flats, an
8-wt to 10-wt outfit will suffice, but a really big fish would be far more comfortable to handle with a 12-wt or heavier. My choice of bite tippet for the average-size fish would be #5 single strand wire, going up to #7 or even #9 wire if they’re really big.

As mentioned, lemon sharks are agile and quick to bite, so they do require very careful handling if you don’t want to lose any blood. It is always prudent to have someone
help you release the fish.
In addition, when they know they’re beaten, lemon sharks will often turn defence into attack and regularly charge at anglers and boats during the latter stages of a tussle, so it pays to be wide awake when interacting with these fish.

Another common denizen of the tropical flats in parts of the Atlantic and eastern Pacific is the nurse shark. They seem to prefer specific resting sites and will return to them each day after the night’s hunting. Unlike most other sharks, they have the ability to pump water over their gills, which allows them to remain motionless.

Of course, it makes no sense tossing a fly at a sleeping shark – or at one you’ve just woken up with a start – but, now and again, it is possible to find a nurse shark cruising the flats during daylight hours. The most effective way is to chum nurse sharks up, but if you’re a purist and after
free-swimming fish, it may take a while. However,
I have seen the occasional nurse shark eat a
well-presented fly. Again, the hot-orange streamer has worked best, presented close-up and just to the side, as with the lemon shark. Being slow movers, nurse sharks also need to be “fed”, keeping the fly just in front of the fish until it finally locks on.

Nurse sharks may be slow and lumbering, but don’t be fooled. Go vas on a big fish and you’ll find out all about power and stamina. Generally, nurse sharks are docile creatures and present no danger to anglers, but it is wise to be careful when releasing them as they have viselike jaws that can inflict serious injury to the unwary.

Nursery sharks are mostly inactive during the day and can often be seen having "slumber parties" in shallow areas.