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.

The Shark Files - Part II

By Richard Schumann
Photographs courtesy DDSC Library

Blacktip Shark (Carcharhinus limbatus)

A catch of note. This blacktip was subdued by a lady angler who was tough enough to step up to the plate.

Streamlined and robust, with a long pointed snout, blacktip sharks take the whole game up a notch. First, they’re difficult to hook – and once you do manage it, they are so explosively fast that staying attached becomes another major hurdle. This is compounded by the fact that they sometimes launch themselves into the air in a series of spectacular leaps that will pop any leader or fly line. The only blacktips I have seen right up on the flats have been juvenile fish – very shy and swimming rapidly, which doesn’t make for easy fishing. However, if you want to lift your leg with the big dogs, the best place to find bigger, cruising fish that are not too skittish is along the edge of flats with a fairly steep drop-off, usually on an outgoing tide.

Ninety percent of the blacktip’s diet is fish, and it uses its exceptional speed to smash through schools of baitfish, spinning and snapping as it goes. This feeding behaviour sometimes propels the fish clear of the water in a great, spinning leap, which often leads to misidentification as the longnose blacktip or spinner shark (C. brevipinna). However, I don’t think the longnose blacktip ventures as close to the shallows as the blacktip does. As the name suggests, the longnose has a much longer snout than the blacktip, which helps with identification.

As with any shark, chumming them up is the easiest way to catch these fish, but even then they can still be very shy and difficult. It takes time for them to settle down, and only when they seem comfortable in the chum line should you show them a chum fly or the ubiquitous orange streamer (below). For those who would prefer to try for a
free-swimming fish, it is likely to take a lot of time and effort (unless you are lucky enough to get a fly in front of a juvenile fish up on the flats), and polling the outside edge of suitable flats will probably be your best shot. To a large extent, presentation and retrieve depend on what mood the fish are in. A fired-up, free-swimming blacktip will eat a baitfish pattern on a fast retrieve, and even a popper should work under these conditions although I have yet to put this to the test).

Blacktips can exceed 100kg, but most fish encountered will be around 20kg - 40kg, so #5 single-strand wire is my preferred bite tippet. For the bigger fish, you may want to look at upping this to #7 or #9 wire (depending on the size of the fish). Once hooked, you will never forget the fight with a blacktip shark. They are powerful and extremely fast, and if they don’t jump and spin you off within the first 100m, you’ll also discover their good reserves of stamina. This is a truly spectacular shark, now recognised by IGFA as a game fish.

DISTRIBUTION: Occurring in the Pacific from southern China to northern Australia, they are common in the Indo-Pacific, from Madagascar, Mauritius and the Seychelles to South Africa. Their habitat ranges from extremely shallow water to depths of 800m. CHARACTERISTICS: While grey reef sharks do feed actively during the day, they prefer to feed at night, often entering shallow lagoons. They form schools of up to 100 individuals during the day, and the average home range is around 4.2km. They are a curious and aggressive species, and social by nature. OTHER FACTS: Litters range from 1 to 6 pups, born at 45cm - 60cm. Attaining a maximum length of 2.55m, they are long-lived, reaching in excess of 24 years. When excited and in a feeding frenzy, they can be extremely dangerous to man. Signs of imminent attack can include a raised snout, stiff and lowered pectoral fins, arched back and exaggerated swimming movements.

Caribbean (Carcharhinus perezi)
and Grey Reef Shark (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos)

Because they tend to prefer slightly deeper water than is found on the flats, the easiest way to attract these sharks is to chum them up and then show them a chum fly, or even the dreaded orange streamer. However, if you’re going to put the time in and try for a free-swimmer, then hunting along the edge of outside flats with a steep drop-off into deep water, over an outgoing and slack low-tide period, could very well put you in touch with a patrolling reef shark. Being essentially night-feeders, free-swimming Caribbean and grey reef sharks aren’t easy to tempt, but both hunt fish and are accustomed to chasing down prey at speed, so baitfish imitations like halfbeaks, sardine and mullet are the preferred patterns. Although both the Caribbean and grey reef seldom reach over 2m in length, they are fast and strong and you will want lots of stick and a heavy drag. A 12-wt outfit would probably do in most circumstances, but I’d much prefer going up to a 14-wt. That extra bit of stick helps shorten the end-game considerably.

Both species are shy and spook easily, so when presenting to a free-swimming fish,
try to lead it by at least 2m and fish as light a bite tippet as possible. Some anglers go as low as #3 single-strand, but I feel much safer with #5 or higher (especially if it’s a big fish).

Let me relate a real-life encounter. As the tide began to fall, the tarpon started moving off the outside flats and began schooling along the edge of the shallow drop-off.
Chris Morrison quietly edged the skiff closer
to a big, densely packed school of fish
(which locals in the Marquesas refer to as
a “meatball”), slowly moving our way.

Andrew Parsons was up and fired off a perfect shot well ahead of the approaching fish.
As the lead fish drew near, Andrew gently wiggled the fly and surprisingly the fish spooked and the already dense school tightened up even more. Before Andrew
could cast again, the whole school suddenly bolted straight towards us and shot under
the skiff – with the biggest hammerhead shark I have ever seen hot on its trail.
This mighty hammerhead, its large dorsal scything through the water, chased the school of tarpon onto the flats, and what followed was without doubt one of the most amazing chases I have ever seen. I had no idea a shark that big could swim that fast and make such tight turns at full tap in shallow water. It was like a go-kart track as the tarpon zigzagged across the flats, with the hammerhead’s dorsal and thrashing caudal clearly visible just a few metres behind.

One tarpon, which we estimated at about 30kg, soon realised it was in big trouble, and in desperation began to jump. Already tired, the first and second leaps weren’t the greatest, while the third barely cleared the water and the fourth was only an attempt, with the exhausted tarpon hardly managing to raise its head out of the water before it was nailed by the shark. For the next few seconds, the water was a maelstrom of white foam that quickly turned into a bright red froth. Exit one tarpon. I can’t say I’m ungrateful not to have seen any other big hammerheads on the flats – especially while wading – but I’ve been told they do regularly hunt in the shallows. I am at a loss as to what tackle to use for a big hammerhead, since they are extremely fast and powerful and just never give up. Even a small hammerhead will put you through your paces on the heaviest fly tackle. If you are brave enough, be my guest!