Fishing for Salmon Sharks

[carpeweekend]

I'm heading up to West Coast resorts Engelfield Bay lodge on the west side of Moresby next week and was going to give it a go for Salmon sharks if I have the time. Was up there last year at the same time and we hooked up on salmon sharks while trolling for Springs with cut plugs. It is actually pretty common to get a shark on your line but 40 pound mono doesn't hold up very long to sharks teeth.

Does anyone have any insights/experience fishing for these beasts? I was going to simply put my hali reel onto my salmon rod and use a steel leader. Will use either cut plugs or perhaps try a salmon belly.

This is a photo of one that we managed to get to the boat as it was small for a salmon shark and lip hooked so than he couldn't bite through our leader. I will post if I have any success. I will post if I have any success.

 

[Old Blue]

I'll contact my buddy who's got some experience with them up there, certain guides have played with them often at Englefield.

 

[profisher]

Cousins of Great White's..and you can see the similarity.

 

[bigbruce]

Gotta ask - what do you do with them after you catch them? Are they edible?

 

[MadJigga]

Looks like fun to me!! Gotta guess here....release them?!

 

[Iwannagofishin]

I'm heading up to West Coast resorts Engelfield Bay lodge on the west side of Moresby next week and was going to give it a go for Salmon sharks if I have the time. Was up there last year at the same time and we hooked up on salmon sharks while trolling for Springs with cut plugs. It is actually pretty common to get a shark on your line but 40 pound mono doesn't hold up very long to sharks teeth.

Does anyone have any insights/experience fishing for these beasts? I was going to simply put my hali reel onto my salmon rod and use a steel leader. Will use either cut plugs or perhaps try a salmon belly.

This is a photo of one that we managed to get to the boat as it was small for a salmon shark and lip hooked so than he couldn't bite through our leader. I will post if I have any success.View attachment 28370 I will post if I have any success.

Salmon are attracted to voltage fields but sharks, being the ultimate predator, are even more susceptible to it. I will send a PM.

 

[Old Blue]

So I guess they're more abundant later in the season. In the past they've hit herring and plugs from time to time. They do tend to hammer a hooked salmon pretty hard. Maybe a nice big salmon belly trolled might work best???

 

[Canso]

Use a pink salmon cut plug, salmon sharks follow the large schools and pickup the stragglers.

 

[hambone]

Gotta ask - what do you do with them after you catch them? Are they edible?

I've been told they are pretty good eating!

 

[Fixit]

ive eaten a faor bit of shark, very nice meat! firm n flakey

 

[Capt_Ed]

When I ran CQA at Hippa , North of Englefeild, we got into a lot of salmon sharks over the years. At first on the salmon gear but later when we started targeting them we used the halibut rods with braid and a 10ft steel leader. Used a big hunk of salmon belly for bait and mooched /bump trolled . We also dragged a meshed bags full of salmon guts and parts, the bloodier the better. It worked very well and we caught lots. The biggest landed was only 130#'s but it was an awesome fight. Our chef was the most excited about catching them and cooking them as he had spend a lot of time in the Caribbean and loved cooking shark. As it turns out , last I heard he was cooking at Englefeild so when your there ask for J-Lowe and he'll give you the scoop as I'm sure if there out there he'll be chasing them. Good luck and let us know how you made out.

 

[carpeweekend]

Thanks Capt Ed. What you were suggesting was exactly how I was thinking of targeting them. Was going to use a mesh bag with salmon parts about 10 feet up from the lure and clip off the down rigger line. I will definitely talk to the chef about cooking it for the lodge if I can get one into the boat. They are supposed to taste much like Swordfish. And yes, they are a blast to catch. Have caught a few while trolling and they are incredibly strong and fast before they break off.

 

[IronNoggin]

... And yes, they are a blast to catch...

That they are! We generally used whole pink salmon, and tweaked them to get an anchovie like roll. Heavy wire leaders, and halibut / tuna rods. Strong alright! Never did kill any, although we did tag a bunch over the years.

Here's an "incidental" we picked up trolling a few years back:

Enjoy!!
Nog

 

[Capt_Ed]

Thanks Capt Ed. What you were suggesting was exactly how I was thinking of targeting them. Was going to use a mesh bag with salmon parts about 10 feet up from the lure and clip off the down rigger line. I will definitely talk to the chef about cooking it for the lodge if I can get one into the boat. They are supposed to taste much like Swordfish. And yes, they are a blast to catch. Have caught a few while trolling and they are incredibly strong and fast before they break off.

Forgot to mention I was a commercial fisherman for 35 years and I have caught them halibut fishing and seining. We never kept any back then but wish we had, as the first time we ate them at the lodge I was more than impressed. I have eaten most of what the Pacific Ocean has to offer and I'm here to tell you that salmon shark is right near the top of the yummy list

 

[LachlanS]

How North do you need to go to find these sharks? Has anyone caught them around tofino/victoria? It was my impression that you generally only get them in Haida Gwaii, or anywhere North (such as Alaska) I feel like catching and releasing these fish would be a ton of fun.

 

[Dogbreath]

Occasionally they are found on the banks off Ukee I had one take a swipe @ a Salmon one year but we never saw him although two other posters here had in the weeks previous.

 

[Chuck]

WOW would that be fun!! I bet they would go ballistic once hooked up and just about looks like a smaller version of a great white.

Keep us posted very interested to hear how it went.

Cheers,