Some episodes of the New Jersey Angler Video Magazine are planned well in advance. Others are more “opportunistic”. This episode falls somewhere in between. A week prior to the late June day when this show was filmed, we had some folks out bluefishing about 8 miles from the beach. While we picked away steadily at the bluefish, but also had quite a bit of action with brown sharks, and actually got spooled by something much bigger. A day or two after that, Darren got spooled by something of substance while filming our Honkin’ Blues episode a bit further offshore at the Barnegat Ridge. But, it doesn’t end there. Two days after that, and back at our inshore spot, Darren jumped a large thresher while fishing with some friends. They fought that fish for almost an hour on a little Torque 100 jigging setup before the hook pulled.

 

Hooking and losing three big sharks - possibly all threshers - within a week from the same general area was too much for us to take. We mobilized a camera crew, dug out the heavier tackle, and met at the boat early the next morning for a shot at revenge.

 

 

Over the past few seasons, we’ve taken notice of the number of good-sized sharks being encountered just off the beach. Of these, brown sharks are the most common. Otherwise known as sandbar sharks, brownies seem to average about 40 to 60 pounds, although they grow much bigger and can really put a light-tackle outfit to the test. Small hammerheads are being seen more frequently, too, as are dusky sharks, small makos and even blacktips.

 

But it’s the thresher shark that provides a true big-game opportunity for the small boater. These pelagic sharks grow to over 600 pounds, although most inshore versions seem to run between 100 and 300 pounds. It isn’t uncommon to see threshers ripping through bunker schools just off the beach, spraying hapless baitfish in all directions with their giant tails. Striper fishermen hook up with them every so often, but rarely are these fish landed on such tackle.

 

Threshers are also frequently seen near artificial reefs as they prey on all manner of reef fish. We often hear stories of unsuspecting wreck anglers hooking up with acrobatic threshers while reeling in seas bass, blackfish or fluke. Again, the battle is usually short-lived.

 

The conquer a thresher, an angler must be prepared for one. This means forgoing the possibility of action with other inshore species, and specifically targeting these high-order predators with tackle that can handle them. Simply put, one must go thresher hunting, which is exactly what we were doing when this episode was filmed.

 

 

Setting up for a shark drift on the inshore grounds is no different than going through the same exercise in the offshore arena. Whether the desired structure is a wreck, reef, lump, or just a piece of bottom that seems to be holding good quantities of baitfish, one should take the time to set up a drift profile that will take the boat over the desired structure.

 

Chum should be deployed liberally. We used a pair of chum buckets when offshore sharking, and go about the inshore game the exact same way. Our chum slick is supplemented with a constant stream of bunker chunks. These prolific baitfish are usually found quite easily on the inshore grounds, and a cast net or snag hook can be used to obtain plenty of baits in short order.

 

Live bait seems to make a real difference. We prefer either live bluefish or live bunker, and both are readily available in the early summer. On the day in question, we opted for the former, and easily loaded the 90-gallon livewell in our 26 NorthCoast by tossing small jigs around the sod banks in Barnegat Bay.

 

We try to fish a 4-rod spread when sharking inshore. The long bait is usually a weighted bunker or bluefish fillet, and it is fished just off the bottom under a balloon or float. The medium bait is usually a weighted and butterflied bunker deployed at mid-depth under a second balloon or float. The third rod is a fillet or chunk positioned on a flat line just out of sight, and the fourth rod is tethered to a livie, which is bridled and allowed to swim around the boat unencumbered.

 

 

Thresher sharks do not have big mouths like makos, so hooks can be a bit smaller. We use 8/0 “J” hooks on 49-strand cable on the bridle rig and the flatlined setup, and 9/0 circles on 400-pound mono on the deep baits. The circle hook/mono setup plays a critical role on the deep baits. Usually a thresher will go airborne just after the strike, which creates a surprising amount of slack line that must be retrieved before a successful hookset can be obtained. Often, the fish will throw a “J hook” that has not yet been set, but a circle often finds is mark in the jaw of the fish. When using a circle, the angler simply needs to reel as fast as possible until the fish comes tight. As you watch this episode, notice how both hooked threshers generate a tremendous amount of slack line on the strike…line that needed to be retrieved before the hook could penetrate adequately.

 

Worried about a mono leader? Don’t be! Bite offs are rare on 400-pound mono and such a setup may actually result in more strikes and better hookups. We now use it on all our deep baits, both inshore and offshore. In case you're wondering, the knot that "slipped" in the show was between the top shot and the swivel. It was not related to the business end of the rig.

 

 

As previously mentioned, trying to catch a thresher on striper or bluefish tackle is an exercise in futility. Sure, it can be done, but such an approach most often ends in disappointment. The Penn 16VSX outfits we used on this show were spooled with 450 yards of 80-Pound Power Pro and 20 yards of 130-pound mono topshot. We feel that this is about as light as one can go and still have a reasonable shot at landing these bruisers. True, it may be a bit overkill on a 40-pound brown shark, but thresher hunting is a different game with different requirements. Also, it’s important to resist the urge to put a lighter outfit out there in the spread. Remember, Murphy was a fisherman!

 

 

This is the part of inshore thresher hunting that often proves daunting for the small boater who doesn’t have much shark fishing experience, but it’s really not all that complicated. A small flying gaff is an important piece of equipment. With the fish boatside, this gaff is stuck into the fish’s gills and the fish becomes permanently attached to the boat with ¾-inch braid. A second gaff is used to maneuver the fish’s tail so that another angler can tail rope the fish. Once the flyer and tail rope are attached, the fish is pretty much history.

 

Of course, all sorts of things can go wrong when a beast of a thresher is boatside. Extreme care should always be exercised. The fish’s tail is arguably the most dangerous part of the animal. Nearly 2/3^rd’s the length of the shark’s body, this tail can inflict serious injury, or worse. Always be conscious of the tail, and treat it as the weapon that it is.

 

Some anglers treat thresher as a delicacy, and others deem it as barely edible. We happen to love it. In fact, it is one of our favorite fish to eat. Thresher has a consistency that is a cross between mako and tuna, and the flesh is quite mild-tasting. Grilled, fried or sautéed, there isn’t much better!