The bull shark fishing has been solid here in south Florida. I think the most recent shark bans have really brought our shark population back from the dead, sort of speak. Yes, the shark population has definitely come a long way since the old days, that's for sure. I remember back in the 1970's and 80's when they used to have all those shark fishing tournaments and fishermen would just go out and senselessly kill all the sharks that they could catch. Then they would bring them in back to the docks or beaches and lay them out by the hundreds sometimes, like they were being put on display.

Now don't get me wrong, back in my younger days of shark fishing I kept my share of sharks as well. So, I am no saint when it comes down to that. But, with the changing times, and of course growing older....but never up. I have learned to do the right thing and just shark fish for the fun of it. Catching and releasing monster sharks, yeah, there's nothing like it! It's such an adrenaline rush when your tied into a big bull shark, with the rod bent over and the line so taught you can strum it like a banjo! Yep, nothing like it, just you and the fish. Amano-amano! That's the way I like it.

Now, living in south Florida it's very easy to go offshore and hook into a shark most any day of the week. There's nothing to it. Especially in the summer time when the bonita schools come in to crush the live abundance of bait fish. You can locate these tackle breaking, little tuna looking imposters, by the constant breaking on the surface. Also look for circling birds, you find the Aqua-gulls, you've probably found the boney's.

So, now you've found the bonita schools and you've shut down the boat to begin your drift. Open up your chum and bag it and toss it over the side, not forgetting to tie the bag to the cleat of course. Bait up a dead sardine and free bait it back into your chum slick. If those bonita are around you'll know it with a quickness! Let that chum work you'll have those tackle breaking bonita's around the boat very quickly I'm sure of it. After you catch a bonita slice it and either bridle rig it through the eyes or do it the lazy mans way and just sink the hook into the bait and let her go out.

Now there are two thoughts to this. Weighted or un-weighted. Which do you choose? I say depends on the current, wind and drift. If your going to fish two rods like I do, then I would try them both. Put one weight just above the bait on a piece of light maybe 50 pound monofilament so that when the shark eats the bait, the weight will break away, and won't hinder you in any way shape or form. You can also balloon a bait out in the chum slick as well. But remember, if the current is screaming, your bait may not drift the right way if hooked improperly. In other words, it may end up spinning....or what I like to call Helicoptering. And that doesn't look natural to a shark, and may shun a bite.

That reminds me of the time I was shark fishing with a nice fresh bloody chum slick off of the Breakers Hotel, just south of the Lake Worth Inlet, here in sunny south Florida. The ocean was like a piece of glass, almost a cobalt blue in color. It was an evening trip and it was around 4 pm when we set up on our first drift. We had a chum line going for no longer then an hour. I was fishing two shark rods at the time. One weighted, and the other free baited out and maybe thirty feet down below the surface. The drift was slow, and the chum line was looking sweet! All at once I thought I saw something near the stern of the boat. I bent over the side and looked straight down. Starring back up at me just underneath the surface of the water was a huge hammerhead shark, all of ten foot long! He started circling the boat. He was obviously interested in our hanging chum bag and he either passed up our baits or never saw them. I reeled in the top bonita head (bait) that I had out, and put it right in front of the big hammers face. NOTHING! He just swam around it, not even sniffing the thing. After about ten minutes of moving the bait, and trying to free-bait it back with negative results. I was starting to get irritatated to say the least. This shark was so close I could have reached over and touched the thing. Then it came to me.....How about trying to make this shark mad?.....just might work.

So I reeled my bonita head back in and had my step dad hold the rod while I put the Penn 12/0 reel in free spool, with the clicker on. Then I grabbed the wire leader and held the bonita head in my hand. I waited for the hammerhead to make his full circle and come out from under the transom of our boat. The hammer came out and I threw the bonita head right ontop of him! I actually bombarded him with the bait, and it made a huge splash striking him right ontop of the hammer! The shark did just what I predicted. The hammerhead was mad and excited, both at the same time. He mad a quick turn, opened his mouth and engulfed the whole bonita head in one gulp! The fight was on from there. So you never know just how a shark might come up your chum slick. Try both weighted and unweighted techniques and see which one you like best.

Let me tell you this; I've said it before and I'll say it again, stand up sharking is the BEST! There's nothing else like it when it comes down to shark fishing. Just you and the shark. Your tied into him and he's tied into you. And somebody will be the victor. But who? That's the fun part! Now, this being a big boys or girls sport, I probably don't have to tell you that it's very dangerous!!! Just the fact that your strapped into a couple hundred pounds of really enraged shark, and he's on the other end on the line. Meaning that whether your in a boat, on a bridge, or off a jetty, you've still got the same chance to be pulled overboard into the water with your wrathful foe, sporting a nice big set of "Choppers" on the other end of the fishing line. I've done it all, and never have been pulled overboard. Well, not as of yet. Knock on wood! And not that I'm planning on it either.