Tips for Sharking at Night

Once the sun sinks below the horizon, some people like to go to parties, some like to go to restaurants or bars, and some like to try things like sharking at night. We're betting that if you're on the FishGame website right now, you're the type that would find catching sharks in the inky darkness a heck of a lot more fun than any of those land-based activities. We know we sure as heck do. So when you're ready for a midnight sharking adventure that's second to none, put these five tips to good use.

This mako may not be huge, but he's still an apex predator - and quite an exciting catch.

1. Hang a green underwater light off the side of the boat. These things attract hordes of bait, which in turn attracts small predators, which then brings in larger predators like those sharks. What about the blue transom lights that are so popular on modern boats? Unfortunately they're just for looks, and green attracts five times as much life. Try hanging a greenie off the side and you'll quickly notice that the critters flock to it, in comparison to those blues.
2. Obviously, chum helps attract sharks. But at night it can be very hard to make sure there's always a steady flow going. To make sure there aren't any gaps in the chum line, use pre-frozen blocks you can drop into a chum bucket. Depending on their size and how warm the water is, using pre-frozen blocks you can rest assured of a steady chum flow for anywhere from an hour to three hours at a time.
3. Don't use massive baits. Some people seem to think you need a chunk of bait the size of a cow to attract a shark. In reality, all this does is present the fish with something it needs to really work on, before it can get the bait in its mouth. A fist-sized chunk of fish is large enough to get the attention of sharks weighing hundreds of pounds - and they'll chomp it down in one bite.
4. Try using live baits. Even sharks get finicky at times, and reject a bait or two. Live baits, however, rarely get passed up.
5. Always keep a pitch bait rigged and ready to go. When you're fishing at night (assuming you have that green light going) probably half the time you spot a shark it'll be swimming along the edge of the illumination, and may not be anywhere near a bait. More often than we'd like to admit, the fish is spotted once or twice and then disappears. But if you always have a rod rigged and ready to toss it a bait at a moment's notice, you'll get a shot at hooking up without worry that the shark will cruise before it ever spots one of your baits.