Trolling for Mako Sharks

When most anglers think of mako fishing, they naturally envision chum slicks, huge baits on circle hooks, and long cable leaders. As they should – if you want to target these apex predators chumming is the best way to do it. However, makos are one of the few shark species so aggressive that they can be targeted while trolling. And if you’re in an area where makos are known to be prowling but you also want to fish for multiple pelagic species at the same time, it’s totally do-able. The trick? A few minor adjustments to your mixed spread.

It’s difficult to see in this picture, but if you look close you can see the ballyhoo spring hanging on the (monofilament) leader. What’s a bit obscured by the remainder of the ballyhoo is the two-inch strip of 250-pound single-strand wire leader. Hidden by the ballyhoo, spring, and skirt (there was a blue/white skirt on here which was being held up the line as this picture was taken), this short strip of wire is completely invisible and doesn’t affect the appearance nor swimming action of the ballyhoo. Tunas, mahi, and other gamefish will still strike it as usual. It does, however, give you a huge edge against a mako. They’ll still bite you off sometimes, roll on the leader and snap it, or somehow get their teeth on the line above the terminal connections. However, adding on the wire takes the bite-off ratio down by at least 70- or 80-percent as compared to having a mono-to-hook direct connection.

Another trick that helps reduce bite-offs is to kick up your speed a notch. While mako are perfectly capable of catching a bait no matter how fast you troll (mako are the fastest sharks on the planet and have been clocked at speeds up to 45-mph), slow-trolled offerings are more apt to get completely inhaled. In that case the end of the wire trace will likely be well inside the shark’s mouth, and a bite-off is basically a sure thing.

Finally, make sure you have a blue/white offering in your spread. While mako have been known to attack just about anything (boats included!) they show a definite affinity for blue/white. In fact, the day this photo was taken five mako were hooked and three were landed, while trolling a full spread including everything from rasta-colored spreader bars to naked ballyhoo. There was one blue/white Ilander in the mix – and it accounted for four of the five mako strikes.