written by Evan Anderson

If you’re a fan of Into the Blue, then you’re well aware of the diverse assortment of gamefish available for anglers to chase in the Florida Keys. Capt. Steve Rodger, co-host of Into the Blue says that oftentimes he’ll get clients that book a 5 day charter with him, allowing them to really explore that variety and get the most out of their trip. But there’s always one option that comes up at some point. “There’s always at least one guy,” says Rodger with a grin, “who says, ‘What about sharks? Can we catch sharks?’”

In this episode, Captains Scott Walker and Steve Rodger head to Marquesas Keys to fish the flats for blacktip, the “sports car of the shark world”, and lemon sharks. Here are three tips from the seasoned captains for catching these “Kings of the Flats” as Rodger refers to them.

BARRACUDA BAIT

On their way to the flats, Rodger takes a quick detour to a wreck where he knows they will catch barracuda, the staple bait for shark-fishing in the Florida Keys. He maneuvers his Yellowfin 36 Offshore over the wreck, and within minutes they’ve got barracudas flying through the air as they hammer their topwater poppers. “They are the ultimate fish for us as guides,” laughs Walker as he reels in a feisty cuda, “the clients love them.”

They’re not over the wreck for long, just long enough to catch what they need before heading to the flats for the main event. “You don’t want to take too many, that’s always key in this fishery,” says Rodger, “Just take what you need, we only needed 3-4 cudas...with that we had enough bait for the day.”

From there, the two captains make their way to the flats. The weather is perfectly clear, which in Florida means the sun is especially strong that day. As they head out to their destination, the captains wrap themselves in their Scales gear to keep the sun off their necks and arms. Little things like having some layers to provide some UV protection will make your day on the water much more enjoyable.

Arriving at their first shark stop of the day, just on the edge of a channel snaking through the flats of the Marquesas Keys, Rodger and Walker begin preparing their barracuda catch to use as bait for the sharks. Rodger likes to prepare his barracuda two ways when fishing for sharks.

First, he takes one barracuda and butterflies it, slicing down the side just enough so that the filets extend out from the fish while still remaining attached near the tail. Rodger then takes the butterflied cuda and attaches it to a stringer which he then hangs off the side of the boat to start their chum line.

For the rest of the barracudas, Rodger filets them and chops the filets into chunks to use as bait. The carcasses are then tossed into the water to add to the chum slick.

CREATING A WIDE CHUM SLICK

Since they’re alone on the flats today, Rodger decides that he’ll set up a drift rather than anchor in place. “The reason I wanted to drift was because I wanted to try to spread our scent out as much as possible as opposed to just anchoring up and creating a chum slick,” explains Rodger. A chum slick from an anchored boat drifts out in a straight line with the current, meaning that fish will have to cross that line before coming to find the boat. “I wanted to do that drift and cover a lot of water,” he says, “kind of waking everybody up on the flats.”

“The reason I wanted to drift was because I wanted to try to spread our scent out as much as possible as opposed to just anchoring up and creating a chum slick.”

— Steve Rodger, Co-Host of Into the Blue

They had to wait a little bit, thankful for their Scales gear as the sun beat down on them, but soon enough they got their first bite of the day, an enthusiastic blacktip that repeatedly soared out of the water, reminding Walker of his beloved sailfish. “That’s the acrobat of the sharks here on the flats,” comments Rodger.

POINT AND SHOOT

Moving on to their next spot, Rodger again set up their chum line like he had back on the flats. Rodger comments that it’s important to set up in these spots in such a way that you’re not facing the sun and keep your baits up on the surface, allowing the sharks to see them better. “One of my favorite things to do is don’t even put a bait in the water,” he says, “Let them come to you, and as they come just start feeding them. And with that, you can then almost hand-pick which shark you’re gonna catch.”

Things were slow to start at this one, but as Walker hooked his first blacktip, a whole pack of lemon sharks suddenly came upon them. Rodger frantically began tossing more bits of chum into the water to get them excited; and thus the feeding frenzy began.

“By the end of the flurry we had the sharks so chummed up that every time a chunk hit the water, one or two came to the surface to eat it,” describes Walker, “That’s when we went into point and shoot mode. We picked the one we wanted, cast the bait a little higher so it landed a little louder, see which shark approached it, and then just worked it right off the tip of his nose until he was so enraged that he just gobbled it right off the rod tip.” Using this strategy, Walker hooked his last catch of the day only 3 feet from the boat.

To see these tips in action on this episode of Into the Blue, watch the full episode below. Follow @intothebluetv, @captscottwalker, and @steven.rodger on Instagram for more Into the Blue content as well as @waypointfish, @waypointsalt, @waypointboating, and @waypointtv.