Meet The Sharks
Page I

Meet The Sharks is an abridged version of chapter #3 from my book "Modern Sharking" and gives a brief description of many of the more common shark species taken by recreational anglers along the East Coast and Gulf Of Mexico. For more detailed information on these sharks and about shark fishing, I hope you will consider purchasing a copy of Modern Sharking.

Atlantic Sharpnose
(Rhizoprionodon terraenovae)

Atlantic sharpnose are a small species of shark that is quite common year-round in the nearshore and sometimes inshore waters from the Carolinas to Florida and all along the Gulf Coast. As the waters warm in mid to late summer, these sharks extend their range north to cover most of the East Coast.

Atlantic sharpnose have a habit of congregating in specific areas and forming large groups of similar size and sex, so when anglers catch one of these little sharks, they had better be ready to deal with a whole bunch of its brothers or sisters before the day is out! Most of the Atlantic sharpnose taken by recreational fishermen have a total length of less than four feet and weigh under 15-pounds. Yea, they're small by shark standards, but these little sharks can be just the ticket for recreational anglers armed with light tackle who want some simple fun close to shore. Sharpnose can be recognized by the distinctive white splotchy dots across their bronze back and sides, and by an obvious white fringe along the trailing edge of the pectoral fins.

Blue Shark
(Prionace glauca)

The blue shark's range covers the entire Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico, but they're primarily taken by recreational anglers in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast region. Blue sharks are a pelagic species that seldom stray far from the clear, deep waters beyond the continental Shelf. However, just like makos, a good source of food can sometimes be enough to prompt these sharks to leave their deep-water haunts and move up on the shelf. In the Mid-Atlantic region this occurs for a relatively short period from late May until about mid-June, when blue sharks join makos along the 20-fathom line. But while makos will occasionally move into even shallower water, the blues almost never will.

Two characteristics that stand out and help anglers identify these sharks in the water include their very long pectoral fins and a relatively thin body, a combination that often has observers commenting that they resemble little airplanes going through the water. Inexperienced shark fishermen will sometimes look at the slightly pointed nose of a blue shark and wonder if maybe they've caught a mako. Such uncertainty can be easily cleared up by looking at the teeth. A blue shark has short triangular teeth that hook slightly to the side and are not visible when the mouth is closed; a mako's teeth are long, thin, and easily seen even with the mouth closed.

Blacktip (Carcharhinus limbatus)
Spinner (Carcharhinus brevipinna)

For no other reasons than to save a little ink and not be redundant I'm lumping blacktips and spinners together. I can do this because they are very similar in appearance, range, and habits, but anglers must keep in mind that these are indeed two separate species, and it would serve any shark fisherman well to know how to tell one from the other. But first the similarities:

While they are sometimes encountered far offshore, most anglers hook blacktip and spinner sharks in the shallower nearshore waters close to the coast, sometimes right from the surf or at the mouth of inlets. I'll often refer to these species as "warm water" sharks because off the Mid-Atlantic we don't start seeing them until mid-summer when our local water temperatures push up into the mid-70's, and then they depart once things start to cool in the early fall. These species are somewhat uncommon catches in the Northeast (particularly the spinners), but from the Carolinas south and all along the Gulf Coast, they're quite common throughout most of the year.

Blacktips are often found in water only a few feet deep.

Spinner sharks are sleeker than the blacktip and their black markings more prominent .

Blacktips and spinners dine primarily on small schooling fish. They have a feeding technique that has them spinning and snapping as they charge through schools of their prey. When feeding on schools that occur close to the surface it's not uncommon to see these sharks launch out of the water (still spinning) at the end of an attack. Once hooked, they'll often use the same spinning motion both below the surface and in the air when they jump. On the appropriate tackle both blacktips and spinners are strong, fast, exciting fighters that will never disappoint the angler.

While there are a lot of similarities there are also a few subtle differences that will help anglers distinguish these two species. Spinners will grow a bit larger and reach a total length of about nine feet, while blacktips will only make it to six or seven. A profile view of the two sharks will show that a spinner's head from the tip of the nose to the back of its mouth is much sleeker than that of the blacktip; it almost looks as thought the shark's head was put in a press and squashed down to make it more streamlined. A blacktip may also appear to be a bit huskier in the shoulder area just in front of the first dorsal fin.

The first dorsal fin on a spinner is also a little farther back on the body than on a blacktip. But the most obvious distinguishing characteristic involves the black tips on the fins. Both species have black tips on their fins including the bottom lobe of the tail, but the blacktip lacks this marking on the anal fin, which is the last fin on the underside of the shark before its tail. So the spinner has a black tip on its anal fin, and blacktip does not. Furthermore, the black makings on all the other fins on the spinner are much more noticeable than those of the blacktip - and when blacktips reach maturity, their black tips tend to fade altogether. I know all that sounds kind of backwards, that you'd think from its name that the blacktip would have the more prominent markings, but that's simply not the case.

Spiny Dogfish
(Squalus acanthias)

Preferring water below 55-degrees, spiny dogfish can be found in parts of the Northeast almost all year, but in the Mid-Atlantic region they're only around from about November through May. They frequent both offshore and nearshore waters or wherever there are concentrations of bait or bottom fish. Anglers will find that these sharks will happily snap up just about any cut bait they drop over, and will also respond to jigs or deep-diving artificial lures. When the sharks are abundant, it's not uncommon to have a half dozen or more follow a hooked fish right up to the boat.

Light tackle is the only tackle to use for spiny dogfish

Recreational anglers will find that these "horndogs" are not much of a fight unless they're hooked on ultra-light tackle. But in the off season when anglers just want to get out and catch something they'll at least put a bend in the rod and are actually pretty good to eat. When filleted and skinned a spiny dogfish will provide a long, narrow fillet of white meat that can then be crosscut into perfect size portions. It can be cooked in just about any fashion, but folks should know that in Europe this shark is often battered and fried to make the popular fish-and-chips. If you like to fry fish, this is the one to use!

Smooth Dogfish
(Mustelus canis)

The smooth dogfish or "sand shark" (as it's often known) is similar to its cousin the spiny dogfish in that it's a small shark that's caught accidentally by bottom fishermen more often than by anyone on purpose. But that's about where the similarities end. Smooth dogfish are a little nearshore shark species that grows to about five feet and has a range that covers pretty much the entire East Coast and Gulf of Mexico.

Smooth dogfish or "sand sharks" will grow to five feet, but they're usually caught when they're less than 18".

Unlike the spiny, smooth dogfish cannot tolerate the colder water temperatures so they move north in the spring and summer months and then retreat to their southern haunts in the fall. They're primarily bottom dwellers that feed mostly on small crustaceans, but they'll take just about any bait they can get in their mouth. Spiny dogfish are frequently taken in the nearshore waters and are common catches in the surf and back bays as well.