The unmistakable phantom-like shape of a thresher shark rising up behind a bait almost boatside sent shivers up my spine. It also made me start bellowing orders like a watch officer on the quarterdeck of a frigate in line of battle.

Photo by: Capt. David Bacon
Danger: Explosive – Make certain a thresher shark is thoroughly worn out before bringing that stick of dynamite aboard your boat.

Hungry and curious, the long-tailed thresher shark moved quickly and furtively, dashing away and then back again.

My deckhand, Tiffany, knew just what to do whether I was bellowing orders or not. She dashed for the cabin to grab a suitable rig while I tossed out a few live baitfish squeezed just enough to make them twitch and swim in a wounded fish circle. That action is a surefire shark attractant.

The shark stayed close by, feeding on the chum I was slowly metering out. Tiffany came out with just the right rig for a sporting battle with an angry thresher: a heavy-gauge VMS 6/0 live bait hook on 120-pound steel leader tied to the 65-pound Invisibraid main line spooled on a Penn 16VSX reel on a Penn Mariner rod. I estimated the shark to be 175 pounds.

We belly-hooked a lively 6-inch mackerel, dropped the baitfish in the water and let it take line out until it was about 30 feet from the boat. Then we engaged the clicker, put the reel in free spool and set it in a rod holder.

I continued to meter injured chumfish, and within five minutes, the reel screamed for three seconds and then went silent. The shark had whacked the mack with its long, powerful tail.

An eager passenger took the rod out of the holder and waited for my instructions. I told him to wait for the shark to take the fish the rest of the way into its mouth and move off again. Just as I finished, the reel went off with a prolonged clicking. I let it run about 15 yards before instructing the lad to put the reel in gear and slam that hook home hard.

He did, and the surprised thresher greyhounded in the air three times in a row and raced for open water. That was an adrenaline rush moment! After 45 hard-fought minutes, we double-gaffed the critter and hauled it aboard amid hearty backslaps, high-fives and cameras flashing.

As thresher sharks move up the mainland off Southern California each spring, we suddenly have a major game fish option within reach of many boaters, skiff anglers and gutsy kayakers.

The SoCal Bight frequently becomes crowded with concentrations of baitfish, which act as a magnet for larger predators. Threshers use the area for nursing, as their young can find plenty of food to grow up fast and strong.

Because female thresher sharks do not reproduce until they weigh well in excess of 200 pounds, we generally release shark pups smaller than 70 pounds caught aboard my charterboat, WaveWalker.

Shark fishing is a fun combination of frenzied activity, great patience and ongoing bait-catching work. On charters, I have one or two people constantly work bait gangions on spinning gear to catch small mackerel or smelt, which are among the best baits for these sharks. Threshers will also eat anchovies and sardines, but when we can jig up some 6- to 8-inch mackerel, we have the perfect baits.

The size of the hook is determined by the type and size of the bait. With a 6-inch mackerel, use a 6/0 to 7/0 hook and either tail-hook or belly-hook the mackerel. With smelt, a sardine, or a very large anchovy, choose a 2/0 to 3/0 hook. With smaller baits, go down to size 1 or 1/0 hooks. The hook must be tough and sharp, so select a heavy-gauge, and sharpen the point if needed.

No weight is required, unless there is considerable wind and the drift is so quick that live-lined baits stay too close to the surface. In windy conditions, use a sliding sinker on the main line above the leader so the bait stays at least several feet below the surface. Between 5 and 10 feet down is where I prefer a bait to soak and struggle enticingly.

A thresher may whack a bait with its tail, or just mouth the bait without any tail action. Fish with the reel in freespool, but have the clicker on to alert the crew and guard against backlashes from a savage tail-whack. Let the fish make a good run, then spin down the drag to a medium-heavy setting for the line strength, switch the clicker off and slam that hook home.

Now hang on tight, because you just lit the fuse on a big stick of dynamite!