Summer is well and truly here and that brings one thing, endless days and nights chasing sharks. I don't know if it's just the way they fight like maniacs all the way to the bitter end or the fact they are just a beautiful toothy critter that always draws me to chasing them. After organizing a trip earlier in the year chasing them up at Ledge Point and only having one hook-up to get totally smoked by the mysterious fish it was time to organize another.
With all the rods, reels etc loaded into the car the drive north was underway. A weeks fishing in the Midwest was on the cards this time and with the added possibity of many different species landbased including baldies, bluebone, pink and black snapper the mind was just drooling at anticipation.
The first and most important part to remember when fishing these areas up north is to fish the high tide, that cannot be stressed enough. Before I went up I read a fair bit on this and after experiencing the fishing first hand it's very good advice indeed, if you're not fishin it then your just wasting time.
The baits weren't in the water longer then 10 minutes before I landed my first fish, a small black snapper, followed by two just undersize pinkies. With this type of activity I knew i was going to be in for a good session. 
What makes shark fishing for me is that first blistering run they make, even small ones fight like absolute brutes, couple that with the light gear and it's just insane fishing. Just as I was getting onto the good fish the first shark hooked up. Not a monster but still put up a nice 10min fight and up washed a nice shovelnose.
Once one shark arrived then they all come, shark after shark after shark all round the 1-1.5m mark made for and entertaining trip.
I lnow when targeting sharks a lot of people swear to use wire but what I found with these smaller ones is the heavy wire seemed to scare them off a little bit. I don't know if it was the fact it was heavy wire or the bait was wrong but it seemed I could only get a hook-up on the mono rigs. This was no ordinary mono, Schnieder line on the 80lb mark was the choice as it just seems to have the best abrasive resistance than any others around and this was proven to me when I managed to land 6 sharks on the same rig before being bitten off.
The best thing about this trip wasn't the fishing but the fact I got to enjoy this with my partner and that is big thing that I believe draws most people to the sport. There was nothing more enjoyable than watching her fight, running up and down the beach and reel in her first big fish, being able to show her this is the reason I'm out most weekends doing this.
As much fun as they are to catch they are also quite good on the chew. Catch care is important and putting a shark down as humanely as possible is the key. If you do keep one for the plate I'd suggest getting a shark tamer bat. I picked up one just before I left and it does the job great.
They are made from a solid piece of aluminum with the end bored out so are light yet strong enough to swing with ease. They are also made locally on Perth so you know your supporting local shops when you pick one up.
All these fish were caught in the space of a few hours on one day, with the rest of the week getting even better each day. I can definately say that this fishing trip was one of the best I've had by far and I cannot wait to be getting back up there in the near future.
Tight lines
Reece
