Thread: Shark population question/opinion

With the pier being shut down so long, this should lend credit to a couple theories on the shark situation.

-We know it wasn't the fish cleaning stations.

-With the pier being shut down so long, would the sharks conditioned to free meals from anglers move on and forget what they have adapted to?

-If the shark population is still strong around the pier, it has to be more than just sharks chasing schools of fish right? Are the attractors/structure really holding enough fish to support the numbers of sharks we've seen in the past.

We've spent the past 3 years fishing other pan handle piers a few times a year and it's totally different in regard to sharks. We caught more sandbars, duskies, fine tooths, and smaller black tips than anything. Another observation was that they really only came out at dusk/night. You also had to be using bigger live or cut bait.

The past few times we came out to gssp several years back, we hooked sharks on any type of live or cutbait, even thumbnail sized pieces. Almost all the sharks were spinners, blacktips, bulls, sharpnose, and sandbars. And this was mainly during daytime hours. In one day fishing at gssp, we hooked into more sharks than all the week long trips to other piers over 3 years.

I'm excited about the pier opening back up and already have a week long trip in October in the works. Just curious what others takes are on the subject after the pier being shut down so long.

Based on a few videos from anglers boat fishing near the pier, the sharks are still present in large numbers.

farewell and adieu to you fair Spanish ladies-farewell and adieu you ladies of spain

It has become obvious these particular sharks (mostly mature Blacktips) have become conditioned to feeding around the structure and reefage of the pier. The more sharks are present, the more aggressive they become. At this point in pier history our biggest ally is the commercial longlining operation that has apparently put a dent in them...

I am probably in the minority, but not crazy about all the large tiger sharks killed this summer.

I remember when they put the double cleaning tables out on the Octi I began “noticing” a change😆

Does the rubble from the old pier (pre-Ivan), stationed several hundred yards out from the existing pier, hold enough food to keep the sharks around?

Not sure I’m not sure they even leave anymore! Dude it was a double whammy of depredation out there the other day with flipper getting involved Marty lost a small king- he said a blowfish got em😂

Had a full-sized Jack eaten by flipper right by the pier last summer. Swam around with it for a while. Only got the squished head back.