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© St. Petersburg Times, published August 8, 2002
Probably the hottest things going inshore are small blacktip and bonnethead sharks. They're a blast on light tackle and will give you a great workout.
These toothy critters are easy to find. Set up on a 4- to 6-foot grass flat next to a sandy ridge. Put a chum block in the water off the transom and scatter a few pieces of cut bait to get things stinky.
Most sharks are 2-4 feet, so 15-pound tackle will work. The only necessity is a smooth reel drag. If the drag is sticky and jerky, the shark will snap the line or pull out the hook. Wire leader isn't needed if a long shank hook is used. In fact, more bites will happen without the steel. If the hook is set properly, it will land in the corner of the mouth. Forty-pound monofilament leader is a good idea. A shark could tail-whip lighter line, causing it to break.
Free-lining live bait works well. Sharks patrolling the sandbars in search of small bait fish have infiltrated these shallow areas. Scaled sardines and threadfin hearing will work. Hooking them in the breast next to the pectoral fins makes the bait swim erraticly, attracting sharks.
-- Capt. Rick Frazier runs Lucky Dawg Charters out of St. Petersburg and can be reached at (727) 510-4376 or by e-mail at captrick@luckydawg.com.