Sheet 13 of 28
intermediate rig
Bottom presentationShark bottom rig (circle hook, catch-and-release)
This is an advanced setup best learned alongside someone experienced
- Water
- piersurfbayinlet
Components
- Heavy main line or leader to a wire or heavy-mono bite leader
- Non-offset circle hook
- Cut or live bait (bunker, mullet, or similar oily bait)
Setup
- Hook
- Federally required, not optional, for anyone with an HMS shark endorsement: non-offset, non-stainless-steel circle hooks when fishing for sharks with natural bait, from shore or a vessel, anywhere south of roughly the Massachusetts/Cape Cod area — which includes all of Virginia. This also matters regardless of permit status, since it reduces gut-hooking on a fish that, depending on species, may legally have to be released anyway.
- Weight
- Enough to hold position in current; pier/surf sharking often uses a fairly heavy bottom rig to reach past the immediate surf zone.
- Leader
- A foot or more of wire or heavy (100+ lb) mono bite leader is standard — sharks' skin and teeth will cut through light leader.
How to fish it
This is an advanced setup best learned alongside someone experienced — beyond the legal circle-hook and permit requirements, safe unhooking and release technique for an animal with teeth and a powerful body takes real preparation.
When to use it
- Surf, inlets, and piers on summer nights when small coastal sharks move in
- Oily bait (bunker, mullet) in a moving current that carries the scent
- With an experienced angler alongside and a release plan before the first cast
Common mistakes
- Retaining any shark recreationally requires a federal HMS Angling or Charterboat/Headboat permit with a shark endorsement — without one, every shark caught on this rig must be released. Sandbar shark specifically must always be released, regardless of permit status. See species pages for per-species status.
Variations