what to do with sharks

[trout-hunter]

Hey everyone,
Im a freshwater fisherman and never been to keen on fishing the salt, im down at phillip island at the moment and have decided to give it a go. Ill use a bait tonight (pilchards or squid) but what i want to know is.. if by chance i hook on to a bloody mako shark or big gummy or any big fish WHAT THE HELL DO I DO! Im thinking cut the line because i wouldnt know how to kill a shark and i wouldnt want it to suffer a slow death. Any info is good info.
Cheers

[davek]

Kiss it and throw it back, cheers davo

[Brett]

if you catch a big fish, just treat it as any other and enjoy it. Once it's close enough to shore, decide if you are going to keep it for a feed or let it go.
If letting it go, cut the line as close as possible to the hook and let it swim away.

[Kadmium]

Hey everyone,
Im a freshwater fisherman and never been to keen on fishing the salt, im down at phillip island at the moment and have decided to give it a go. Ill use a bait tonight (pilchards or squid) but what i want to know is.. if by chance i hook on to a bloody mako shark or big gummy or any big fish WHAT THE HELL DO I DO! Im thinking cut the line because i wouldnt know how to kill a shark and i wouldnt want it to suffer a slow death. Any info is good info.
Cheers

It all depends on what gear you are using. If you feel you can get it close to shore and cut the line do it. If it starts peeling drag and running then you might get spooled. Also, the less line trailing the fish the better.

Having said that, if it's a school shark etc then most likely you will be bitten off.

[Lightningx]

A good size gummy would be worth keeping plenty of flake.

[re-tyred]

We just dispatch gummies and most other large fish with a heavy club. Swift wack on the top of the head just behind the eyes. That usually renders them unconscious or dead. Then cut thru the back bone above the gills. If keeping shark it is important to kill and bleed them straight away.

[Lightningx]

We just dispatch gummies and most other large fish with a heavy club. Swift wack on the top of the head just behind the eyes. That usually renders them unconscious or dead. Then cut thru the back bone above the gills. If keeping shark it is important to kill and bleed them straight away.

Lol very true! I learnt my lesson with this years ago.

[trout-hunter]

Cheers for all the advice fellas, ill put away my heavy line and use light gear so i dont have to wrestle jaws. Ill be happy with a pan size fish. Got a little booklet on what legal sizes are so i wont be eating an undersized grouper or marlin haha. Its weird spending my whole life only freshwater fishing but the second the water turns salty im an apprentice all over again.

[Lightningx]

Cheers for all the advice fellas, ill put away my heavy line and use light gear so i dont have to wrestle jaws. Ill be happy with a pan size fish. Got a little booklet on what legal sizes are so i wont be eating an undersized grouper or marlin haha. Its weird spending my whole life only freshwater fishing but the second the water turns salty im an apprentice all over again.

So you're going to be fishing landbased mate?

[trout-hunter]

Yeah mate, just going to check what time the tide is due to change. If its high and flat then maby a pier but low tied then might head over towards kilcunda. When is best to fish actually? High or low or both just not while its changing