- 1). Prepare the water with chum to attract the sharks, making sure your baited line is in the water for their arrival. Either keep the boat moving slowly forward or jigg your line to make the bait move, as mako sharks hunt by sight and are attracted to movement.
- 2). Approach mako shark fishing differently from other types of angling. When fishing for other (usually smaller) species of fish, the angler will fight to bring the fish aboard as quickly as possible. This is not a technique to be applied when fishing for shortfin mako sharks. The mako is too strong to be fought and, if brought to the boat too quickly, its propensity to jump out of the water makes for the potentially dangerous situation of the shark leaping into the boat. Keep a steady 15 lbs. of drag on the line and move the boat so that the shark remains off the stern, and wait until it exhausts itself.
- 3). Persevere. Mako sharks are aggressive, tenacious hunters. So, even if an individual frees itself from the hook, don't give up. As soon as possible, re-bait the hook and re-cast. It is fairly common for a just-hooked shark to return and take another bait.
- 4). Reel in the mako only after it is completely exhausted. This will lessen the chance that it will jump into or attack the boat. Harpoon to the rear of the dorsal fin rather than the head, and once dead pull in and gut.
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