The Craft
Big-Game Fishing From the Sand
Land-based shark fishing is big-game fishing done from the beach. You're in a harness with 130 lb braid, tied to a fish that can outweigh you three to one, and there's no boat to chase it down. Every yard of line comes back from the sand.
Fought From the Sand
Baits Paddled, Never Cast
FWC Permitted & Shark-Smart
100% Catch & Release
How It Works
The Fight Happens
in the Wash
Land-based shark fishing runs on heavy conventional tackle fished from the sand. A whole natural bait — a stingray wing, half a bonito — is rigged on a crimped leader, clipped to the main line, and paddled out on a board beyond the first sandbar, farther than any cast could reach.
The end of the fight is what a boat can't give you: leading a shark through breaking surf, turning her in three feet of water, and landing her at your feet. The last 30 yards take longer than the first 300.
Every yard the bait travels out is a yard you have to win back — from the sand, in the dark.
The Setup
Reel
Avet EXW 50/2 two-speed conventional
Line
130 lb braid, 550+ yd capacity
Rod
80–130 lb class shark rod
Leader
400 lb mono to heavy cable, hand-crimped
Hook
20/0-class non-offset circle hook, non-stainless
Deployment
Inflatable paddleboard
Harness
Full fighting belt + back harness
This is the gear that goes on every trip — the same setup I fish myself.
The Rules
The Rules That
Keep Sharks Alive
Florida's shore-based shark rules are the strictest in the country, and we're glad they are — we built the operation on them.
Permitted, every angler
Florida requires a free Shore-based Shark Fishing Permit and the online Shark-Smart course for every angler 16 and up, on top of a saltwater license. No guide can cover you — every guest carries their own. Florida residents fish the shoreline free; visitors buy a short-term license, about $17 for three days. We walk you through all of it before the trip. About 30 minutes, mostly free.
Circle hooks only
Non-offset, non-stainless circle hooks with natural bait. They catch the corner of the jaw, not the gut — and if a hook stays behind, it corrodes out.
Cutting device in reach
A leader and hook cutter stays within arm’s length the entire session. When a shark needs to go, nothing slows the release down.
No chumming from the beach
Prohibited statewide, and we would not do it anyway. The giants patrol the first sandbar on their own — the bait goes to them.
Prohibited species stay in the water
Great hammerheads, tigers, lemons — 29 protected species never leave the water. Gills stay submerged. Photos happen in the wash.
Release without delay
Every shark, protected or not, goes back. Quick measurements, hook cut clean, gone. 100% catch-and-release, every trip.
The Release
Under a Minute,
Back in the Dark
The release is the most rehearsed 60 seconds of the night. The shark is led into the shallow wash, never dragged dry. Your guide controls the leader, length and girth are taken in seconds, and the cutter goes to the hook. Circle hooks sit in the corner of the jaw, so most come out clean — when one does not, it is cut and left to corrode out.
A push toward deeper water, two tail beats, and she's gone. You get your photo and the numbers for the log, and the shark goes back where she belongs.
Learn it with a rod in your hands.
Tell us the dates you have in mind and how many are coming. We'll come back with open nights and pricing.