In Search of Sharks; New Jersey Outdoors

A. Welcome to New Jersey outdoors. We're down here today. I'm a river in Ocean County. And we have with us Pete Barrett who's the editor of the

fisherman magazine an expert freshman. And Pete it's good to have you with us today. We like to have you take us out and tell us a little bit and show us a little bit about the fishery will do that. Shark fishing isn't very good lately. There's been a lot of make sure it's a long lot of skis and blue sharks that really mean you're OK when you talk about sharks people shortish every day I think of the movie Jaws. Tell us a little bit about sharks per se shark fishing really isn't like the movie Jaws at all there's a lot more to it than that. The fish will run a lot of different sizes you know any fish that's going to take a hook that's you know it's got to be a pretty fair sized fish. Also the sharks we're catching will be known as sand bars or brown sharks range in size anywhere from 40 to 80 pounds. But the main shark we're looking for really is the Maaco it's often considered a poor man's game fish it's known as a very high jumping fish and they get quite large. New Jersey record I believe right now as opposed to 500 pounds. And it's a very large fish for someone in a small boat like fish out of.

Tell me why do people lie to get to make one of the attributes that make a game. Well there are several attributes to them. Number one I guess is that he is such a good game. He does jump quite a bit perhaps more or better jumping than the more famous white Marlins or blue Marlins they come out of the water very high and give you a very good strong fight but besides that they have a nickname to the New Jersey swordfish. They do taste excellent covered one quarter for the sport and secondly you fish for food right. That's true very true. The fish the sharks especially that we don't keep for food we release them so we can catch them again another day and not hurt the resource of the fishery. We do stress testing at all times if we can do it but since they are good eating most of the Makos do come back to the dock with us where you say tagging it what do you mean by attack I'm sure our viewers are familiar with that term or how you do it. Well there's two main taking programs for the Sharks one is sponsored by the National Marine Fishery Service biologist named Jack Casey up in Rhode Island. Right. And the other is put

on by the American society based right here in New Jersey at Sandy Hook lamps. Basically what we do we use along tagging stick to insert it into the back portion of a shark and then stays with the fish it doesn't harm him in any way. And someday when someone catches that shark again cut that off and send it back in either to National Marine Fisheries Service or the American patrol society and they will plot where the fish migrated to. She grew so on and so forth so it's kind of an interesting program sort of a scientific venture involved here right. Definitely has a lot to your fishing too it really does. How far do you go for these mega. Wealthy we'll be fishing anywhere from 15 miles off shore to as far as 50 miles off shore. What we're really looking for is the right combination of water depth and water temperature. We'd ideally like to be fishing in about 20 fathoms of water which would be around 100 20 feet deep and also get water temperature that would range anywhere from 68 degrees on up to about

75 degrees they would be ideal conditions for shark fishing. We want and love to go out of and how many of us along the Jersey coast can you go out and do expect to catch sharks. Well you can fish out of almost any inlet along the New Jersey coast and expect to catch sharks. I fish out of Manasquan inlet myself and for me the runt of the shark fishing grounds will be like I said anywhere from 15 to 35 or up to 50 miles off shore. We certainly have a gorgeous day here today you need fairly calm seas do go out offshore like fish for these fish. Well that depends on the size boat you have the small center console boat that I fish out of its 23 foot Maiko boat is. Able to withstand most of the sea conditions we'll get with normal weather conditions but any time we get seas over 8 feet you'd be better off either not going out or going out on a much larger boat just like you saw the Stacy there she could handle so you will have it in your to get some. Oh yes the Stacy would be a lot more comfortable the fish out of if you had rough rough weather. But many times during the

shark season we'll have very calm water or that if it's a little bit rough it still is uncomfortable to fish out of a boat like I have. Well you're assuming right along here I may not see you making this outboard now. But. Well my outboard all run about 38 hundred RPMs and that will average around 20 knots for me. A boat like this Stacy would be able to make that same speed. So you're going to be what an hour and a half getting out here this forty eight miles are too much. I usually figure about an hour and a half running time and then I'll stop and check the LORAN and make sure we're in the exact position that I want to be in. We'll bet many times the wind direction or the weather conditions will be a little bit different that far off shore as compared to when we first left the inlet. So once we get about 15 or 20 miles out we'll stop and check the direction of the drift and which way the wind is blowing and the general sea conditions and then check the chart check the water temperature gauge and also check the Lorain numbers and make sure we are in the exact position that we want to be fishing roughly what water

temperature we're looking for. It says 75 here what are you looking for. Well we're looking for 68 degrees to 75 degrees would be the range and one of the sharp command the. Fishing will start depending on the species you're looking for it will start around late May for blue sharks although most fishermen really aren't out looking for blue sharks at that particular time. The Maaco season is what really starts off the shark fishing year and you can expect to catch Maiko sharks anywhere from. The first or second week of June on through the end of July and perhaps into early August as the water warms of course the number of sharks that will be caught will diminish. You see we have a member of the fairer sex. Here are the women taking the shark fishing. Oh it seems like everyone is taking the shark fishing. We mention the movie Jaws before and I guess that kind of got everybody started on it. Shark fishing can be a good family sport although the fish are quite large. You handle yourself properly and if the ocean is not too right it can be an exciting day out even for your wife or your girlfriend.

Buy yourself out here do you very often fish with other Boesch. Try and get off by yourself. Always try to fish with other boats at least to be near other boats you don't want to be too close to each other so that your chums like St.. Intercept during the day but most shark fishermen will stay at least within radio contact of a fishing buddy like we are doing here today with the Stacy and as you're putting this is the chum I guess you're putting overboard. Yes it is. Pete I like to fish with frozen chum and it's of course it's ground up more spunk or it's a standard that's used all along the Jersey coast. And will use these plastic shipping containers they're sold in most of the. Department stores in New Jersey and will suspend the chum bucket upside down in that container as the boat rocks with and with its natural rocking action during the day it will slowly disperse a steady stream of chum and to the sharks. They sanded to they taste it. They see it are what bring the shark up to the drifting during the day.

Your chum slick is liable to stretch for several miles we hope it will stretch at least for several miles as the drift gets going. The Sharks will swim into the slick and they'll smell the oil and the fish odor from that and move up the slick until they finally get to our baits. Now I notice you're using a ranch graph recorder error how does that fit into the whole operation. Fishing You really don't have to use a graph recorder for too many times during the day but I do turn it on intermittently during the day to check the actual water depth that we're in. I found that most of the Maaco sharks that I've caught over the last several years have always been caught as we're drifting along coming up. Onto a piece of high ground or dropping off into a hole. So I call it fishing the edges I like to fish right along the edges. How about for tack Bobby what do you really recommend for a kayak over a shark. Most of the sharks can be taken on fairly light tackle. We mentioned earlier before that most of the sandbar sharks will be anywhere from 40 to 80 pounds and of course they can be taken very easily on light tackle. But when you hang into a real nice size Maiko shark that might be two or three

hundred pounds you're going to need something substantial to hold a fish that size. So the tackle will range anywhere from small reels of say 3 0 or a 4 0 size on up to a 9 0 reel. My own tackle is basically six reels filled with 50 lb test dacron line because the lack of stretch that out right the dacron doesn't stretch at all so when a shark does pick up the bait and you go to set the hook will set the hook three four five times if we can the sharks do have a very tough mouth and it's a large hook that we're using very very often they're 9 to 12 what size books. And it takes a lot to sink a hook like that into the jaws of a fish of this size. I know it is throwing the float over now you're setting the line to different depths or what are you doing here. Yes we do what we're trying to accomplish is to get a bait in all the different depths of the chum slick. We'll fish one whole mackerel at about one hundred twenty five feet or a hundred fifty feet out from the boat and down 60 feet into the water. A second line will be out around 75 feet from the boat and that bay will be suspended about 30 to

40 feet down the last row. The number three rod will be positioned about 25 feet down and that rod will not have a float on it. Well looks like you got a little action here Peter what's going on. Well right here we've had a run off. Fish took the bait. Pop that float off the line and we're now fighting the fish unincumbered So the float is not still on the line now but we could tell right away as soon as we set up on the fish although it felt like a good sized fish it certainly wasn't any two or three hundred pound shark. It turned out to be a blue fish and one thing you'll find with blue fish this far off shore. They are big and they are mean and they are tough. How big is this woman a monster. Well you can see that fish is really fighting hard to a 50 pound test tackle keep in mind that's quite a fish not as you know that fish and we didn't weigh it but it's judging from other fish that we've caught in that area. It'll weigh probably around 12 to 15 or even a size 18 pounds and then looks like you turned him into shark bait right if you get him. Well this is another mackerel bait here that we're using. We do find it advantageous to chunk or. Cut

one of the mackerel baits into small chunks and throw these out into the chum slick. Often it makes the difference between a shark who just really isn't ready to eat it can convince him that the chum slick is good is good food in it and it will turn him on so they will take the bait. Those guys really got a head they're going to lean back on that. Oh sure that's Burchill are from Die one he's you know he's a pretty big man and you can see from the bend in that rod that's some fish he has on there. This particular fish I believe talking about 20 some minutes to get in. Course there's a fighting chair there's a little different operation than you have. Oh it sure is. One of the things on a small boat like mine on the center console boats you can walk around the boat to play the fish out on a larger boat like this you always have to have your engines on after the fish picks up the bait so that you keep your stern to the fish Maiko sharks like this one here now this is a Maaco shark Makos a very fast there they've been clocked up to 60 miles an hour in the water. So it's possible a

fish could take the bait and if you didn't have your engines turned on you could quick run around the boat get up near the ballon cut your line. How big is that shark here. Well it's tough to tell right here in the water but it looks like it's around 100 pound fish. And this last year this season for Maaco sharks in Jersey there been a lot of fish there were anywhere from 75 pounds up to about 175 pounds. Look at the way they splash too they are a tough fish they never really give up. One thing you don't want to get your hands anywhere near the business end of that fish and that's for sure. Makos have a very wicked set of dentures. A dentist is a light I guess you would call it. You sure don't want to get your hand or an arm and a leg near them. Well most of the fish sharks they catch they released most of them. They keep the make of what's what seem to be the scheme of things. Well we've been advocating tagging as many sharks as possible. The sharks that are not as desirable for the dinner table like sand bars or dusky blue sharks and hammerheads although they are good to eat they're not quite as fine tasting as the Maaco So we encourage people to tag

these other sharks the Makos shark usually ends up being kept and taken back to the dock. There has been a trend now the last two or three years where many anglers are now also starting to tag or release the smaller Makos biologists like Jack Casey from Rhode Island tell us that it takes a maiko shark many many years before he's actually completely mature. In fact to make a shark has to be around 600 to 800 pounds before he's a mature fish. Hear me now is he just tag it. Did he just take that fish and what happens after you tag the shark he gets a little annoyed at you he doesn't pay much attention to science. And they'll make one last run you notice that rod down hard so you'll have to bring him to the boat a second time and then you cut the leader and the fish is free to swim away and perhaps to be caught again another day. Now this isn't a Maaco here is it. No that fish that was just released was a dusky that was a big dusky shark too by the way it was around 250 pounds that's big. Now what is he using all macro for bait there I didn't get a good look at it. Yes he is that's a whole mackerel. Another typical shark

baits will be old mackerel of around two or three pounds whole bunker small blue fish will also use fillet they Benita little to any almost any of the oily or fish can be used as bait for Makos. Well looks like the old maestro got one here I'm finally hooked into one here sure. Notice that we lifted that Rod three or four times to set the hook as hard as we can. This fish was running out line very very quickly and it was we knew right away it was either going to be a Maaco or we hadn't had seen tuna fish in the slick that day. We were hoping we would have either a yellow fin tuna or a MAACO. Well you really don't know what you're going to catch when you get out here and no you don't peek not at all in fact that's one reason why as soon as a fish hits one of the rods in the reel starts paying out line with the clicker on. Right away will pick up the rod take the click off the reel. So now there's nothing to hinder the fish as he runs off with the bait we give him time to swallow it before we set the hook. OK but all we got next to the boat here now. Well this particular fish it did turn

out to be a tuna and. They are big fish this particular dish was around 80 pounds and I had to get a second grip on the gift there before he could lift them on board and eat our course quality eating I'm sure they are the finest kind they're classified as white meat tuna the Japanese really like the elephant a lot this is one of their favorite raw fish which of course they call me. We've got a lovely day on the ocean forty eight miles out there's hardly any sea at all today. It's almost unbelievable. It's a little rougher than say like a pack on but it sure isn't a very rough ocean. Voyage isn't it and I was looking to and which were thinking hang on in a tough time with that one. Yeah that was a big fish I know he's straining to hold that one up. No only do it when he gets it home. Canada or what. Well you can't can it and you want to most people just steak the fish out they'll keep it fresh and eat it perhaps three or four nights in a row whatever's left over will go out to the neighbors or they'll freeze it but I understand this is the first shark.

This girl caught that right. Right that was Carol now she had never been out shark fishing before and she just wanted to accept the challenge of shark fishing to see if she could go toe to toe with a big fish or she toe to toe with one now and so she sure is that fish walked around the boat too it's really time to get into the boat. Look at that oh yeah yeah get down to it. Sometimes the sharks will come into the boat fairly easily and they'll surprise you once they take a look at the boat. Or they don't I guess they see the gaff. Yeah and they realize something stuck quite right they do make a last minute run and they say they start to show their stuff. With this fish in doing it but I don't tend to make jumping Sharkey does take to the air occasionally. Oh yes make those are well known for their aerial acrobatics. Now what do we got here. Well now we're about to tag the shark here a good friend of mine Larry Thoma has the tag ready and he just lost it right in the DNA tag but really did you know what kind of a shark is as again this is a dusky dusk and it's a fairly good sized one.

It's not real large but I would say easily that fish is about one hundred twenty five pounds. And Larry is going to cut that fish off we just cut the leader in the fish like you say before he's free to swim away and fight again. Now she got another one on here how this will make no noise generator do it'll jump out and then add something and then great I don't want this. I get excited just watching this it really they fight right to the end they sure do it's tough to get a gaffe into their so fast. We finally get that fish down one thing when you are getting a Maaco you should try to get it nearer to the tail rather than the head. They are very fast they have a lot of power in that tail and if you get the fish near the head their live look come right in the boat with you. So we try to get them somewhere in the belly in the soft part of the belly and the first thing we try to do after is to put a tail rope around him just like Larry is going to do here. First you secure it off to a stern cleat or one of the side cleats and then drop the tail of the tail rope around the tail of the shark and snug it up. Now the fish is yours we know we have and you can take the gaff out. Suspend him off that Clea. Well I

guess a cardinal rule is you don't bring the fish in a boat when you're alive is that absolutely not these these sharks are not to be full with there's no need to be afraid of them. But you do have to respect them they certainly can do it do a real job on your hand or a finger. If you weren't too careful with it. So we suspend him now you see the fish is hanging by the tail rotor. After while a fish will just naturally die and then will check him will finally bring him up on board. Do you ever have any occasion where another shark might come out and take a crack at the one hanging over the side or is that just that that's happened quite a bit. It sure has. Early in the season you'll have a Maaco hanging like this off either the side or off the bat. Sharks are famous for coming up there and trying to take a piece of your. Your evening meal. Well as far as food quality goes how would you rate the Maaco top share which is one of the best sharks in my opinion the Maaco is the best eating shark and I think it's one of the best eating fish that swims in the ocean. What I understand you really can't tell a difference differ between a Maaco shark and swordfish is that

right. I can't really tell the difference and most people that I know really can't tell the difference at all there is a way biologist could could tell a difference and be able to identify a swordfish steak as compared to a Maaco steak. But for all practical purposes there really is no difference in taste or anything. Now we've got this fish. This is one rope around his head and one rope around the tail now. Even if he starts to act up a little bit there's really not too much he can do we're going to stretch him out between two cleats here and just on the remote chance that he might not be a totally dead fish. We've got him tightly tied down and there really isn't too much he can do now. And of course there is your bring him aboard I guess are you so you can get a little speed gone back is that right. Oh yeah yeah. Also one thing too is that shark's skin is very raspy much like sandpaper if you try to hang this fish off the side of the boat. By the time you get back to the inlet after running say 25 or 30 miles you wouldn't have any white paint left on the boat. I see the flag went up what. But that's that shows everybody that we caught

fish that day and I usually like to fly the flag to show that we've tagged fish rather than just have one on board. And I just smiled a big happy girl than you that's for sure. Well we had you 40 miles out in the land of Goshen today we told you a little about shark fishing. We showed you how to catch him. Now we have a shark attack on land and we have with us tonight our very special guest Peter Pratt from Garden State tonight. Peter how about showing our viewing audience how you cook these wonderful Maiko sharks Thank you. Listen let me let me ask you a couple of questions about Maaco shark and you know more about it and I'll try to answer but the difference between Maiko and swordfish What is it. Well I'm told by the best Fisher a biologist obviously it's difficult to tell it's quality to some of the best seafood you can have had unless you're a real connoisseur or you can't tell because sharks and swordfish.

Well that's interesting because the only difference that I have heard in my experience cooking sort fish and sharks is that the shark may have a trace a little bit more oil in it so it doesn't really need the mouth and the seasoning that that's the swordfish that is very true but you know not all sharks are as good as other sharks Evidently the Maaco is the prime shark when it comes to eating the blue shark which feeds at almost the same thing as a Maaco and is not nearly as good. Well anyway I've heard that the Maaco does have a little bit more flavor because it has no oil in it and the you know the oil to the fish is like fats to the meat in the cow and beef. So that's what does get a little bit more flavor. You know you drive me crazy. Let me ask one more question though because this is interesting. Go ahead. Why why are they selecting Maiko shark as opposed to other sharks to cook in in restaurants of a take home alone. Well primarily Peter Maiko is the best eating shark. Right now this year we probably had the best year for Maaco sharks in the history of commercial and sport fishing off the Jersey coast Maiko shark is not a scavenger shark.

So therefore it's got to have more flavor it's more desirable is that correct. Correct. They only take food that's moving fast. They don't pick up dead stuff so the chances are they're having a hard to hit in a blue fish garden or pick up a macro and the other thing they can get. So it probably has something to do with it and it's delicious fish. I think it's about let's find out. Let me explain quickly what I did like very much and this is the fillet or the the sliced steak from the right and I'm not this is the fillet But this is the sly snake from the. Now tell me where did it come from on the on the shelf the fillet comes from near the back up top up topside I gotcha. And of course the steak comes from the from the deli itself right and it probably has a name around enabler out similar to a star. It's easy isn't the quickest way to do it is just simply put. Lemon juice and butter on it salt and pepper and put it over a charcoal grill or you can put it in the broader or you can saute the filet Now this is this is the fillet which I've gotten something and I'm salting it like scallops and put it in an ESOP a pan like that you know and a little bit of lemon juice on top of it.

And again salt and pepper you could roll it in a little flour first before you saw it say it was right and if you want to use wine instead of lemon not lemon and wine never to get a no no no let's not going to use our right one or the other. Russia and it's got to come out right if you've got some foreign but in a rapid and in some foil first soak it in water put it over the course charcoal oils and you've got to tell me about the fire how much heat do you need and do they start your barbecuing with a hot grill for all we are going to hot grill for anything you cook anything you're going to pour dark always with the hot grill and then you can reduce the heat to the same principle you use with a charcoal burner as you do with such and such a command the same constant principle and even similar to cooking in the oven or baking a roasting. Right they're great. All right let's go try some of that I've got a couple of plight I can't wait. All right here there's only one interstate are the steak right there. Let me just squeeze a little bastion moment juice there that is really great. Now let's get this

if Elaine is of the full lies right. Yeah. Chopped up all right. S. let's go let's go try this out actually. Peter this smells delicious. I can't wait. Let's try anyway. Let's try it. What else do we have here and now with Maiko shark. You have to have fresh vegetables from our state of New Jersey fresh tomatoes and zucchini and yellow squash and the corn of course which we can wrap in you know on the foil and cook on the barbecue grill. Let's taste a. Beer before we go I want to say to our audience I want to thank you for being with us today. I hope they learned a lot about Maaco shark meshing. Also how to cook to make a shark. If you want to learn more about the great state of New Jersey and what's going on in the out-of-doors if you write to us at the New Jersey Public Television Parkside Avenue and friends will send you a complimentary copy of New Jersey outdoors. Thank you for being with us. See you again our next show.

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