A note from Capt. Taylor Powell:
The shark population in South Florida, including Everglades National Park, has increased over the years along with shark predation on a hooked fish.
De-hooking and carefully handling a fish, not holding them out of the water, or touching these fish as little as possible will help the fish’s chances of survival after the release from shark predation. If predation occurs on your hooked fish, it’s best to leave the area and find a less shark infested area to fish. Once you get sharked, it will surely happen again.
We do what we can in the unfortunate event a shark wants to eat a hooked tarpon, using the motor to run off the shark and immediately breaking the fish off. There’s been plenty of times I’ve experienced this problem with sharks and countless that I’ve poked away with the pointy end of the push pole. I hate feeding sharks and they can fend for themselves.
Social media, over fishing, the increased interest in fishing and having pictures taken with fish has contributed to sharks becoming more of a problem. I have been fishing the waters of South Florida for over 35 years and have never seen it as bad as it has become in recent years. – Capt. Taylor Powell (@flyfishsouthflorida).
A few things you can do so you don’t get “sharked”
- De-hooking and carefully releasing fish quickly but watching surroundings if sharks are in the area.
- If there are sharks around, leave the area and find a place without sharks.
- Check your tides, some sharks can still get into 6-8″ of water.
- Use your push pole to scare them off.
Special thanks to Capt. Taylor Powell. Powell is based in South Florida and guiding for over 35 years, be sure to follow him on Instagram at @flyfishsouthflorida to book your trip and watch some awesome content!
