what is the proper way the release a shark in the surf? This is my first time surf fishing by myself and I am guessing you do put your thumb in ther mouth quite like a bass. thanks sorry for the stupid question.

Well after you remove the hook get him in the water as fast as you can. What I do is I just walk them parrallel to the shore in about 3 feet of water until they can swim off themselves.

I haven't had one come back for a chomp yet. Most are too tired and just want to get back to the ocean ASAP.

Remember sharks don't have skeletons so heavy sharks don't fair to well being beached while you run around taking pics and removing hooks. Their own weight is detrimental to themselves while on land.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjxBZ0NzPMo

Watch this, it's simple yet effective.

http://www.adoptashark.com/

-Z-

If you can don't beach the shark completely, try to keep it in a few inches of water to help support it's weight.

Keep bolt cutters hand, cut the hook in half and pull from the sharks mouth, then get it moving in the water so that water is passing through it's mouth and out it's gills.

Every minute that it's not moving it's sufficating.

Sharks aren't as resilient as other fish, they sufficate and die pretty quickly.

A lot depends on the size of the Shark. As the excellent advice above states larger sharks need to be kept in water. Smaller 3 ft sharks and smaller are common from beaches and piers in GA. The common species are Bonnethead, and Atlantic Sharpnose. I always use circle hooks because they normally are easier to remove from the fish. If the hooks cant be removed I just cut them.

I have some pictures at http://www.sharkfighter.com if ya want to check it out.

Duh I just throw the thing over the rail and watch it swim away .

Shane this is all great advise. Although you need to remember "DO NOT PUT YOUR THUMB IN THEIR MOUTH LIKE A BASS" Sharp teeth in there and could prove to be pretty painful....

Shane, not sure how much experience you have in handling sharks, so some of this may be stuff you already know.

Sharks are amazingly flexible critters - if you grab one by the tail, many species can and will double back and bite you - they can actually twist their bodies that far! They also have the charming habit of spinning round like crazy when you grab ahold of them. This makes it very difficult to get a secure grip to remove a hook ... at least, not without risking a bite.

Best advice I can give is to get the fish close enough to handle the leader, then snip the leader as close as possible to the sharks mouth as you can while it's still in the surf. Most of the time, it'll dash away from you as fast as it can. If you're comfortable with grabbing hold of a shark & removing the hook, go for it - but please keep your thumb outta her mouth. ;-)

i thought it let go of you not the other way around

ok I got it no thumb in the mouth LOL thanks guys alot of help. lets keep fishing with our thumbs! LOL

I lip hold sharks like a bass for pictures all the time.
Makes for great pictures with pulsating arterial bleeding.

shane87, I carry a handled prong fashioned from an old metal rake when I'm fishing surf. When I catch a shark, I drag it onto the sand, pin its "ouch" end down with the prong and remove or cut the hook/leader as seems safest. Ya know, occasionally you're going to hook a ray from time to time, too. Unless you have an excellent medical plan, I would not recommend you deal with them ... or the sharks ... as you have been advised.

Me, I like to leave in no worse condition than I arrived.

I snip the leader if its big one. Smaller ones, try to remove the hook. I saw a guy on the beach this fall trying to remove a hook and the shark was not played out. The guy almost got hurt. You CAN lip a shark, TWICE. after that you will have to alter your fishing methods.

usually if the sharks over 5ft, ill get on my knees and straddle the head, grab the sharks snout and pull up, from there its pretty easy to remove the hook. smaller sharks are alot easier. i usually beach them or bring them up to the pier, straddle over them, use 1 hand to hold the head at the top, and the other to remove the hook. i use circle hooks on almost all my rigs and theyre usually pretty easy to get out, as well as youre less likely to gut hook the fish. i try not to cut the hook as them big hooks can add up in cost.

I saw a guy beach a 5ft black tip once on Bolivar. He started playing around with it and taking pictures. I went down there and asked the guy if he was gonna eat it or just play with it till it died? He said he didn't want it, but that he couldn't let it go cause his kids were swimming in the water. Granted, he did have 4 kids out on rafts just past the breakers. I still thought it was wrong to just kill the shark and not eat it.

Now, pretend this was just a slot red. Can a person catch and keep a slot red, just to kill it and throw it away? Or do you have to intend to consume it/ or at least bring it home?

things like that piss me off. i had a guy get mad at me because we caught a shark about 50 yds from where his kids were swimming. i pretty much let him know that we had been fishing there several hours before they got there, and not to mention its the sharks water, not his, nor any of us. theyve been there long before us and theyre gonna continue to be there long after us. and its not like that shark that he just caught is gonna try and get back at him by attacking his kids in a raft. freakin idiots.

I know there's language in TPWD regs to the effect that it's unlawful to kill fish if you aren't going to use it, but I don't recall the exact section or phrasing.

Zeek;

I don't recall there being anything in the regs about wasting fish. It's something I would LOVE to see in there though.

From TPWD regs:

Waste of fish - It is unlawful to leave edible fish or bait fish taken from the public waters of the state to die without the intent to retain the fish for consumption or bait.

JP is right on...The man will write you a ticket if they see you wasting game. Look it up.

Not to Hijack here

What do Bowhunters do with a Carp when they spear one,Many people eat Carp you know?

carp usually becomes bait or trash, got a lot of buddies who bowfish

And it's illegal for them to trash them as per the regulations. Not to mention unethical.

I have found that screaming like a girl and throwing it works well.

yup

lmao