Brad Knight has a pretty standard setup for rigging for sharks when fishing from his kayak. It works, and it’s strong — strong enough that he boated a 140-pound class tarpon three years ago while fishing for sharks.
Knight starts with at least 300 yards of 65-pound braid on a heavy action spinning outfit. To the end of the braid, he ties a 30- foot, wind-on leader of 80-pound monofilament. The mono acts as shock cord and withstands tail whips and rough hide better than either wire or braid.
To the leader, he attaches a 12-foot section of 135-pound 1×7 coated wire. He crimps a double loop in the leader end then crimps a 10/0 circle hook to the other.
“I like the Owner SSW 10/0 circle hooks the best; it’s got a wide gap for a circle hook,” Knight said. “I make all my basic leaders the same, on dry land, so I can pull them all tight and secure, and I make enough leaders to last all day. If I want to use a bottom rig or a cork rig, I don’t have to do anything except clip in an 8-ounce trolling weight or clip in a hand-made cork rig using Sampo 80-pound coastlock snap swivels.”
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