Black Tip Shark : baby in shallow. Guadeloupe/Frenc West Indies

[Alexismt555]

Wading is truely safe in Guadeloupe as there is no sharks on the flats except sometimes at night and they are very small from 1 to 5 lb. I never encounter one while wading at any hours since I guide in Guadeloupe. Only place you could encounter small sharks are few flats in the grand marin cove in summer.
Some days ago I gone to check if there was some early migrating poon, but only found the baby so I moved for others flats. I stopped before to a small islet to lunch and as I enchored the flat boat, they were six/seven black tip shark cruising around. I rigged a muddler with a rabbit strip tail on a 40 lb fluoro shock tippet and cast at them. It was really fun. I hooked 5/6 shark and land two as the other slice the tippet after a brief but strong and jumpy battle.
http://www.fishingguidenetwork.com/reports/photos/231/518/sharkontheflysecondfgn.jpg

http://www.fishingguidenetwork.com/reports/photos/231/518/Sharkyfgn.jpg

Be careful when releasing a small shark keep firmly one hand just behind is head, release the tail and when you feel his ready to go, quickly release the head. Watch your finger cause even small they could do severe injury to your hand or harm...always let your guide handle those kind of fish.
http://www.fishingguidenetwork.com/reports/photos/231/518/close-up%20Shark's%20headfgn.jpg

Water Friendly Yours

Alexis Ducros
EkwataFly (http://www.ekwatafly.com/en/)

[razorz]

Awesome catch and great pics!

:gr_cheers:

[flyinsalt]

Looks like a lot of fun. Nice photos.

[Alexismt555]

Yeah it is fun, and specialy for me that time because they were the first. Now them just make me want to catch bigger one.

Just a point on there behavior, when they are small like that and in shallow, they will took a bait fly as a crab or a shrimp...I missed one when setting the hook that day with a shrimp in size 2. They aren't "killer" that age...well not so much they make me think about a tarpon after a flie in the way cats play with a string... play too close them blow away...too far not interesting in...keep an eye on their body language while stripping, they will tell you when.

[razorz]

Yeah, I find that the black tips are the most alert of all shallow water sharks.. nurse and bonnetheads seem to be oblivious to most things around them and I've even had one run into my boat by accident.

:bash:

[Alexismt555]

The shark run and crashed his head against the hull ? is that what you was saying ? Silly shark, which species ?

[razorz]

The one that hit my boat was a 2 foot longish bonnethead shark cruising some very shallow grass flats in Biscayne Bay. I was scouting for bonefish/permit/anything that moved and saw a shark coming towards my boat.. so I watched.. and he banged his nose into the side of my hull, scared himself and swam off.

:iamwithstupid:

[Alexismt555]

A dumb one...:bash: