June 28 2023

Shark Fishing on Cape Cod from Shore

by Ryan Collins
37 comments

*This report was originally published on July 31st, 2018. I've decided to re-publish this post, because sharks can be caught June-September from shore throughout the Cape & Islands.

For years now I have heard about people catching sharks from the beaches of Cape Cod. In fact, Ryan Franklin and other members from My Fishing Cape Cod have been catching brown sharks from the surf for the past several years.

Nevertheless, shark fishing from the beach on Cape Cod was something I had never really tried. So when MFCC member John Malloy asked if I wanted to try shark fishing from shore, I jumped at the opportunity. 

Last week I met John and his friend Tim at 8:00pm, just as the sun was starting to sink below the horizon. Our plan was to fish a secluded spot on the beach for the 12AM high tide, and hopefully hook into some hard pulling brown sharks.

It only took a moment for me to comprehend how serious John and Tim were about catching sharks from shore. They even had a cart that was perfectly organized with sinkers, rods and reels, hooks and other shark fishing essentials. 

I asked John for details about the correct gear and tackle for catching sharks from the beach on Cape Cod, and he was very forthcoming with information. 

About the author 

Ryan Collins

I'm fortunate to have grown up on the beach, and I've been fishing since kindergarten. I have great family, friends and fishing experiences to be thankful for. Just being out there is enough-catching fish is just a bonus!


  • Hey I’m looking to fish the Cape Cod and most of the beaches and I’m trying to figure out what the set up is like for shark fishing of any kind as far as weights line hooks whay goes first

  • Hi Ryan,

    Thanks for the advice! I got one shark summer of 2018 on a beach on the south side of cape cod thanks to your tips.

    Biggest frustration I’ve had though is dealing with the amount of seaweed and reeds! I’ve wasted nights spending more time reeling in baits and clearing 10-20lbs of seaweed from my line. Unfortunately I didn’t check winds before going, just tried to time the Slack Tide.

    Did you notice a big improvement going on days with a North West (offshore) wind? I hope so! it would allow me to predict a few days in advance whether I should drive 2 hours for a night of shark fishing or expect to be clearing lines of seaweed.

    Thanks again!

    -Andrew

    • That’s awesome Andrew! I’m glad you caught a shark last summer. The first one is always the most challenging one to get! ??

      Sea weed can be a huge issue for sure. I personally don’t consider myself a shark fishing expert, however my friend (and member here on MFCC) John Malloy says that a light wind or no wind is definitely better, because it doesn’t blow in the weed.

      Along the southside a north wind should definitely make for much less weedy conditions. The opposite is true for fishing along the northside (although there aren’t any brown sharks on the northside).

      Hope that helps a bit. LMK and keep in touch! ?

      • I just came across this thread and felt maybe I could add a little bit of info. I just moved here from Louisiana and we would vacation on the gulf of Mexico and Destin Florida almost every summer. I got into shark fishing a couple years ago but what I would do is right before dusk I would kayak my bait out several hundred yards while a friend of mine stayed on the beach feeding me line keeping it just tight enough that it didn’t get swept down the beach with the waves. We caught several black tip sharks even a medium-sized hammerhead shark and a 400 lb mako shark. I’m not sure if you have tried that buy kayaking the bait out at a further distance it was quite fun fighting those beasts all the way back in.

  • HI there. So my 13 year old son is obsessed with fishing for sharks. He often goes down to Florida with his grandfather. He has been begging me to take him shore fishing for a shark in Nantucket. Have you had any luck? I see this is a few years old.

    • Hi Amber ??I’m sorry I missed your comment but figured I would reply now, better late than never!

      This past summer I did have some success fishing for sharks from shore along the Nantucket Sound beaches on the southside of Cape Cod. You can read one of the reports, and also watch a video by clicking the links below:

      https://myfishingcapecod.com/landbased-shark-fishing-on-cape-cod/
      https://myfishingcapecod.com/land-based-shark-fishing-video/

      I think your son could do very well here on Cape Cod, and even better fishing on Nantucket. I know the Sconset area is a hot spot for big, big sharks during the summer.

      LMK if I can help with anything else. Tight lines! ?

      • I just moved here from St. Pete , fl. Shark fishing was something I got into and now it’s all I do. I’m wanting to know if anyone could fish with me up here during the night so I can at least have a buddy for safety while fishing from shore, but also someone who is quite familiar with the area on the cape and where to go. I’m interested in Bull’s mainly but I’ll just start with that. Thanks!

        • Also, just to clarify, by no means do I mean this time of year. I’m talking about more towards the spring/ summer of 2021. Also, Im not new to this, just new to these waters. Thanks!

        • Hi Thomas! Congrats on your recent move to Cape Cod. I think you’ll really enjoy the fishing up here.

          With regards to sharks, the main species caught and targeted from shore on Cape is the brown shark (also called a sandbar shark). They can grow to be about 200 pounds. We don’t have any bull sharks, at least I’ve never heard of any bull sharks being caught.

          I am sure someone in our forum would be happy to fish with you. Lots of members fish together. Have you introduced yourself in our forum already? LMK.

          Tight lines! ?

  • Great morning read, nice report! Is it possible to get another or a few pics of the rigged gear cart? Looks like something many members could benefit from, THANKS!

  • Awesome article Ryan, thanks for coming with us!
    We had a great time out there and look forward to doing again soon.

    • I am going to be in the new seabury area with my family 8/11-8/18 and would love to go fishing for sharks. Night time is easy to get away from the family so I do all my fishing then anyways. All my attempts from shore in the past were in Florida and I have always gotten skunked but was doing it on my own with real advice on how to do it. Happy to cover costs of gas or pay a guide fee. Just would like to finally cross sharks from beach of my list of fishing goals.

  • Pretty exciting stuff … thaks Ryan

    Did not see the map in this article … is it my browser or am I missing something?

  • Love the Cart Idea, It can be a P in the A trying to hike all that gear out. IS that Bunker Oil I spy in one of those pictures?

  • Hi Ryan,
    My buddy, my father, and I are going to try and do some shark fishing from the surf down on East Beach in Martha’s Vinyard. It’s been a long time goal of mine to land a shark from the beach and I’m very optimistic towards the outcome. I’ve been trying to do my share of research to get the best idea possible to increase my likelyhood of success and I’ve read your pieces before and they’ve always been very informative. I see that this post is a couple years old now and that you were in the experimental stages of shark fishing from the surf. So I am curious to know if you have come up with any solid gear setups/bait choices/and locations in order to be sucessful in landing a fish.
    Thanks for your time,
    Gideon

    • Sounds like a cool adventure you have planned Gideon!

      I would recommend checking out this more recent post from MFCC contributor Ryan Franklin, who has been catching sharks from shore all summer long here on the Cape https://myfishingcapecod.com/sand-tigers/

      I’m not sure about the Vineyard because I’ve never personally tried for sharks there. However I would imagine you guys could do well over there. Nantucket in particular is a great spot for sharks from the surf.

      Check out Elliot Sudal’s Instagram account (https://instagram.com/acksharks/) He gets them pretty good over there on Nantucket.

  • If you are fishing in an area with a big drop off try using a 1 oz weight and let it sink as slow as possible. Thanks and good fishing

    • Thanks Krystian, much appreciated.

      I actually got one last night which was very cool and a nice surprise. I’ll probably give it another go tonight as well.

      We’ll see what happens.

      • Hey my names joe farella used to do a lot of land based shark fishing in florida but now live in NH let me know if your ever looking for someone to go

        • Hey Joe, good to meet you. I’m just getting started with land based shark fishing and have a lot to learn. Have you had any success up here in the north east as of yet with the sharks?

          Thanks for the fishing offer as well !

  • Try using a light but still sturdy wire leader and make slits in live or dead bait to make the scent and blood and fish oils disperse in the water and do not worry about cutting the fish in half because if you have caught a big shark then you know you don’t even need to set the hook. Thanks

    • Thanks Krystian for the tips. I’m going to head out tomorrow so we’ll see if I get lucky.

      Making slits in the dead bait makes good sense to me. Good advice.

      Do you fish for sharks in the Northeast or elsewhere in the world?

  • Hows the sharking going — great websites are

    tx-sharkfishing.com

    and check out Blacktip challenge

    his youtube is BlacktipH —- he has a ton of videos on making rigs, gear, baiting, etc — he is a great guy — I spoke with him for over an hr on the phone to get his insights —

    Im out in Nantucket in the early summer and fall — Im geared up and ready for Sept — there are bigger shark out there than browns — Ive seen them from the shore —

    you spoke of elliot catching the 200# brown — that was down by my house — that was a big brown — Ive gotten in contact with him as well and we are planning on hitting the beaches when I get out there — he’s a great guy and has caught some serious fish in florida —

    You can find me on FB as well — let me know what you are learning — I’ll do the same —

    Remember big baits — big shark —

    Im running a Penn V series 8500 spin with a custom surfcasting rod — 4 oz spider weight (digs in better and holds) with a bluefish/albie head — you want a oily stinky fish — the albies make great bait — blues are softer meat — can lose baits more easily —

    The long range set up is a Makaira 50W with a Seeker 7′ 60-100# class rod with 100# Jerry Brown Hollow braid with 200yds of 200# mono top shot — I’ll run a whole bait or larger section of albie on that — 8oz spider weight — can either kayak it out — or I have the Aqua Cat Dinglehopper Turbo bait deployment boat — comes from S Africa (not cheap esp with shipping) — I am a bit concerned over the white sharks and yaking it out at night — Ive seen several of them in years past as we have a serious seal issue —

    you can also try a balloon rig to get baits offshore

    you are correct — look for structure — troughs between sand bars — rips/shoals, steep drop offs — etc —

    Run a short bait and a long bait — esp early dusk before the sharks head into the beach for feeding — I dont know the mainland too well — but nantucket you dont have to go more than 100-200 yds out on some of the beaches to get to deep water —

    so do you have a seal issue — if so you may need to fish large heads only — seals like to eat the guts out of fish and will take you for a ride down the beach — If you do — look up seal abatement coalition — I work on that and we need all the support we can get — seals are out of control — and only getting worse — we cant even fish great point anymore — and that was some of the best fishing around the cape —

    crabs — they love bait too — try to float the bait off the bottom — or if using a whole albie try a black nylon stocking — put the fish in like you would your foot — get it tight — zip tie at the tail– cut off remaining — then run your hook —

    for crabs — fish heads will fare much longer than chunk meat —

    Ive seen some big sharks — and I believe they are running under the blues and albies — the trophy would be a mako from shore — Ive seen a few near shore — some with some size to them — there are more than brown sharks nowadays —

    Kyle woodhead

    • Kyle,

      Awesome info, thanks so much for posting. I’m going to digest your info and put it into play starting tomorrow night.

      I’ll keep you posted with how it goes. Good to know I am now in touch with someone who knows a lot about this type of fishing. I’m pretty green to say the least.

      I’ll probably bounce some ideas off of you very soon if that’s alright. Like I said, I really appreciate your input.

      Thank you!

      • Keep me posted on your fishing — Im getting excited — Early sept I will be out for the Albie run — some sharking — and of course trying to outrun and outsmart seals — contact me on FB anytime —

        Tight lines—–

        • Will do Kyle. Had some success last night in the boat on stripers to 30 pounds, but what I’m really excited for is trying to catch bass of that size from the beach.

          I’ll be hitting the sand tonight and through this weekend. Hoping to get lucky.

          I’d like to hear how you make out with the albie run and the sharks. Gluck with those seals!

          Talk soon,

          Ryan

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