Last summer, I saw a 5-pound flounder fall victim to shark attack less than a mile off Wrightsville Beach. My fishing partner snatched the flounder from the shark, which had taken half the fish leaving a huge, semi-circular void. He held the half a flatfish over the opposite side of the boat to keep blood from dripping on the deck. You guessed it. The shark jumped and made off with the other half of his meal. It was a sandbar shark, a very common nearshore species. These experiences highlight how many different species of sharks there are and how many different types of bait they will strike.

Fishermen who are after king mackerel, grouper and snapper often catch smaller sharks like sharpnose and smooth dogfish or spiny dogfish. They are attracted to slow-trolled live menhaden and to chunked cigar minnows dropped to the bottom for reef fishing.

Most anglers think these smaller sharks are nuisances. But if they learn to identify them, they will find they offer excellent eating in smaller packages than the big sharks.

Still, these fish can be dangerous if not handled properly. Most anglers who are not going to keep a shark are better off cutting the line and giving the shark the hook than trying to shake the hook free or work it loose with pliers. Fishermen who are experienced at handling small sharks use a Spectra mesh fish-cleaning glove and grab the shark behind the head to control it before using pliers to free the hook. Another way to subdue a small shark is to drop it on the deck and let it work its way into a corner at the back of the boat. Once it tires, it can be grabbed by the tail and tossed into a fish box.

Many sharks are landed from the surf and ocean piers. Before shark fishing from a pier, however, anglers are advised to read the posted pier rules or to ask a pier attendant. Each pier's rules are different. Some allow shark fishing only at night, some during certain dates and some don't allow shark fishing at all. Anglers who fish for sharks from piers drop fish chunks from the pier to attract them. During the daytime, attracting sharks to baits meant for king mackerel or cobia with chum can raise tempers.

Landing a big shark from a pier in daylight can also, as you might imagine, have a negative impact on tourists walking the beaches and swimming nearby.

One popular pier for catching sharks is the municipal pier operated by Southport. The pier extends into the Cape Fear River and is very near the Atlantic Ocean. Some very large sharks have been landed at this pier.

Surf-fishermen can get away with chumming in most localities and anglers standing on sand have landed some of the state's biggest sharks. More surf-fishermen tangle with sharks than actually realize it. They use tackle too small to land even a modest 100-pounder. They get a strike, the leader cuts or the line breaks and the fight is over before it began. Sometimes they don't even feel the strike when the shark cuts the leader and swims off with their hook, leader and sinker.

Rigs for pier- and surf-fishing for sharks are essentially the same. A long rod with a conventional or spinning reel packed with 400 yards of superbraid or monofilament gets the job done for all but the largest sharks.