Night is the best time to fish for sharks in the shallows, although they also strike during the day. The best places to fish for them are wherever there is a concentration of fish. Dark waters near inlets and coastal rivers where tide lines form and contact the beach are some of the best spots. Tide lines form when two different temperatures of water clash, forming a wall that concentrates baitfish, predatory fish and carcasses of marine creatures. Sharks feed on all this protein, so they won't be far away.

Chumming works as well when fishing from the beach as it does from a pier. Cutting up pinfish, spots, croakers and other small fish caught during a fishing trip and tossing them into the breakers attracts sharks. Chumming is also the best way to bring sharks near a boat.

Sharks can detect blood and vibrations of injured fish from great distances. They also detect changes in electrical currents given off by live prey. These sensory traits make sharks easy to attract to trolled or drifted baits.

Frozen chum can be purchased in blocks from seafood dealers and bait shops. But many anglers make concoctions of menhaden or other fish oil, pet food and ground or chunked fish. Some add poultry feed or cracked corn to sink particles of chum that attach to it so the scent will drift below the surface. Tossing chum overboard or placing it in a mesh bag and trolling in a circle around the resulting "slick" is the standard method of attracting sharks. Chumming works best when done over hard-bottom areas, wrecks and artificial reefs where sharks are already attracted to the structure.

Heavy trolling tackle works best for catching sharks. Most anglers expecting to catch sharks of up to 500 pounds use 6/0 to 9/0 conventional revolving reels spooled with 30- to 80-pound monofilament line. A shark's skin is very abrasive and can cut the line if the shark wraps the line around his body or tail during a fight. Some anglers use a length of superbraid line to the monofilament line as a "top shot" before tying on the leader.

Shark leaders must be made of metal. Even small sharks can bite through wire leaders. Sharks are not leader shy, so upsizing the leader doesn't deter strikes.

Heavy hooks are used to hold sharks. Smaller sharks like the common sandbar and blacktip in nearshore waters are caught with hooks ranging in size from 3/0 to 9/0. Bigger sharks obviously require the use of bigger hooks and leaders.

For anglers fishing from small boats, one tactic is becoming very popular. Several charter captains specialize in helping their clients catch sharks near commercial boats trawling for shrimp.

A shrimp boat fishes with a trawl, a net extending all the way down to the seafloor. The net is pulled for a short time, and then hoisted aboard the boat. The crew separates or "culls" the bycatch of finfish and other marine creatures from the shrimp and tosses the "scrap" overboard. When the net is pulled, the ocean behind it comes alive. Porpoises, seabirds and all types of fish move in for the ready-made feast. Sharks can be spotted swimming right at the backs of the boats when the net is gathered in and raised and the catch is culled.