# Sharks on Tybee



## dannyoneal68

Anyone ever had any luck surf fishing for sharks off of Tybee?


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## Mud Minnow

I've never shark fished from the shore, but from the front pier I've caught Blacktip and Bonnetheads. My brother and I anchore the boat right off the beach next to the channel the shrimp boats use infront of the condos and we've done pretty good there too. Using lady fish or bluefish as bait.


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## oldenred

shark fishing is illegal on tybee, but if you catch one while fishing for something else it's not a problem. just don't be fishing with  big chunks of bait, fine is $500


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## rustybucket

I think (at least when I was there) the shark fishing was only illegal directly on the beach.  The shark fishing on the beach itself wasn't that great anyways.  The best shark fishing was one either side of the island, on the inlets.  You have the Savannah river coming out on the north side of the island and on the south you have another shallower river.

I would suggest trying up to the north side of the island on the Savannah river side.  There is usually a good concentration of Bull sharks around the mouth of the river and there is a nice deep shipping channel relatively close to shore there.  You will need a kayak or john boat to run your baits out with.

The Tybee beach doesn't lend itself very well to fishing (any type) as it is a LONG FLAT beach, you have to go several hundred yards to get any kind of depth.  The entire beach there SLOWLY slopes down.

There used to be a fishing pier on the south side of the island in the bay, just north of the marina.  I have fished there several times and had some success.  The water off the pier is shallow and flat as well. We caught several in the 4' - 7' range around that pier. If you're standing at the end of the bay pier at about the 2:30 position almost as far as you can see there is an extremely deep hole, if I remember correctly it was close to 80' deep, surrounded by 6'-8' water.  If you have a john boat or other boat you could easily access this hole, I would shark fish on it, using balloons or bobbers on a few baits keeping them suspended over the hole and drop a couple down deep.

If you can come across some stingray for bait it works EXCEPTIONALLY well in the Tybee waters.  Just cut off a wing.  We used to cruise the inter-coastal piers and bridges where people fish asking for the stingrays.  People used to consider them trash and would just leave them on the pier or throw them in the bushes to die/rot.  If nobody on the pier had a stingray we would tell them we would give them $5 or $10/stingray (depending on how desperate we were for bait lol) and leave our phone number with them to call if they caught one.

Best of luck!!!  I spent lots of time on Tybee as a teenager and while in college.  Lots of nice sharks in those waters!!!

Disclaimer:  All the info I've posted above is from memory, things might have changed since I was last there about 10 years ago.


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## sea trout

surf fishing for sharks @ at tybee! fun!!!
when u drive on to tybee after lazzaretto bridge, there's a median in the road. when that median ends there's a road to the left immediatly. don't take that road, take the next road to yer left. a hundred yards and that road will 90 degree turn to the right, don't turn. go straight into small dirt parking lot with trail head and a couple trash cans. park there and take the trail to the beach. i fish there alot. many whiting, sharks, stingrays, bluefish, and flounder!!!
like mudminnow said, i have most luck getting good shark bite with bluefish. best when there's a shrimp boat parked out there!!!
last i checked shark fishing on tybee's piers has been outlawed! it's a shame because it was so much fun in the past!! 
bluefish have a legal lenth limit so remember that when catching them for bait.
good luck and post a picture!!


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## Mud Minnow

oldenred said:


> shark fishing is illegal on tybee, but if you catch one while fishing for something else it's not a problem. just don't be fishing with  big chunks of bait, fine is $500



Big chunks of bait... is that what you call a 20 lb stingaray???


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## redneck_billcollector

Back in the early 80's when I was stationed at H.A.A.F. I used to fish the runs for the bull reds in the surf.  I used a fish finder rig with a coated wire leader (were enough blues to need one) and finger mullet for bait, and at times, I could't keep the sharks off my bait.  The sharks, particularly on North Beach, would be so thick it would lead me to pack up and stop fishing.


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## oldenred

shark fishing anywhere on the island is illegal but if you have a boat there isn't anything they can do





rustybucket said:


> I think (at least when I was there) the shark fishing was only illegal directly on the beach.  The shark fishing on the beach itself wasn't that great anyways.  The best shark fishing was one either side of the island, on the inlets.  You have the Savannah river coming out on the north side of the island and on the south you have another shallower river.
> 
> I would suggest trying up to the north side of the island on the Savannah river side.  There is usually a good concentration of Bull sharks around the mouth of the river and there is a nice deep shipping channel relatively close to shore there.  You will need a kayak or john boat to run your baits out with.
> 
> The Tybee beach doesn't lend itself very well to fishing (any type) as it is a LONG FLAT beach, you have to go several hundred yards to get any kind of depth.  The entire beach there SLOWLY slopes down.
> 
> There used to be a fishing pier on the south side of the island in the bay, just north of the marina.  I have fished there several times and had some success.  The water off the pier is shallow and flat as well. We caught several in the 4' - 7' range around that pier. If you're standing at the end of the bay pier at about the 2:30 position almost as far as you can see there is an extremely deep hole, if I remember correctly it was close to 80' deep, surrounded by 6'-8' water.  If you have a john boat or other boat you could easily access this hole, I would shark fish on it, using balloons or bobbers on a few baits keeping them suspended over the hole and drop a couple down deep.
> 
> If you can come across some stingray for bait it works EXCEPTIONALLY well in the Tybee waters.  Just cut off a wing.  We used to cruise the inter-coastal piers and bridges where people fish asking for the stingrays.  People used to consider them trash and would just leave them on the pier or throw them in the bushes to die/rot.  If nobody on the pier had a stingray we would tell them we would give them $5 or $10/stingray (depending on how desperate we were for bait lol) and leave our phone number with them to call if they caught one.
> 
> Best of luck!!!  I spent lots of time on Tybee as a teenager and while in college.  Lots of nice sharks in those waters!!!
> 
> Disclaimer:  All the info I've posted above is from memory, things might have changed since I was last there about 10 years ago.


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## oldenred

Mud Minnow said:


> Big chunks of bait... is that what you call a 20 lb stingaray???



nah, that's a medium chunk!


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## Hogchaser

Have not been to Tybee in several years, but when i did drive over from the ATL i would fish the front left hand corner of Tybee Pier. 
I would look for reds and trout but i always hooked at least one shark a day anywhere from 2 ft up to 6 ft. (My largest) 
I would hook them on small whiting & jacks. I would cut the side fins off so they had no balance through the water. They acted injured darting here and there but could not swim.


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