Anietra Hamper shares her educational opportunity trying land-based shark fishing in the Gulf Shores and Orange Beach in Alabama.
The fear of sharks is not uncommon and if you grew up obsessed with the movie Jaws like I did, then you know that the freight of these apex predators of the ocean is permanently ingrained in your psyche.
Shaking the shark intimidation is tough so when I had an opportunity to try land-based shark fishing in the Gulf Shores and Orange Beach in Alabama I had to do it. This would be a fishing experience unlike any other.
While I’ve fished for some of the largest and most unique species in the world, shark fishing from the shoreline in the Gulf of Mexico takes things to a new level.
I teamed up with the experts at Coastal WorldWide for a night that would go down in my angling experiences as one to remember. While most shark fishing happens in deep offshore waters, land-based shark fishing is a unique approach. Coastal WorldWide owners, Dylan Wier and Blaine Kenny are the best at what they do and while they offer land-based shark fishing as an experience, their conservation lens impresses me most.
“This is really old-school,” said Wier. “You can catch 1,000-pound fish right from the beach.”
The Coastal WorldWide duo made headlines when they caught the first Great White shark from Orange Beach shores in Alabama in 2023 and caught a 12-foot Great White from Navarre Beach in Florida in 2024 weighing over 1,200 pounds.
What anglers might pull in from the shore is anyone’s guess given that Gulf waters are home to approximately 50 species of sharks. The most common catches are Sandbar sharks, Hammerheads, Black-tips, Tiger, Bull and Mako.
As we set up for the evening on the beach the first task was getting the massive cut bait into the water. After a few intense arm circles to warm up his muscles, Blaine kayaks through the surf to drop the three lines of bait past the sandbar at 200 yards, 400 yards, and 600 yards from the shoreline.
Continue reading “Land-Based Shark Fishing in Alabama” from Anietra Hamper here.
Anietra Hamper is an award-winning outdoor journalist, author, speaker and lifelong angler who specializes in outdoor adventure and fishing for some of the largest species around the world. Having spent a career as a top-rated television news anchor and investigative reporter, Anietra brings credibility to the stories she covers with her "boots-on-the-ground" journalistic approach. Anietra is based in Gahanna, Ohio. Visit Anietra’s website at http://www.threewordpress.com/. View all posts by Anietra Hamper
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