UTER
Photo: Unknown, Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Ginglymostoma cirratum
How to catch Nurse shark in Florida
Nurse shark feed in 70–90°F water and bite best at 76–86°F.
50 pts · trophy at 84"Feeds 70–90°FBest 76–86°FIn season nowArtificial reefLedge / hard bottomWreckChannel edge
About
The sleepy brown shark under the ledges of the Keys and the reefs, up to ten feet, that sucks a bait off the bottom and then sits down like a wet sandbag. Slow, heavy, and stubborn.
How to fish it
A big chunk on the bottom on a reef or in a channel at night. Heavy line and a strong back; they don't run, they refuse.
What it eats
cut bait on the bottomsquidcrabs
Live bait for it
SquidStrips on a bottom rig for snapper, grunts and porgies; whole on a deep-drop rig.
Blue crabsWhole and small for permit and tarpon; halved or quartered on the bottom for black drum, redfish and cobia.What to fish it with
the sizes that fish itLeader80–150 lb mono
Hook8/0–16/0
Braid65–150 lb
The rule
not confirmed hereOne per person, minimum size in its group — many anglers release; confirm at MyFWC.
The current rule at MyFWC →Month by month, water by water
When nurse shark is the story
The Ten Thousand Islands & Everglades
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The Florida Keys
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Miami & Biscayne Bay
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Palm Beach & the Treasure Coast
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