Tope Shark Fishing Charters

The same species goes by other names elsewhere: school shark in Australia, soupfin shark in California, cazón in Spain. It is a grey, torpedo-shaped hunter of open sand and gravel ground that eats fish such as whiting, pouting, mackerel and flatfish, along with squid. It grows slowly and breeds late, which is why it has been overfished in many seas. On rod and line the first run is the part people remember, a long fast dash that pulls line off a tight drag. On British charter boats tope go back alive after a quick photo.

Tope trips from Ramsgate Marina

Of our two boats, Hussler is the one that names tope as a target. It is a 26 foot charter boat in Ramsgate for up to 6, booked privately, leaving at 08:00 on 3, 4 or 6 hour trips. Boarding is from the pontoon, and the boat can leave and return at any state of the tide. Skipper Bob supplies the tackle and bait, with live bait and lures to choose from, and the boat carries modern fish-finding gear. Bring food, drinks and a cool box for anything you keep, and leave the alcohol at home. Bob says plainly that what you catch depends on the time of year, so ask him when tope are around before you pick a date, and take the 6 hour trip: tope fishing means a lot of waiting with a bait on the bottom.

Kestrel Warrior in East Sussex lists tope too, on 2 hour shared trips from 08:30 for up to 10, with rod hire, free coaching and a tackle shop on board. Two hours is short for a shark, and the boat's reports are of bream, bass, pollack and conger, so treat a tope there as a surprise. A typical tope rig is a whole or half mackerel on a wire trace, fished hard on the seabed, and when the run comes the skipper will tell you when to tighten up. More on this kind of day is on our bottom fishing in the UK page.