Blacktip Shark

Blacktip Shark

The blacktip shark are an outstanding game fish at all sizes and known for their determined runs and tendency of making spiraling leaps.

HOW TO IDENTIFY A BLACKTIP SHARK

They are dark grey, ashy blue or dusky bronze on the back, with a white or yellowish-white belly. Other visual characteristics include persistent black spots on the tips of the pelvic fins and a dark band extending rearward along each side of the body, back to about the beginning of the pelvic fin. The blacktip is a stout shark that sports a long, slender, pointed snout, as well as long gill slits and upright, narrow-cusped upper teeth. Anglers often confuse the spinning acrobatics of blacktips with their close relative, the spinner shark. However, a close inspection of the anal fin can separate the two, as a blacktip’s anal fin lacks pigment.

 

WHERE TO CATCH BLACKTIP SHARK

A cosmopolitan species, blacktip sharks are found worldwide in warm temperate and tropical waters. They can be found inshore and offshore, on or adjacent to continental and insular shelves. Blacktips occupy a variety of habitats and can be found off river mouths and estuaries, as well as in muddy bays, mangrove swamps, lagoons, and coral reef drop-offs. The following list includes additional details on where to catch this fish:

Backflow                                                    Baitfish Patches

Bays                                                          Bays and Estuaries

Breakers                                                    Channel Entrances

Coastal Waters                                          Deep Shore Water

Man-Made Structures                                Mangroves

Night Fishing                                              Piers, Docks and Pilings

Reefs, Wrecks and Shoals                         Saltwater and Tides

Surf and Shore                                            Tidal Flats

Blacktip sharks are extremely popular with anglers because they take a variety of live and dead bait, lures and even flies. The following are fishing methods used to catch this fish:

Jigging                                                Drift Fishing

Fly Fishing                                          Chumming

Bait Casting                                        Surf Casting

Still Fishing                                        Spin Casting