First report! blacktip sharks/thoughts on electrosensitivity

As I write this, the fall/winter blacktip shark bite is in full swing. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this particular member of the genus carcharhinidae, it is perhaps the most athletic and agile member of the family. Additionally, these are handsome animals; no two ways about it. They aggresively chase baits on the surface, and are therefore some of the most accomodating targets for the fly fisherman.
Captain Aaron Snell reported four bites on a kite bait (FANTASTIC theater, by the way!)yesterday, and Captain Lenny Leonard had a client hook one on a fly which was lost soon thereafter when the fly line wrapped around the reel handle.
If you haven’t yet chased blacktip sharks on the flats, or you have a perception that all sharks are easy to feed and somewhat sluggish once hooked, the blacktip shark is something worth considering. Ware always here to book a trip for you, though I do not intend this forum to be a sales pitch.
As for my own fishing yesterday, I was looking for backtips but did not find any with Captain Ryan Erickson. We did, however, fish to some rather large lemon sharks with bait, and here is the second part of my report: I am utterly convinced that sharks, when they are selective, are able to sense the wire leader that is integral to any shark rig. In my personal pursuit of sharks on light tippet, I have begun tying my flies with a spray of rubber bands in the rear in order to insulate the wire from the Ampullae of Lorenzini, the small, gel-filled electro-receptors in sharks that gives them the appearance of a bad case of five o’clock shadow. I have noticed that I get a much higher percentage of “eats” with this configuration as opposed to a fly tied with the normal feathers/synthetic fibers. While fishing with Ryan yeaterday, we were almost unable to feed any of the sharks with our rigged bait, though a bait thrown in onto the flat without any wire attached was immediately devoured. Food for thought.

Tight lines,

NCL
Nathaniel Clarke Linville