Key West Lemon Shark Charters
The Basics
Lemon sharks are named for their skin, which is yellowish-brown and pockmarked. In the green water of the shallows they inhabit, it looks very much like the skin of a lemon, and makes their identification a snap. Lemon sharks are relatively stocky and range in length from 8 to 10 feet, with 13 feet being the current record. They are blunt-nosed and their two dorsal fins are nearly the same size. They give birth to live young in lagoons and the shallows around mangrove swamps and return to those nurseries biannually. Once the young are large enough, they leave the mangroves. Their range includes the shallows all the way to subtropical waters 300 feet deep. They are at home in coral reefs, bays, mangroves, and river mouths. They migrate from area to area, generally sticking to the continental shelves. Not the most social of sharks, lemon sharks form loose schools of common size and sex and congregate near docks and piers at night, seeking deeper water during the day. They take to captivity more readily than other sharks, and so are the most studied of the shark species.
Feeding Habits and Peculiarities of the Lemon Shark
Lemon sharks feed on bony fish and crustaceans, including catfish, porcupine fish, various rays, crabs, mullet, jacks, and crayfish. They are not above eating smaller sharks and will nab seabirds when they can get them. There are 22 known lemon shark attacks on humans, but none have resulted in fatalities. Lemons are definitely not interested in humans as food! Like other sharks, they have electro-receptors to sense prey, along with magnetic sensors in their nose which give them keen olfactory ability. They prefer to feed on a moving tide and are sensitive to the distress signals caused by thrashing fish. Like all sharks, they're happy to eat a lot of things, but bonita or barracuda are particularly attractive and make fantastic bait.
How to Find and Attract Them
Lemon sharks are prohibited from harvest by law, so our Lemon Shark Fishing Charters are catch-and-release sport fishing. Lemons are pretty fair game fish, with long runs and lots of fight. In the shallows, strong bait fish draw them near the boat in a few minutes. Once they're spotted, you can cast near them for a quick hit. Since they tend to congregate, you'll have a lot of targets to cast to. If one's not hungry, his neighbor will be. Use circle hooks to be certain you can release without permanent harm to the shark. Out on the reefs, chumming to bring in yellowtail snappers will give you the chance to hook a few of those fun little beauties. And while you're playing them, their thrashing attracts nearby lemon sharks, giving you a shot at some of the bigger, deep-water specimens. If you get one shark biting, the rest will join in the competition, for loads of fun in Key West.