Smoothhound Shark
Illustration: gardenroutefishing.co.za
The 'houndshark' — a small, elegant grey shark of sandy bays that feeds on crabs and prawns. Perfect big-fish sport on light surf tackle.
Where & how: clean sandy beaches and bays all along the coast, day and night. Crab, prawn and chokka baits on 3/0-5/0 hooks; no wire needed (crushing plates, not cutting teeth). Long, fast runs that belie their size (typically 5-15 kg).
Ethics: smoothhounds are heavily pressured by inshore commercial fishing and grow slowly. Release quickly — they're tough and swim off strongly. A brilliant species for introducing anglers to shark fishing responsibly.
Field guide
Powerful, sustained runs and dogged head-shaking — big fish test heavy tackle and your stamina rather than jumping.
How to catch Smoothhound Shark
Medium surf outfit, 3/0-5/0 hooks, no wire needed
Large baitrunner spinning reel (8000–14000) or a 6/0–9/0 conventional with 300 m+ line capacity and a strong, smooth drag.
0.50–0.70 mm mono or 50–80 lb braid for the mainline.
8/0–12/0 non-stainless circle hooks (rust out if a deep-hooked fish is released).
1.5–2 m of 100–300 lb mono trace; multi-strand wire or cable for toothy sharks.
Crab, prawn, chokka
When to catch Smoothhound Shark
Summer days and nights, sandy bays
Feeds hard on moving water, especially the push and after dark; spring tides and a warm current switch them on.
Most active in warmer water, roughly 18–23 °C, especially when bait shoals are inshore.
🥅 Landing
On the beach, use the swash to slide the fish onto wet sand; from rocks, lead it to a safe gulley. Never gaff a shark you plan to release.
♻️ Release
Keep it in the water, support the body, remove the hook with a de-hooker or cut the trace close, then revive it upright facing the current until it swims off strongly.
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