A Southern Style Shark Bowfishing Adventure

Capt. John Laska with an 8'4" lemon shark they reeled in with a bowfishing bow.

Capt. Alan Yedor and Capt. John Laska teamed up for one of the most daring bowfishing adventures you'll ever hear of. The adventure included heading 30 miles off the coast of Louisiana in an airboat, with a center console boat for backup. The boats were both loaded down with hundreds of pounds of fuel, generators, batteries, sleeping bags, food, and bowfishing equipment. 

A 30 mile trip off-shore in an airboat is a tough feat in itself, as Capt. Yedor said "it takes a special client to go on this trip, we don't let just anyone come out with us. We tell them up front this s*** is crazy and it ain't for most people." Most of Capt. Yedor's clients come down to bowfish trophy alligator gar and fill their cooler's with redfish, only a select few are daring enough to go for the offshore shark trip. 

Once offshore, they found a chain of islands and spent 3 days with their clients chasing monster sharks, stingrays, redfish, and more.

Prior to every successful outing comes days of preparation, even if you know exactly what you're doing like Capt. Yedor and Laska do. The days before the trip consist of filling fuel tanks, watching weather reports, gathering gear, and preparing bait. In this case, they prepared their own chummed bait by bowfishing mullet the night before, then grinding it up. 

Key note: understanding weather patterns and having complete faith in the local weather man is the most important aspect of this bowfishing trip. 

Here are some bags of chum that were prepared ahead of the trip. Capt. Yedor and Capt. Laska are both big advocates for our VG 10 Flex Fillet and VG 10 Gut N Bait Knives. 

The chum is used to draw the sharks in, but the airboat is ultimately used to run the flats near the offshore islands to bowfish for sharks and other species. 

The first day on the water resulted in a Louisiana state record stingray, weighing in at 106.4 lbs. The record has not yet been officially recorded, but will soon be listed as the largest stingray taken by bow and arrow through the Bowfishing Association of America. 

Day 2 yielded similar results to day 1, but with more abundant stingrays. These rays make for some of the best shark bait you can find. Capt. Yedor's favorite use of stingrays is to use some for shark bait, but the majority of the stingray is battered and deep fried. 

If you've ever tried deep fried stingray wings, you already know how good it is. Keep reading for some of captain's favorite recipe's.

Needless to say, these clients filled the coolers with fish. Some may notice the lights on Capt. Yedor's boat...yep we've been working hard behind the scenes on developing new product. There's more to come in the future. If they can hold up to a 30 mile trip offshore in an airboat, well...we're getting close!

Day 3 was the most exciting; they were able to haul in redfish, a lemon shark and a blacktip shark. 

IMPORTANT NOTE: Capt. Yedor and Capt. Laska are both licensed captains in Louisiana, they also both have the proper permits for bowfishing shark as well as redfish, stingrays, etc with their clients. This is not something the typical recreational fishermen can do. Please do not attempt to do what Southern Style Bowfishing has done, they are trained and licensed professionals. 

The Captain's Go To Recipe's

FRIED STINGRAY WINGS

Step 1: Clean the wings

- Fillet out 4 steaks: 2 on the topside of each wing, 2 on the bottom side of each wing.
- Slide knife down the gristle area in the middle to remove the steaks, then flip steak over and slide knife down the skin side to take the skin off. There's just meat left. 
- Cut into smaller pieces. (some people say cutting them into circles and grilling them tastes like scallops)

Step 2: Batter the wings

- Your favorite fish fry batter will work well, or use cornmeal and flour.
- Coat wings with buttermilk or whipped eggs prior to battering for better results.

Step 3: Fry the wings

- Pan fry or deep fry the wings until golden brown, typically takes 2-3 minutes depending on how thick the wings are. 

BROILED SHARK STEAKS

Step 1: Clean the shark

- Remove guts and fins
- "De-bone" fillets like you would most other fish (they have cartilage rather than bones, but it has a similar feel while filleting).
- Cut elongated fillets into ~ 10-16 oz steaks (scale on our Fish & Game Vacuum Sealer works great for measuring)

Step 2: Marinate the shark steaks

Mix the following ingredients together into a bag (portions are good for one 16 oz shark steak):

1. 1/4 c. olive oil
2. 3 tbsp. soy sauce
3. 1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
4. 1 tbsp. lemon juice
5. 1 clove garlic, minced
6. 1 tsp. minced ginger
7. 1/4 tsp. pepper

Put shark steak into bag, let sit in refrigerator for approx 1 hour. 

Step 3: Broil

- Broil shark on the top rack, approx. 3 minutes per side @ 400 degrees, or until fully cooked. 

REDFISH ON THE HALF SHELL

Step 1: Clean the redfish fillets

- A rigid fillet knife or tough Filletzall blade works best for cutting through the thick scales.
- Leave the outer layer of skin on, but descale the outer layer. 

Step 2: Season with garlic, salt, and pepper. 

Step 3: Put on grill, baste with butter as it cooks through.