Blue Shark species guide • Sea fish • Moderate (7/10)

Blue Shark junior fishing guide

Prionace glauca

A clear, plain-English guide to blue shark for parents, coaches and juniors. See where they live, the best starter tackle, simple bait choices and a three-step plan to help young anglers catch their first one safely.

🎣 View starter tackle setups 📋 Log a Blue Shark catch
Junior-first & welfare-aware • 3-step beginner plan • UK venues & seasons
Skill & size • Seasons • Beginner baits

Skill level

Moderate (7/10)

Best with some experience or support from a coach.

Best time

Spring–Autumn

Pick mild, settled days for junior sessions.

Typical size

40–100 lb common for sport anglers; larger specimens caught.

Always match hooks, nets & lines to expected fish size.

Blue Shark

Beginner baits

Bluey (blue whiting), Herring / sprat, Mackerel strip …

Keep it simple — small hook baits, little-and-often feeding.

Typical venues: Offshore deep waters reached by charter boats.
Scroll down for detailed tackle setups, methods and parent-friendly guidance.
Catch your first blue shark with confidence

Catch your first Blue Shark in 3 steps

A simple, repeatable plan juniors can follow with help from a parent, coach or older angler.

  1. Step 1

    Strictly specialist offshore fishing

    Porbeagle and Blue Sharks are large, powerful pelagic sharks. They are not junior targets in the usual sense and require highly experienced skippers and crews.

  2. Step 2

    Juniors as observers and helpers

    If on a shark charter, juniors can help prepare baits, watch the float and help record measurements, but adults should handle the fish.

  3. Step 3

    Teach tagging, science and release

    Use shark encounters to talk about tagging, migration and conservation. Emphasise that all sharks are released at the side of the boat in good condition.

Tackle setups that work

Designed with juniors and fish welfare in mind. Start with an IDEAL or GOOD setup for easier casting and safe unhooking.

👉 Swipe sideways to view different setups.

Boat Rod

Beginner tip: These fish are **coach only** targets – emphasise safety, harness use where relevant and careful release.

IDEAL

Rod: 6–8 ft 12–30 lb class boat rod (uptide/downtide depending on venue).

Reel: Boat multiplier filled with 30–50 lb braid.

Line: 30–50 lb braid mainline with appropriate mono leader or rubbing trace.

Terminal tackle

  • ["Strong mono or wire traces"
  • "Large hooks"
  • "Heavy leads matched to tide"]

Extras

  • ["Fighting harness where needed"
  • "Heavy-duty landing gear"
  • "Long-handled t-bar or disgorger"]

Heavy boat setup for deep-water species, rays and sharks – always with skipper / coach supervision.

Downtide Rod

Beginner tip: These fish are **coach only** targets – emphasise safety, harness use where relevant and careful release.

IDEAL

Rod: 6–8 ft 12–30 lb class boat rod (uptide/downtide depending on venue).

Reel: Boat multiplier filled with 30–50 lb braid.

Line: 30–50 lb braid mainline with appropriate mono leader or rubbing trace.

Terminal tackle

  • ["Strong mono or wire traces"
  • "Large hooks"
  • "Heavy leads matched to tide"]

Extras

  • ["Fighting harness where needed"
  • "Heavy-duty landing gear"
  • "Long-handled t-bar or disgorger"]

Heavy boat setup for deep-water species, rays and sharks – always with skipper / coach supervision.

Uptide Rod

Beginner tip: These fish are **coach only** targets – emphasise safety, harness use where relevant and careful release.

IDEAL

Rod: 6–8 ft 12–30 lb class boat rod (uptide/downtide depending on venue).

Reel: Boat multiplier filled with 30–50 lb braid.

Line: 30–50 lb braid mainline with appropriate mono leader or rubbing trace.

Terminal tackle

  • ["Strong mono or wire traces"
  • "Large hooks"
  • "Heavy leads matched to tide"]

Extras

  • ["Fighting harness where needed"
  • "Heavy-duty landing gear"
  • "Long-handled t-bar or disgorger"]

Heavy boat setup for deep-water species, rays and sharks – always with skipper / coach supervision.

About the Blue Shark

Blue Sharks are sleek, long-distance ocean predators with striking blue colouration. In the UK they are targeted by specialist charter boats well offshore.

Junior tip

Blue Sharks are best left to dedicated shark trips with clear safety rules. Use them as a teaching example of ocean predators rather than a junior target.

Logged a Blue Shark recently?

Add a catch report so juniors can see where they’re being caught, which baits work and how your tackle was set up.

Submit a catch report

Want to discover more species? Browse the full species guide.

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