sharkshield

[rodbuilder]

Was down at La Jolla shores this morning strolling the beach run into a fellow kayaker and notice there was a plate underneath of his kayak. A wire running to a battery pack. A few conversation he stated he bought it from a company named sharkshield the device is to scare any sharks around his kayak. Sounds like a cool idea since you never know what lurks underneath La Jolla canyon. I ask you guys if there is a need for this? For me a waste of money any thoughts?

[Gino]

waste of money

[Law Hand]

http://www.sharkshield.com/Content/P...o/List+Videos/

[Pescavore1]

http://www.uberreview.com/2008/03/sh...n-by-shark.htm

"For those of us that were hoping that the Shark Shield would allow us to safely surf the sharkiest lineups in the world, there is a bit of disappointing news. Whilst being tested in South Africa, under the supervision of the Natal Sharks Board, a female great white ate a Shark Shield device that had been attached to a float. This has been the cause of speculation that the electrical fields designed to repel sharks might in fact attract them.
The manufacturer claims that the device does work but that due to the design it will only be effective while a surfer is stationary and waiting for a wave. If you are actually surfing, or paddling, you could be out of luck. At any rate, I cannot think of a more spectacular product testing failure than this one."

[Gino]

yeah its funny becuase people still buy that garbage.

complete and total waste of money.

your chances of dieing by rolling while surf landing and snapping your neck are 100 times higher than a shark attacking you. Specially here in Southern California. Not that i have a gracefull surf landing...but based off the tournament pictures!...

Keep in mind, Most kayaks are around 13-15feet long, a full grown Great White is around 15-18 feet (in south africa and australia they are a little bigger) Great whites prey on baby seals, and injured old seals. or stupid seals. i dont see a great white attacking a 14 foot x-factor Seal.

I hope a shark does get me out on the water, wouldnt be a better way i want to go out! fish get revenge!

[JD]

commercial trials were a dismal failure

[Geoffkoop]

Seems like it would scare off fish too. Yellows and wsb are already hard enough to catch!

[CurtyL]

I keep a cut down mossberg under my PFD. whaz up gangstas?

[SeaEagle_1]

several years ago i did extensive research on sharks while trying to come up a new shark lure. this lure was to use an electrical field. during my research i came across the SharkShield. IT IS ONLY EFFECTIVE AGAINST SOME SHARKS!! none of which are in our waters. but what MUST be taken into account is this... sharks have sensors in their snouts called the "ampullae of lorenzini". these sensors allow sharks to hunt in totally darkness and in the absence of sent. tests have shown that sharks can detect fields as low as .005 of a volt. so where this device may infact keep certain sharks away, it has failed in keeping other dangerous species at bay. and sense sharks can detect such a small field IT WOULD ONLY CAUSE SHARKS TO CHECK OUT THIS STRANGE FIELD THEY ARE DETECTING AND TO CHECK YOU OUT! and we all know that sharks teeth are a sharks hands. so in my opinion using a "SharkShield" will only attract sharks to you and make you a target.

[Billy V]

Its a good thing that sharks are not as smart as these Orca or we all would be in trouble.

Take a look at this Video.
It shows a precision synchronized feeding effort.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3xmqbNsRSk

[FISHIONADO]

I don't have a problem with sharks, but I'd buy a barracuda shield, slimy fookers are a nuisance.

[warrior]

And to think I was questioning my fishing technique my last few times out; skunkaroo both times. Now I know my kayak probably has a bass/Halibut shield hidden on it somewhere; yep that's it, that's the only explanation. just wait till I tell my wife.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it

[yakker420]

I made my own shark shield with just a can of red spray paint, haven't been attacked by a shark at all, so it must be working!

[rodbuilder]

Originally Posted by yakker420

I made my own shark shield with just a can of red spray paint, haven't been attacked by a shark at all, so it must be working!

Dude you need to market your sharkshield idea real cool...

[Dennis Spike]

5 OR 6 years ago, I was approached by Shark Shield to promote their product through my fishing business. They had a personal shark deterrent device developed by the South African government and licensed to the Aussie company to make a recreational consumer model. I did some homework, wasn't too impressed with any of it and nothing came of it.

A year ago, I was unintentionally copied on an email that got my interest. It led me to a handfull of people who have been in the jaws of white sharks and only returned to the sea because of this technology. I did my homework again and ended up endorsing Shark Shield and repping it to the paddlesport industry.

Here are some facts about Shark Shield.

This is a safety device, not a gizmo, that is approaching sales of 20,000 units worldwide. Fairly new to the U.S., about 200 people a month purchase Shark Shields here. Most of them are not kayak anglers.

You can't outrun the field on your kayak so the surf lineup "failure" is not an issue for us.

It repels all species of sharks, not just some. You can muscle most dogfish to the kayak with the unit on, anything bigger and you gotta turn it off or most sharks will run all day without tiring...In my experience so far. It makes me think small ampullae are less affected and that the larger the shark, the bigger the effect.

It doesn't effect finfish at all, they school within the field (baitfish, bass). Dolphins and pinipeds run close to it all the time. When you are fishing, it's like it's not there.

The argument that it attracts sharks is folklore and strongly denied by the company researchers. A lot of testing and ongoing R&D hs gone into the product they offer today. Credibility seems a harder thing to earn over blogged opinions these days. Claiming that Shark Shield is a "waste of money" is a common personal opinion I've seen pop up globally, not an educated position or assesment of the product.

It is factual that sharks react to electricity and I won't say that sharks aren't attracted to some kind of current. However, the 3 beam current put out by the SS unit only makes it a few meters into the water. A shark outside the field knows you are there because it sees you or you brought it in another way or just a chance meeting. The Shark Shield field was designed and improved to do what it does, repel sharks that come close to it. When they hit it, it's like getting hit in the face by a truck. It hurts. They hate it, they leave the area (that's a big factor) and are not injured by the experience. This is the technology.

One highly reported S/S "failure" was caused by a broken antennae when some guys with a writer on board in SA , not the Shark Shield company, wrapped the Shark Shield around a dead tuna, broke it and got whitey to chew. They leave thinking it was just a wasted day and the writer publishes a story on how the product "failed in testing". Old news that's bounces around the web years after it was completely disproved as a product failure. Things being different in the southern hemisphere, Shark Shield then initiated testing standards with an independant auditor making sure goofballs don't wrap it around a dead fish and call it a test of the product. They sanctioned testing of their product to reflect and respect it's intended use.

I have a lot to lose by being wrong about this product. The Shark Shield Company has a lot more to lose and they've defended their product successfully in the courts a few times. That says a lot. So does its many years of use by governments and industry.

Incidents while rare are picking up paralell to increased recreational ocean use. There are enough documented kayak angler/shark incidents in the past 3 years, local to all of us, to know it happens. I fish my backyard in some of the State's sharkiest waters, the Sonoma County Coast. I fished with a big white shark in Mexico on my kayak. I'm a cronic foot soaker, I like to swim in the ocean and the technology and proven experience gives me incredible peace of mind.

I believe there are too many credible testimonials, versus a few highly publicized bogus evaluations, to discount the effectiveness of Shark Shield. There is too much science to claim it doesn't work....for us.

Thanks for your time and forum space, readers can feel free to contact me anytime about Shark Shield.

Continued Good Fishing To All!

[Gino]

i dont knock the product, never used it. i will say though theres worse thigns that can happen to ya at a better chances, than a shark attacking you. id rather put that extra money into an upgraded PFD or marine radio / gps.

[dorado50]

Why not get a shield for all ocassions! I will take one of each please. Theres a sucker born every day! Selling 200 shields a day... I gotta have ten today please....I will also put one on my car just in case a land shark comes around.

[FISHIONADO]

If that is the real Dennis Spike then it brings some serious credibility to the Shark Shield. I don't see the need for a shark shield in La Jolla but I might consider some options in NorCal or South Africa.

Spike is one of the earliest founders of the sport. Show some respect.

75# WSB he caught in Malibu 10 years ago.

[Dennis Spike]

Thanks for the openmindedness and kind words you guys. Gino, the trip to and from the beach is more dangerous than our time OTW where fog, wind and drunken or stupid powerboaters pose a greater risk than giant sharks.

I'm not too worried about the white sharks that follow the WSB schools. I talked myself into believing they still eat fish. I'm not really worried about sharks at all. I look at S/S as new technology. The manufacturer makes a point of selling "peace of mind", not fear of sharks. I believe we spend more time in the zone than most recreational ocean users except maybe surfers. We bloody the water up more than they do and make a lot more noise. The attraction factor.

Since my first report of a tiger shark body slamming a kayak angler off Puerto Rico many years back (after he gutted/gilled a big tuna into the water), I've preached TBC-Total Blood Containment on the kayaks. Of course, I rarely practice it. I've seen many species on my kayak and believe I brought most of them in. The late sportfishing lobbyist and aquantance Randy Frye lost his head to a white shark diving abs in shallow water just north of here. From greyhounding needlfish to rattlesnakes and scorpions wasps and a mountain lion, I've become a predator magnet the past decade or so. Am I sounding paranoid? I will be if I ever decide I need is giant squid shield. Seriously though, if they made a hand taser/phaser gun (Star Trek series-"Set it on Stun...Spock") I'd buy one for the novelty. The shark shield is pretty much that, in the wateer to the ampullae of lorenzini on sharks, skates and rays.

Fish report-I've been living near Bodega bay the past few years and the SWR is stellar. Lots of lings, cabs and big black and red rockfishes I've been fishing like bass. The halibut come through, I'm still looking for one. If the swell is under 6 foot without wind, rockfish limits are the rule. www.ncka.org is the regional site and if you ever make it up to the wine country, hook-up there or feel free to give me a call to see when we're fishing and meet us at the beach.
In the meantime, whack `em.