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Bluntnose Six Gilled Shark, Hexanchus griseus

Introduction: The Bluntnose Six Gilled Shark is a real speciality of the deep and occassionally shows up on deep wreck fishing off the west coast.  These fish grow to enormous size, to over 4 metres (14 feet) in length and to over 450 kilos (1000 lbs) in weight. It lives in very deep water, only venturing to the surface during the night, is extremely slow growing and known to be vulnerable to commercial pressure.  Its populations is reported as having suffered in other regions from overfishing.  It is known to feed mostly on the oceanic sea bed during the day, only feeding at or on the surface at night. Identification is not a problem as this shark has flourescent green eyes... that and its sheer size!

Boat tactics: A 30 lbs rod and reel is a must for standard shark fishing, but in this case an upgrade to 50 lb would be advisable!  Wire trace is essential as shark skin is abrasive and will rub through even heavy duty mono or braid.  Normal bait is a full and large fish. Around Europe they use whole tuna but we might consider that a bit extravagant around Ireland, so any whole fish will do - a large Pollack liberally doused / injected with pilcard oil or a similar attractant.  Six Gilled Sharks are typically encountered by accident when fishing for other shark, near the surface in darkness, or at depth in very deep waters off the west coast during the day.  A forged 10/0 hook is essential, and a move up to a stronger rig, up to 130 lb IGFA standards, is recommended. 

Shore tactics: One supposes it is possible to catch these from the shore at night, but you would want to be wildly optimistic to specifically try for one!  These are only boat caught, and at that, very rarely encountered.