In that inbetween time of year after christmas when the cod fishing is slowing downand the summer fish have yet to arrive is the best time to target this visiting species of small shark.
The Spurdog is an extremly slow growing fish that have been recorded at over 40 years of age with the females not reproducing until their teen years at the earliest and give birth to only about six pups after pregnancies that last nearly two years,a record among animals.
The IUCNWorld Conservation Union includes spurdog on their Red List of ThreatenedSpecies, as
Vulnerable globally; the Northeast Atlantic population is considered CriticallyEndangered due to long-term commercial overfishing

Spurdog's are easy to identify thier upper body is a dark grey or black colourwith white spots present on the majority of fish. The under-side is a white colour.Greatcare should be taken
when handling or unhooking these fish as they also have large spines or"spurs"in front of both dorsal fin that can cause a nasty injury as well as a mouth full of razor sharp teeth.
These fish provide good sport on a 4-10oz uptider or 12-20lb boat rod coupledwith a 7500 size reel with 25lb line.A running ledger is all that is required to target these fish with a hook legnth of around 48" made from 150lb mono tocombat the teeth ending in a strog patterned 6/0 hook.Being a preditory speciesthe most effective baits are mackrel or herring with squid also taking it's share of the catch.

 

 

Spurdog

(Squalus acanthias)

Minimum Size

61cm

Average Caught Weight

6lb

Specimen Weight

11lb

Best baits

Mackerel

Squid

SPURDOG

Boat Record 8.677kg 2008