Fly Fishing for Mako Sharks with Conway Bowman off San Diego

Conway Bowman

We've been fortunate to know Conway for many years and have traveled throughout the continent to fish with him, documenting his many adventures. Despite our long-standing friendship, the stars had never aligned for us to fly fish for sharks off the coast of San Diego. That all changed when we accepted an invitation to exhibit at the Pacific Coast Sportfishing Show. As luck would have it, Bowman had an open date on his otherwise packed calendar.

After meeting at Dana Landing, where Bowman moors his rather badass 26-foot Caymas boat, we pushed off into the big blue. I was expecting a long run. From past conversations, I'd gathered that Conway's home waters extended all the way to Catalina Island. Instead, he explained that the prime shark fishery had shifted in his favor. "I don't have to go up there anymore," he said. "The sharks are down here now, right in my backyard. I don't burn much fuel, and I can be home for dinner with my family. It's awesome."

With the coastline still in view, Bowman checked his charts and deployed the chum bucket.

"There's a deep underwater canyon right here—it drops off to 3,600 feet. We'll post up on the edge. Once the wind picks up, we should see some action. The sharks are leery of approaching the boat when there's no wind," Bowman explained.

The waiting game gave us plenty of time to catch up on old times and discuss the versatility of the ALLSURF rod we'd brought aboard. Intrigued by the platform, Conway rigged the rod as a 10-footer and attached his conventional reel. After casting surface irons—a popular local lure for tuna species—he gave the rod his stamp of approval for that particular technique.

That's when he suggested we put his fly reel on the rod, rig it as an 8-footer, and see if we could catch a shark with it.

"Let's see what else this thing will do!"

Now we just needed a test subject.

That's when the third member of our party, Bill—blessed with great game eyes—spotted a fin in the distance. The forecasted wind had never arrived, and just as Conway predicted, the shark kept its distance.

"That's a blue shark," Bowman said as he took matters into his own hands and cast a teaser toward the predator. The shark gave chase, hunting the hookless bait right up to the boat.

"Cast now—drop it right in front of him," the captain instructed.

The 14-weight fly line loaded the ALLSURF surprisingly well for the short shot. As soon as the fly landed, the shark attacked. I set the hook with several hard strips of the line and rod. The shark peeled line from the reel and headed for the depths.

The ALLSURF, configured as an 8-footer, has no shortage of backbone. I leaned hard into the shark and, after a spirited battle, guided the fish alongside the boat. Like he’s done countless times before, Conway calmly released the toothy critter back into the big blue wild.

Is the ALLSURF a fly rod? No—but it will cast a 14-weight fly line well enough for a close encounter with a shark, and we're eager to try this same approach on a billfish, like a sailfish raised on a teaser.

This field test added another feather in the cap of what may be the most versatile coastal fishing platform—a rod that truly earns its place aboard any boat.