When the Hunter Becomes the Hunted: Fly Fishing for Mako Sharks

Mako shark fly fishing off San Diego, California, might just be the wildest adventure you can have with a fly rod. Imagine sight-casting to a 500-pound predator, watching it explode 20 feet into the air, and then seeing 600 yards of backing disappear from your reel in under a minute. Veteran fly fishing guide Conway Bowman has spent more than 30 years chasing these incredible fish, and he's got some unbelievable stories to tell. From sharks jumping into boats to anglers falling overboard, this isn't your typical day on the water. Listen to my full conversation with Conway on The Destination Angler Podcast, Episode 182.

Staring Into the Eyes of a Killer

Picture this. You're floating a few miles off the coast of San Diego, surrounded by nothing but blue water. The ocean is calm, the sun is high, and you're waiting. Suddenly, a dark shape appears beneath the surface, followed by a dorsal fin slicing through the water. A giant mako shark has arrived, and it's heading straight for your boat.

But here's where things get interesting. Unlike some sharks that attack with brute force, makos are calculating predators. They circle the boat, study their surroundings, and seem to be sizing up everything around them—including you.

Conway calls the mako the "aristocrat of sharks," comparing its speed and cunning to a cheetah. And when one looks up at you from just a few feet away, he says the experience is unlike anything else in fishing.  "He looks right through you."

Think about that for a moment. You're standing there with a fly rod, supposedly hunting one of the ocean's ultimate predators, and suddenly you're wondering who's hunting whom.

Man Overboard! And Five Sharks in the Water

After more than 30 years of guiding, Conway thought he'd seen just about everything. Sharks jumping, giant fish destroying tackle, and more than a few anglers getting the scare of their lives. But nothing quite prepared him for what happened just a couple of weeks before our interview.

It started innocently enough. Two clients boarded Conway's boat, and one casually asked whether anyone had ever fallen overboard while shark fishing. Conway assured him that in more than three decades, it had never happened.

You can probably guess where this is going.

Later that afternoon, Conway had several sharks worked up around the boat. A mako, a blue shark, and a hammerhead were among the predators circling beneath the surface, drawn in by the commotion of his teaser. Things were getting pretty exciting when Conway glanced toward the bow.

One of his anglers was gone.

The man had fallen overboard, right into the middle of a shark feeding frenzy. Five sharks were circling the boat, and Conway suddenly had a much bigger problem than getting a fish to eat a fly.  "It could have been a really bad story because you fell into a feeding frenzy of sharks."

What happened next is one of the craziest stories I've heard in seven seasons of The Destination Angler. And the amazing thing? Conway was dealing with an aggressive mako on his teaser while his client was struggling to get back aboard.  

Let's just say everyone made it home, but I'm guessing that angler won't be forgetting his trip anytime soon.

A Kayak, a Giant Mako, and a Bad Game of Rock-Paper-Scissors

If falling overboard sounds terrifying, imagine voluntarily climbing into a kayak to hook one of these monsters.

Years ago, Conway was working on a story for Field & Stream when someone came up with the brilliant idea of catching a mako shark from a kayak. One of the guys was an experienced kayaker, but when a shark finally appeared, he decided maybe this wasn't such a great idea after all.

So they settled the question the old-fashioned way—with rock-paper-scissors.  Conway lost.

Before long, he was sitting in a kayak, drifting away from the mother ship, with a mako shark swimming nearby. But just as he prepared to make his cast, something much bigger appeared.  He hooked the shark, and all hell broke loose.

The fish immediately turned west and began towing Conway and his kayak toward Hawaii. The guys in the boat scrambled to keep up while Conway held on, wondering how this adventure was going to end. Then the shark did something that made the situation considerably more interesting.  

It turned around and headed straight back toward the kayak.  "I thought it was gonna jump straight up under the kayak."  I'll leave the rest of that story for Conway to tell. Trust me, it's worth hearing in his own words.

The Ultimate Fly Fishing Adrenaline Rush

Here's what fascinates me about this fishery. Despite all the teeth, power, and sheer size of these sharks, Conway insists that mako fishing is really just sight-fishing. You're watching a fish approach, making a carefully placed cast, and trying to convince it to eat a fly on the surface.

He even compares the take to a big brown trout rising to a grasshopper on a spring creek. Of course, this brown trout might weigh 800 pounds, run 40 miles an hour, and launch itself 20 feet into the air!

And believe it or not, some of the biggest makos take a fly surprisingly gently. It's what happens after the hookset that separates this experience from just about anything else in fly fishing.

Conway explains how he finds these giants, what triggers their incredible aerial displays, and why he sometimes deliberately breaks off a monster rather than fighting it for hours. There's a whole lot more to this fishery than you might imagine.

Ready to Go Shark Fishing?

I've interviewed guides and anglers who chase some pretty incredible fish around the world, but Conway Bowman takes fly fishing to an entirely different level. His stories are equal parts fascinating, hilarious, and occasionally downright terrifying. And after more than 30 years on the water, his enthusiasm for these magnificent predators hasn't faded one bit.

There's plenty more we didn't cover here, including the day a mako jumped into his boat with his son aboard, the giant shark estimated at 1,500 pounds, and the unforgettable way Conway introduced his future wife to fly fishing.

Want to hear the rest? Watch Hang Time: Mako Sharks on the Fly with Conway Bowman, Episode 182 of The Destination Angler Podcast. Grab your 14-weight, make sure you've got plenty of backing, and join us for one wild adventure off the coast of San Diego!

Tight lines,

Steve