Fly Fishing For Sharks in San Diego
Conway Bowman – by Chet Gypt
Fly Fishing for Sharks in San Diego — Riding Shotgun with Conway Bowman
If you’ve ever wondered what fly fishing looks like at the far edge of sanity—where big water meets bigger attitude—then you need to know the name Conway Bowman. For those of us who spend most of our time chasing sand bass, carp, and the Texas redfish, the idea of throwing feathers at sharks sounds like a stunt. But in San Diego, it’s just another day on deck for the guy who pioneered the entire game.
Why Sharks? Why San Diego?
The Pacific off San Diego is one of those rare places where everything lines up: warm currents, clean water, and an abundance of shortfin mako sharks and blue sharks. These predators cruise just miles from shore, often riding temperature breaks like highway lanes. And believe it or not, they’ll take a fly—aggressively.
For a Texas angler, this isn’t your standard spring white bass run. This is high-octane, saltwater fly fishing wrapped in adrenaline and guided by someone who’s made it his life’s work.
The Conway Bowman Difference
If you’re talking shark on the fly, you’re talking Conway Bowman. He didn’t just popularize the sport—he essentially invented it. From the early ESPN2 days to countless magazine spreads, Bowman is the face of big-fish fly adventure.
What makes him special?
- Safety first — Conway has refined shark handling, boat management, and fly gear setups to keep anglers out of trouble, even when a 150-pound mako is doing somersaults near the transom.
- Scientific approach — He works closely with researchers, tagging sharks and gathering real-time data. This isn’t stunt fishing; it’s conservation-minded angling.
- Fly-centric philosophy — Heavy tackle, big surface flies, chummed slicks, and some of the most specialized saltwater leaders you’ll ever see.
Bowman doesn’t just guide—you get an education. And you’ll come home with stories that make your Texas buddies think you’re lying!
What to Expect on the Water
A typical day with Conway starts early. And unlike our Texas lakes, where wind direction is more important than tides, here you’re reading currents, temp breaks, and subtle offshore conditions. You chum. You wait. Then, as if a ghost rises out of blue water, you see a shape materialize like a submarine coming to life.
When a mako eats your fly, there’s no “tap-tap” or gentle trout sip. It’s boom, and then you’re strapped in.
Expect:
- Explosive topwater eats
- Vertical jumps (yes, makos leave the water like Polaris missiles)
- Runs that rip backing like it owes them money
- A story you’ll tell for decades
Gear Notes for the Curious Texan
If you’re thinking about bringing your 8-weight redfish stick—don’t. Conway pairs anglers with the right tools, usually:
- 12- to 14-weight rods
- Super-duty reels with sealed drags
- Wire leaders thick enough to make your Galveston surf rig look minimal
- Flies the size of your hand
This is big game fly fishing, not finesse.
Why Texas Anglers Should Care
Because the thrill of fly fishing is universal. Whether you’re casting to carp on the Trinity, stripers on Texoma, or reds in the Laguna, the idea of scaling up to sharks hits the same nerve—just amplified 100x. And let’s be honest: San Diego is an easy flight, and spending a day with Bowman is the kind of bucket-list trip that reframes what you think fly gear can actually do.
Final Take
If you want to stretch both your imagination and your backing, put Conway Bowman on your short list. His shark fly fishing program in San Diego is unlike anything available to us here in Texas. It’s wild, safe, ethical, and ridiculously fun.
PUBLISHER’S NOTE: I met Conway, it seems like yesterday, about ten years ago. He came to Texas to fly fish for carp on Lake Ray Roberts as one of several guests, and several boats that came to sample the carp fly fishing on Lake Ray Roberts. He was very nice and of all the fly fishers I have known, who fly at his level, at that time he had an “aura” that put him (to me) almost on a Lefty Kreh level. Make no mistake, he still had his day job working for San Diego County at that time, but he had that thing that lets anyone know without saying, he had seen and done things that we can only imagine. Thanks Chet Gypt for writing this story! It gives us something to look forward to here in frigid North Texas.
