For the uninitiated, the midshipman may be a bit different from most bait fish. Hardly silver and delicate, this member of the family Batrachoididae is brown, slimy, stubby and by any measure pretty ugly. Its broad, flat head (with a very toothy mouth) tapers to a small tail, and on its ventral surface the midshipmans sport a remarkable ring of photophores - light-emitting organs.

Anglers catch these bait fish by turning over rocks along the bay's shoreline during extremely low tides, particularly during the spring and early summer. They find midshipmans underneath guarding egg clusters. Take only what you can use for a day of fishing and remember that there's a 10-midshipman limit.

Another effective bait for leopards are longjaw mudsuckers. A member of the goby family, the brownish-yellow mudsucker reaches a length of 8 inches. This hardy little fish thrives in the Bay shallows. Catch them under docks and piers using a bait leader equipped with No. 8 or 6 hooks baited with grass shrimp or pile worms and weighted with a 1/2-ounce sinker to keep the rig on bottom.

Both midshipmans and mudsuckers can be purchased from local tackle shops.

Where and When the Experts Drop Anchor

Fishing a midshipman on the bottom can be a challenge and takes some practice because leopard sharks seldom gulp and go. Rather, they often take their time, requiring an angler often to play out tentative bites and short runs, figuring out when to finally strike.

The best concentrations of leopard sharks in the Bay area will be found by hugging channel edges in depths from 30 to over 60 feet, though in some areas good numbers can be taken in much shallower water. As the sidebar ("Where the Leopards Live") shows, anglers find no shortage of available territory. Fortunately, numerous boat launches around the Bay offer good access.

Spool Spinners With Braids

The 7-foot graphite trigger stick has become my all-purpose stick for Bay gamefish, especially sharks. I like its light, one-handed heft, and a fast, sensitive action allows me to strike a picky fish quickly. I spool up only with synthetic (super-) braided lines. Braids are amazingly thin and strong, and their lack of stretch helps me discern the lightest tick, even when fishing deep water. I've had great results with 30-pound braid, which has the diameter of 10-pound monofilament, allowing me to gear down to lighter tackle. So far, I've had no problems using a double improved clinch knot when tying to terminal gear.

When leopards are hunting the shallow flats, I go with a 6 1/2- to 7-foot spinning rod rated for 10- to 20-pound line paired with a quality spinning reel loaded with mono of that strength. (You can also use the lighter, coated braid lines.)

I fish the midshipman bait right on the bottom, rigged to the end of a 3-foot leader of 90-pound-test plastic-coated Sevalon wire. With A-7 sleeves, crimp a 3/0 barrel swivel on one end and on the other end a single 8/0 or 9/0 beak-style hook. The hook point should enter just past the base of the bait's pectoral fin, pass under the gill collar and come out through the gill plate. When positioned properly, the hook point should be down and toward the tail. Then pin the leader to the bait's tail via rubber band and brass pin.