your located ballajura area right? some of the rock walls north and beaches hold sharks and landbased is better at night, if not just head out deep ballons with baits like tuna suspended under them in a nice  big burley trail too, key to sharks is burley and dont always expect the big ones to come around theres alot of smaller hammerheads around too so a range of size traces would help too, hope that gives you a little idea

never fail is to head to cott groyne with a nice fresh mullet under a party balloon and float her out only 50 m off the end seen some absolute monsters hooked that way and got a few me self
brenz

Thanks for the tips guys!  about to flash my ignorance again, but here goes!

What is a 'groyne'?  I've seen that word used alot on the forum, but can't work out exactly what y'all mean by it.  definitely not a word I've ever heard in the states.

So....fish at evening/night.....use plenty of berley.....float a dead bait under a baloon and wait?

I can do that! 

The best shark fishing technique was used by a group of local aboriginals at Hat Head in NSW. When the annual mullet run came along they put a whole mullet on a large hook, attached it to a really heavy wire trace attached to a really strong rope. Dropped the mullet near the mouth of the river and then waited until a shak grabbed it and they all (up to 10 or 12 of them) grabbed onto the rope and played tug of war with the shark (normally a tiger or a hammer head). (NB This is not a recommended method of fishing and is not to be tried at home).

On a more serious note, Brendan's suggestion about Cott Groyne is pretty spot on. I also recently spotted a reasonably sized shark cruising off the main wall at Hillarys.

A groyne is like a man made rock wall.  There are some fishing restrictions at Cott groyne that you need to be aware of, not sure of them off hand.  Also don't get into the habit of berleying up with fish and stuff in that area as its a popular swim beach and theres already been enough shark attacks in that area.

And absolutely no burleying for sharks.

Dictionary: groin (groin)

Anatomy. The crease or hollow at the junction of the inner part of each thigh with the trunk, together with the adjacent region and often including the external genitals.
Architecture. The curved edge at the junction of two intersecting vaults.
A small jetty extending from a shore to protect a beach against erosion or to trap shifting sands.

Thanks for all the advice guys!  I had been thinking it must be a rock wall but wasn't sure.

So do you reckon its just as good fishing from shore as in a boat?  If boat fishing, where would you go.

Didn't think that berley would be good near swimming areas, but thanks for adding that....best not to assume that I know anything just yet!

What weight tackle would you recommend?  I've got to respool my two medium spin rods.  I was planning on spooling one with 25lb braid for jigging/bottom bouncing and the other with mono.  What weight would you recommend? 

What about gear for landing/handling a shark?  I don't think I would want to keep any of them....probably just catch and release.  But I'm also not keen to lose a finger in the process. 

Thanks again for all your help!  btw...just had a coffee with the inlaws at Wild Fig(they fly home tonight) and the sea was flat and gorgeous!  Wish I was going out today!!

in a boat its quite easy imho

burley up and they will come

 depends on your reels but: id reccomend 30lb braid minimum for land based and around 50lb for boat 

what you want is decent line capacity too, which is why id go the braid 

long gaff is handy off the rocks

on the boat i wouldnt be bringing a big one on the deck

small ones you can grab by the tail and use your other hand behind its eyes 

Some more basic questions:

1. When floating a baloon, what length of line between baloon and bait?

2. Do you just tie the baloon directly to the line at the desired depth?

3. If I'm using braid, would you recommend a mono leader running down to the wire, or is this unnecessary?  if I should use mono, what length/weight do you reckon?

 Finally, I'm thinking about heading out tomorrow night with the wife, will Cott and Hillary's be covered with anglers?  if so, can someone recommend any other good spots that may not attract such a crowd?

That's all I can think of for now, but it's probably bc I don't know enough to ask any better questions! ;D 

Will Cott and Hillaries be covered in Anglers? Yes. Cott is only a small groyne so you might struggle floating out a balloon. Might find Hillaries abit more roomy. Have you considered shark fishing off the beach?