The mere mention of the word creates horrific images of bloodstained seas and screaming swimmers. Ever since "Jaws" hit theaters in 1975, sharks of all kinds have a reputation that precedes them like no other ocean dweller.

To millions of Americans S-H-A-R-K spells fear.

But not everyone views sharks in this light. In fact, some anglers have come to appreciate the adventure of catching the toughest creatures in the sea. There are dozens of species of sharks swimming the waters off the Gulf Coast, ranging from the tiny to the enormous, and each of them presents unique challenges for anglers.

On the Gulf Coast, the most commonly pursued sharks are spinners and blacktips. These sharks often school together and are very similar in appearance, size and disposition. Spinner and black-tip sharks leap from the water in amazing displays of agility, proving to be one of the most thrilling sights an angler can expect to see in the summertime Gulf.

Spinners and blacktips feed in various parts of the water column. Savvy anglers know that small sharks often forage in the upper part of the water column, quickly grabbing chunks of chum and undersized-fish thrown overboard. But large sharks usually operate somewhere below their smaller cousins, in what might be termed the mid-range.

If sharks are in water 50 feet deep, the big boys typically hang around the 20- to 25-foot depths.

Most of the sharks that you'll see free-jumping measure 4 to 6 feet long. From where they tend to swim, these sharks can see what is going on above them, and they have plenty of room to generate the kind of energy it takes to push their 150-pound body 10 feet out of the water.

To draw in these big boys, it helps to create a sense of competition among the sharks. The most economical method is to take a 5-gallon bucket, punch it full of holes and put weights in the bottom. Fill it with fish guts, old shrimp, cut menhaden or any kind of smelly stuff, then cap it.

Tie the bucket to your boat with enough rope to sink it at least 10 feet down. The result is a chum slick that draws in sharks from all around.

The secret to bringing up the biggest of the nearby sharks is a combination of wet sand and live glass minnows or finger mullet. Take several of these baitfish, clump them up in a handful of wet sand and throw the batch overboard.

The baitfish will escape the sand at different depths, driving sharks crazy. When the big ones start surfacing, skip the sand and throw over just the live bait to keep the sharks on top, where they're easily fished.

This technique is a modified version of what in Florida is called "power chumming."

To keep some of the smaller sharks from striking, use large live bait like a hardtail or ladyfish. Most of all, brace yourself -- because when a 6-foot-long spinner or black-tipped shark blasts through a school of its competitors, it's coming for a fight.

At the opposite end of the spectrum is the tiger shark, one of the most dreaded species in the seven seas. Garnering its name from the faint stripes that line its body, the tiger shark has more in common with its namesake than coloration.

According to the 1961 book, Dangerous Creatures of the World's Oceans, tiger sharks -- just like the feared cats of the Asian jungles -- are actual man-eaters.

As the book says, "Tiger sharks kill a greater proportion of their human victims than do great whites. Whereas whites often spit out their prey after they realize it's not a seal or some other natural prey, the tiger shark will be quite happy with eating a person -- and in fact, seem to relish it."

Among predatory sharks, tiger sharks are second only to great whites in the size department. Still, there's great dispute among shark experts about the size potential for the species. Most texts list tiger sharks as growing up to 18 feet long and weighing more than 2,000 pounds.