Photo credit Ally Toth.
There were plenty of bait fish within casting range. We caught jack crevalle, bluefish, and ladyfish. Ally caught a huge ladyfish that turned out to be fantastic shark bait.
Ladyfish (Elops saurus)
Everything was going well until the sharks showed up. I got picked up first. My rod doubled over, the drag on the reel started buzzing, and I quickly realized that I didn't stand a chance against the fish on the other end. It was taking line even with the drag fully tightened, and I was worried that the rod might snap, so I pointed the rod tip towards the water and used my thumb to put extra pressure on the spool. The braided line snapped.
Less than a minute later, Ally's rod bent over. Another shark! Her experience was worse than mine. First her rod holder pulled out of the sand before she could get to it, and then in the process of diving on her rod she sliced her foot open. Finally, the shark somehow broke (or bit) through her 200 lb mono shock leader. We were clearly outgunned, and Ally needed to go to prompt care to get stitches, so that was the end of our session.
A few weeks later Ryan said he wanted to drive over from Tampa, so we decided to try for sharks again. Ally and I bought new reels and stronger braid, and I brought a new heavy surf rod that I've been holding for my friend Marc. We brought the ladyfish from the previous session, chopped it up, and cast out two baits on the two rods. It didn't take long before the first shark showed up. I was ready to do battle with a 100 or 200 pound beast, but I was actually quite happy when I realized it was a much smaller model.
Finetooth Shark (Carcharhinus isodon) - new hook & line species #714
All three of us had completed the FWC online shark fishing course, so this was a good opportunity to practice a quick catch, photo, and release with a smaller shark. We kept it on the wet sand where the waves would wash over it while we unhooked it and took a few photos. Then it was back into the waist-deep water, and off it swam. Success!
Ally's rod was the next to go off. She was using the 13 foot rod that I had used during the previous session, and it paired well with her reel. Her shark came in quickly as well. I'm sure she was glad it wasn't a monster.
Two sharks on the beach! This one was also a finetooth. It ended up being the only species we caught that day. Ally had caught a finetooth from a boat before, but this was much bigger one, so she was plenty happy.
We sent the baits out again, and this time it was Ryan's turn to grab one of the rods. It was a similarly sized shark again, and Ryan quickly got it in where I could grab its tail.
I'm really happy with how quickly we worked as a team to land, dehook, photo, and release these sharks. The practice will pay off when we catch something bigger next time.
Congrats to Ryan on his first finetooth shark! I'm sure it was well worth the early alarm and 3 hour drive from Tampa.
We still had a few pieces of ladyfish left, so we kept casting them out and hooking up with sharks. At this point we were really hoping for something new. A blacktip would have been great. A small bull shark or bonnethead would have been good too.
All five of our sharks ended up being finetooths though. And interestingly, all five of them were males. There was definitely a school of them out there hunting together.
After a picnic lunch, Ryan was interested in going to the small spillway that we had fished before. He wanted a spinycheek sleeper, Ally wanted a bigmouth sleeper, and I wanted to try for the sailfin catfish and mountain mullet. When we arrived though, we saw gar and bowfin. And when you see big gar and bowfin in front of you, gosh darnit, you fish for big gar and bowfin.
Longnose Gar (Lepisosteus osseus)
Bowfin (Amia calva)
After playing with the prehistoric fish, we downsized our tackle to fish for new species, and unfortunately I kept catching the bigmouth sleepers that Ally wanted. I wasn't trying to. I was using a #8 hook with a quarter of a redworm as bait. I also got a blue tilapia with interesting colors.
Bigmouth Sleeper (Gobiomorus dormitor)
Blue Tilapia (Oreochromis aureus)
The heat finally wore us down. Ally caught a really big blue tilapia, and then we decided to wrap things up. It's been a few years since Ryan and I have fished together, so we got a photo. Guys need to remember to get photos like this more often.
Blue Tilapia (Oreochromis aureus)
The heat finally wore us down. Ally caught a really big blue tilapia, and then we decided to wrap things up. It's been a few years since Ryan and I have fished together, so we got a photo. Guys need to remember to get photos like this more often.
I didn't really mention how the hunt for sailfin catfish and mountain mullet went. It didn't go well, but I promise I'll keep trying.
