# 10-9 Gags & Bull Sharks in the Bay



## ThaFish (Feb 27, 2013)

William (WAReilly) & Mitch & I decided to head out to one of William's sick bay spots tonight to see if we could find some grouper. We also took the yak & the sharking gear in the hopes that we'd be able to pick a fight with a bull or two as well. Our evening turned out better than expected! Within forty five minutes of getting there I hooked into a nice 21'' gag, which I sent back to the depths after getting a picture with him. Too bad he wasn't big enough to take home. :thumbdown: Still fun though, especially from shore! William scored a 10 lb. southern ray in the cast net a little while after I got the grouper, so Mitch & I cut it in half & each yakked a piece out. An hour later my 6/0 starts screaming like a bat out of hell. Let it sing for 15 seconds then engaged the reel & the battle began! :gun_bandana: This was the longest fight I've ever been in with a fish. The battle raged on for just over 50 minutes from the initial hookup until William grabbed her tail. All of this was WITHOUT a fighting belt, because I somehow forgot it at home.. Man was that rough. Luckily William found a cushion from a stool or something that had washed up on the beach that I used as a cushion between the gimbal & my stomach. Talk about luck! After an insane fight & a quick landing we invited our guest to a quick photoshoot before sending her back into the abyss. Taped her at 73'' (a new personal record!) & estimated the weight at an easy 150 pounds. Way fatter than the 68.5'' bull I got a couple weeks ago. After sending her on her way we brought all thee of the shark rods in & re-baited. I dropped a big live mullet (thanks William) about 150 yards out on the Solterra 50W & Mitch took his ray back out. Around 9:30 the Solterra started to sing & after hooking up I passed the rod off to Mitch, who battled the blacktip on the opposite end of his line for only a few minutes before it got tangled up around a buoy chain. After trying everything we could think of to get it free, William took the yak out & went to work untangling it. Finally after 45 minutes William came cruising back towards shore with a smile on his face & a blacktip on his lap. Measured her at 49.75'' & then got some pictures of Mitch with his monumental catch (the first thing he's caught since we got back to Pensacola over seven weeks ago). Way to go buddy! Packed it up a half hour later & headed for home. I'm already daydreaming (or should I say nightdreaming, since it's 2:27AM?) about our next trip though - the three of us had a blast out there & I can't wait to go again! 

*Tally for the night*: 

*William*: A hoss hardhead cat
*Me*: 21'' gag grouper & a fat 73'' bull shark 
*Mitch*: 49.75'' blacktip shark

Tight lines everyone!


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## ThaFish (Feb 27, 2013)

& here's the shot of Mitch & William with the blacktip! & also a shot of the 5/0 circle that the gag I caught bent out.


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## XxReel_FisherxX (Jul 31, 2013)

I finally caught a fish. That dry spell was THE worst! Tonight was a blast though. Haha, can't wait to get back out there!


*I like to think I'm good at fishing*


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## Bodupp (Oct 3, 2007)

Looks like a fun time. You guys are scaring me with so much human flesh in reach of those jaws. Be careful out there!


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## Butcherpen (Oct 8, 2007)

Wow! A shark literally in the kayak. Dang!


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## Jason (Oct 2, 2007)

ThaFish said:


> & here's the shot of Mitch & William with the blacktip! & also a shot of the 5/0 circle that the gag I caught bent out.



Man ya'll were on fire!!! That picture made me cringe!!!! I've been bit on the thumb by a shark and all I can see is that fore arm at the sharks mouth being a meal!!! Ya'll be careful out there and keep up the wonderful job!!!:thumbsup::notworthy:


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## Justin618 (Aug 18, 2013)

Stud bull for sure! Very nice. I need a small blacktip Iike that....


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## ThaFish (Feb 27, 2013)

Justin618 said:


> Stud bull for sure! Very nice. I need a small blacktip Iike that....


Thanks man. Haha, I literally told Mitch after we got pictures of him with his blacktip that there was a dude on the forum who would want it for bait. Unfortunately it's steaked up in the freezer waiting for the grill on Saturday.


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## ThaFish (Feb 27, 2013)

Jason said:


> Man ya'll were on fire!!! That picture made me cringe!!!! I've been bit on the thumb by a shark and all I can see is that fore arm at the sharks mouth being a meal!!! Ya'll be careful out there and keep up the wonderful job!!!:thumbsup::notworthy:


Yeah, in hindsight that may not have been the safest way to hold it, but at least the pictures turned out pretty cool & no one got hurt.  Except for my arms. The first time William & I tried lifting my bull up together she thrashed her head & scraped the hell out of both my forearms as I tried to hold onto her!


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## swhiting (Oct 4, 2007)




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## Justin618 (Aug 18, 2013)

ThaFish said:


> Thanks man. Haha, I literally told Mitch after we got pictures of him with his blacktip that there was a dude on the forum who would want it for bait. Unfortunately it's steaked up in the freezer waiting for the grill on Saturday.


We caught a few other night but the blacktip was a little too big.


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## HappyHourHero (Jan 31, 2012)

Sweet report man! Gag from the shore is pretty ballin and nice Bull!


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## LIM-IT-OUT (Aug 26, 2014)

Oh so thats the spot haha jk very nice bro that shark is freakin huge petty Epic of a day.


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## WAReilly (Jun 2, 2014)

That bull was so beat down. I was worried that we might not be able to revive it there for a bit. It didn't even struggle when I grabbed its tail. But you're right about it being risky regardless.

I wish I could have put these guys on the same keeper gags that I caught there the night before. We had a good time though.


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## WAReilly (Jun 2, 2014)

Sawyer, where is the pic of that enormous hook that was in the shark when you landed it?

That thing is massive and serves as a good example as to why we need to use non-stainless hooks when we are required to do so.

If you look closely at the bull, you'll see a blackish spot at the corner of its mouth. It's a necrotic sore from where the hook had been lodged for God only knows how long.

I felt good about myself just getting that thing out!


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## ThaFish (Feb 27, 2013)

WAReilly said:


> Sawyer, where is the pic of that enormous hook that was in the shark when you landed it?
> 
> That thing is massive and serves as a good example as to why we need to use non-stainless hooks when we are required to do so.
> 
> ...


This is the hook we removed from the bull's mouth. Here it is compared to the 13/0 Mustad that I use on all of my rigs. After washing that massive hook off & scrubbing some of the barnacles off of what I thought was the super long "shank," I realized that it wasn't the shank at all. It's a length of insanely thick mono that's snelled to the hook still. You can see where someone cut it. I believe that this is from a long line? Someone give some more insight!


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## Justin618 (Aug 18, 2013)

Looks like my 20/0 mustads to be honest. My 20/0s are about that size in my hand.

Only thing that upsets me is if it's a mustad it looks 10x better than mine. Mine are rusted to hell lol.

Mono looks to be 1000lb+

Longliners do use heavy mono, but I don't think any longliners would be after sharks. I mean I could be wrong. What if they came back and had a dead tiger or hammer? 

Either some dumb longliner a Sharker using massive mono instead of cable


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## Justin618 (Aug 18, 2013)

Here is my 24/0. You can see it covers more of my hand
I think 20/0


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## ThaFish (Feb 27, 2013)

Justin618 said:


> Mono looks to be 1000lb+
> 
> Longliners do use heavy mono, but I don't think any longliners would be after sharks. I mean I could be wrong. What if they came back and had a dead tiger or hammer?
> 
> Either some dumb longliner a Sharker using massive mono instead of cable


Yeah, I guessed that it had to be somewhere in the 1000 lb. range. I've never seen any mono that heavy!

& I thought that maybe it was a by-catch of a longliner or something, cause I've never seen any recreational fishermen use mono like that.


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## ThaFish (Feb 27, 2013)

Justin618 said:


> Here is my 24/0. You can see it covers more of my hand
> I think 20/0


Yeah I don't think the one I found is a Mustad then, because it looks like the gap is much smaller on the one that I found. You're right though, definitely a 20/0 or something close to it. With all the barnacles that were built up on it I can't believe that the hook wasn't rusted out anywhere.


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## Justin618 (Aug 18, 2013)

ThaFish said:


> Yeah I don't think the one I found is a Mustad then, because it looks like the gap is much smaller on the one that I found. You're right though, definitely a 20/0 or something close to it. With all the barnacles that were built up on it I can't believe that the hook wasn't rusted out anywhere.



My 24/0 is not a mustad. The one you found looks exactly like my mustad 20/0. I'll post a pic after exam


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## ThaFish (Feb 27, 2013)

Justin618 said:


> My 24/0 is not a mustad. The one you found looks exactly like my mustad 20/0. I'll post a pic after exam


Oh okay, I gotcha. I thought that the one I found looked like a Mustad.


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## Justin618 (Aug 18, 2013)

Here is a 24/0, 20/0 mustad and a 16/0 mustad for reference. I'm thinking it's a 20/0 mustad. 

If it's really dull then it's probably a mustad lol


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## lowprofile (Jan 6, 2013)

ya that looks like a 20/0. weird about the heavy mono, but people do weird stuff all the time. could have been some ones grouper rig or just a boat targeting sharks for fun. I hate it when I see people cut them loose instead of taking the time to get the hook out. Bring bolt cutters if your afraid of its mouth.


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## Justin618 (Aug 18, 2013)

ThaFish said:


> Yeah, I guessed that it had to be somewhere in the 1000 lb. range. I've never seen any mono that heavy!
> 
> & I thought that maybe it was a by-catch of a longliner or something, cause I've never seen any recreational fishermen use mono like that.


Some sharkers use 1000lb+ shock leader. Stupid. No point in running that heavy. My dad uses 1000lb mono in Hawaii to stab tuna in the head. It's insanely thick.


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## ThaFish (Feb 27, 2013)

lowprofile said:


> I hate it when I see people cut them loose instead of taking the time to get the hook out. Bring bolt cutters if your afraid of its mouth.


Yup, it's obnoxious how often people do that too. It happens constantly. How hard is it to either a.) grab a pliers quick & pop the circle hook out or b.) grab the bolt cutters & cut the hook quick & THEN release the shark? Can't stand people. Obviously there are exceptions to this, like if a shark is gut hooked or if the hook isn't safely accessible, but many times people just don't want to put in the effort. Or they're afraid of the mouth as you put it. Haha.


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## ThaFish (Feb 27, 2013)

Justin618 said:


> If it's really dull then it's probably a mustad lol


Ding ding, we got a winner. It's a Mustad. Haha.


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## Justin618 (Aug 18, 2013)

ThaFish said:


> Ding ding, we got a winner. It's a Mustad. Haha.


Lol. My 20/0 have to be filed down and resharpened after every bait soak. It's annoying. They get pretty sharp but doesn't last.


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## ThaFish (Feb 27, 2013)

Out at the same spot tonight. Only one gag so far. Undersized again.


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## Justin618 (Aug 18, 2013)

You run bait out on that 20/0? Lol


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## ThaFish (Feb 27, 2013)

Justin618 said:


> You run bait out on that 20/0? Lol


Naww man not tonight. Haha. Stuck with my 13/0s. Haven't heard a click from the Senators since we got here though.


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## Justin618 (Aug 18, 2013)

ThaFish said:


> Naww man not tonight. Haha. Stuck with my 13/0s. Haven't heard a click from the Senators since we got here though.


Damn. We'll its still early. Tide for the bay is like 1am. So it's on the rise.


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## Justin618 (Aug 18, 2013)

Status?


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## Randall2point0 (Feb 11, 2011)

Wirelessly posted

Anyone going this week/weekend?


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## Justin618 (Aug 18, 2013)

Randall2point0 said:


> Wirelessly posted
> 
> Anyone going this week/weekend?


I am. Hopefully all day Saturday into sunday morning. Daytime bait catching/sharking and then sharking into the night.

Need to hit up the marina maybe for bait just incase. Hopefully able to get a few nice rays and small blacktips for bait


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## Randall2point0 (Feb 11, 2011)

Wirelessly posted

I don't think I have anything planned for Saturday.


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