# 61-pound Shark Caught on a Kayak with Pics



## gottafish (Oct 6, 2007)

<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Kayak log: Last Friday the 13<SUP>th</SUP>. Maybe I was a little superstitious, or maybe I thought there would not be any other kayakers out there on a workday, but I sent out a post to have another ?yacker? meet me out there. I got up and checked the weather radar and there were only a few very isolated showers. I arrived at 4:30am, but the minute I shut off the ignition to my truck, it began raining.:reallycrying Since it was dark, wet and I got a no-show from my post, I just waited out the rain. :sleeping<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o><P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o></o><P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">I was participating in myfirst Bill Hargreaves Fishing Rodeo with 2 main goals in mind: Win the Largest Fish in a Kayak award and the King Mackerel division. A big king should take care of both-right?<o></o><P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o></o><P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">After waiting for the rain to stop and loading up the yak, I pulled out about 5:45am. Within 10 minutes, I had caught 2 small ladyfish. In this tournament, there was literally no prize for 2<SUP>nd</SUP> place so I just threw them back. Next, I caught a hardtail, so now I had a good king mack bait. I paddled around to the end of the pier at 6am. I cast out and the second that the hardtail plunged into the water, I had a hit, but, it was short-lived. I reeled it in only to see what looked like a king bite with only the head remaining. :doh After drifting away from the pier, I noticed a waterspout in the distance. :hoppingmad<o></o><P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o>







</o><P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><?xml:namespace prefix = v ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" /><v:shapetype id=_x0000_t75 coordsize="21600,21600" o:spt="75" oreferrelative="t" path="[email protected]@[email protected]@[email protected]@[email protected]@5xe" filled="f" stroked="f"><v:stroke joinstyle="miter"></v:stroke><v:formulas><v:f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0"></v:f><v:f eqn="sum @0 1 0"></v:f><v:f eqn="sum 0 0 @1"></v:f><v:f eqn="prod @2 1 2"></v:f><v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth"></v:f><v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight"></v:f><v:f eqn="sum @0 0 1"></v:f><v:f eqn="prod @6 1 2"></v:f><v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth"></v:f><v:f eqn="sum @8 21600 0"></v:f><v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight"></v:f><v:f eqn="sum @10 21600 0"></v:f></v:formulas><vath o:extrusionok="f" gradientshapeok="t" o:connecttype="rect"></vath><o:lock v:ext="edit" aspectratio="t"></o:lock></v:shapetype><o></o><P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"><v:shapetype id=_x0000_t75 coordsize="21600,21600" o:spt="75" oreferrelative="t" path="[email protected]@[email protected]@[email protected]@[email protected]@5xe" filled="f" stroked="f"></v:shapetype><P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">I couldn?t tell which way that isolated storm was going, so I pulled back close to the pier ready to head in if was coming towards me. (At this point, my superstitious side is concerned.)<o></o><P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o></o><P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">But, the storm was heading East and at 8am, I caught a small king on a live cigar minnow. At 8:30am, I was out about a half-mile offshore and my drag starts screaming with the rod that had a live hardtail on it. I grabbed the rod and it felt like my 40-pound kayak king mackerel from last fall. This was just what I was hoping for!!! :clap After 20-minutes, I see that it is a *%#!* shark. Rather than cutting the line, I decide to just go ahead and try to catch him for a tournament entry. <o></o><P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o></o><P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">:bpts The answer to your question is ?Yes, he did drag me around a lot.? (I always get that question, but this is the first fish that I have <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">noticed [/I]who drug me around out there in the gulf since I let kings take the drag out and wear themselves down.) After about an hour of fighting, he was getting close to my kayak and he took a couple of sweeps right under me. (My superstitious mind kept hearing the Jaws theme...duh, duh, duh, duh...)<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o>







</o><P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">...Back to reality. I decided the smart thing to do (especially on Friday the 13<SUP>th</SUP>) would be just to pull him onto the beach rather than in my kayak. So, I gave him some distance from me by letting out some line and proceeded to paddle in. Well, he wasn?t quite ready to go in and started taking me back out to sea, so I muscled him around for another 10 minutes. I finally got up to the beach and then reeled him in within a few minutes onto shore while sitting in my kayak to make sure it was still a catch from my kayak. :hotsun I weighed it in that evening and it was a black tip shark weighing 60.9 pounds! :takephoto (Note to <S>tree</S> shark huggers: Blacktips are good eating and Igave it to someone who knows my sponsor.)<o></o><P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o></o><P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">On day two, I wanted to spend more than 2 ½ hours trying to catch a king, but I got up about the same time only to see thunderstorms on the weather radar, so I went back to bed. :sleeping I pulled out into the Gulf at 6:30am and caught a 12.5lb king and a throwback 5lb king. About 8:20am, I had a king between 19-20lbs to my kayak bow. I knew that the biggest king was between 17 & 18lbs on the leaderboard, so I wanted to be careful with this one. Well, after about the 12<SUP>th</SUP> time of it passing by my bow, it got caught on my sabiki line that had fallen in the water. Luckily, he shook loose, but I knew that was a good way to lose a fish. As I was reaching for my clippers to just cut the sabiki line, he got tangled up again and the hook popped out of his mouth! :banghead:banghead:banghead<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o></o><P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">I hooked a blacktip shark about 3-feet long soon after that, but just cut the line this time. When I caught a big remora about 10:30am, I knew at that point it was getting late in the day and time to head back in. :hotsun The lost king would have won the division as it turned out, but at least I reached one of my goals this weekend. (My wife had to point out that I got beat by a girl for the king category?I told that her girls can catch fish, too but I don?t think that convinced her to start fishing.) I had a great fight, enjoyed a great tournament and the shark was my third biggest fish ever behind another shark and a sailfish that I had caught in the FL Keys?but those were not on a kayak!!! <o></o><P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o></o><P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o></o><P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o>







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## Tuna Man (Oct 2, 2007)

Nice story...:clap:clap:clap Sorry :reallycryingto hear your lost King story, and yes gals CAN catch fish too. All and all, sounds like you had a good time.


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## yucarenow (Oct 3, 2007)

great read! too bad about your tourney winner slipping away ? but at least you got the shark.:clap


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## Atwood (Feb 12, 2008)

Killer post!!!! I gotta get a yak!!!!!!!!!!!:bowdown:boo:boo


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## Clay-Doh (Oct 2, 2007)

Sweet job man!!!!! In a kayak! Yer takin it to a whole nxt level!

I see that crazy Mitch is your sponcer! Real good guy man!

Again, conrats!


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## gottafish (Oct 6, 2007)

Mitch Wade has been great! He tried to talk me into being in a Shark tournament with him, but I want to just try to stick with my kayak fishing for tournaments. (OK, MAYBE a side of me didn't want to lose a limb to a shark...ha ha.) Notice I wasn't not TRYING to catch a shark. But, they say you should face your fears, so I guess that I did last Friday. :letsdrink


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## Linda (Oct 2, 2007)

I'm all about getting pulled around in a yak, but I don't know about a shark. Congrats on an impressive catch from a yak!

~Linda


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## LittleMiamiJeff (Jun 5, 2008)

Man, you make a "land-lubber" crazy! 

I'm bringing down OK15 and OK Scrambler ?? late next week, do 18" 45lb wire leaders help w/sharks?

LOL!

LMJ


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## SheYakFishr (Oct 1, 2007)

Great story Kreg...!!! Awesome catch too!!! Sorry to hear about your king loss... there are other big ones out there waiting onyou!!! Thanks for sharing!! :bowdown :clap:letsdrink


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## need2fish (Oct 2, 2007)

Great job Kreg!! I wish I could've seen that one. Sorry about the king but that shark is impressive on the yak. Great pictures too. I was going to call you to go out at Navarre last weekend but it looks like you were haveing a much more productive day.


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## gottafish (Oct 6, 2007)

> *LittleMiamiJeff (6/18/2008)*Man, you make a "land-lubber" crazy!
> I'm bringing down OK15 and OK Scrambler ?? late next week, do 18" 45lb wire leaders help w/sharks?
> LOL!
> LMJ


I can say, absolutely because that is what I was using. Good luck!


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## LittleMiamiJeff (Jun 5, 2008)

Thanks for the info, I'm hoping to put in off Johnson's beach in Big Lagoon, for want of any where else.

I've heard and found Navarre beach and that there is kayak launching on base at the NAS.

We're staying at the KOA in Lillian, any tips or hints you could PM or post here would be appreciated!

Thanks

LMJ


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## Baitcaster (Oct 4, 2007)

great post and congrats ! :clap


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## fishn4real (Sep 28, 2007)

Nice catch, great story.:bowdown


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