# Hammer Report



## ChileRelleno (Jul 7, 2012)

*Day 3*
After two days of nothing but a 39" bull Red.
We fished the Gulf side today and finally got into a few fish.

My son Nathaniel managed to land the first shark out of all of us, he got the skunk off us.
He also managed to whup up on some Blues.


Mike dropped a Bluefish for me out past the second bar, approx 350-400 yards.
Awhile later my reel's clicker starts screaming, gave him a few to eat and it was fish on.
I stopped the initial run, then he realized he was hooked on took off again.
I cranked as much drag as I could handle and stopped him again, then began a long give & take tug-a-war.
This fish damned near took me off my feet a couple of times, very strong, rod & line humming under the pressure.
At one point I had another angler's line around mine after he went down the beach, thankfully no braid & my much larger mono held up.
Forty five minutes (?) later w finally see a dorsal in the surf, no mistaking the species, it was a Greater Hammerhead.
And he was a whopper... 137", yes that is eleven feet five inches (11' 5") of pissed off shark. :furious:
Trying to leader and tail rope him was very exciting.
Tried to get some pics (they suck), verified sex, got a FL/TL measurements, cut the leader and had to forego tagging due to a minor cluster----.

This is where the story goes bad.

We finally get this monster back in the surf for release and were unable to revive him enough to swim off.
Efforts were made for quite some time, thought he was going to make it, but.
This species is well known for fighting till exhaustion & death, add in an extra minute or two of handling and, well it happens.
We were not happy about this, this is an endangered species. 
I've made a decision, henceforth with big Hammers after long fights, I will never do anything but immediately cut the leader/hook and release the fish.

Hooked In
Reel: Penn Senator 116L 12/0, spooled with 1000 yards of 100# Sufix Superior.
Rod: Penn International V TS/TF Stand Up, VS5010TS60


Shark on the Sand


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## cody&ryand (Oct 3, 2007)

Congrats on the catch hate that the shark died but it happens sometimes don't beat yourself up over it.


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## lowprofile (Jan 6, 2013)

Nice Hammer! and good effort.

side of his face looks beat up, did it lay sideways and do the classic "sledge hammer" move? lol. they'll knock themselves silly. 

what did you do with it? call FWC? get the jaws?


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## ChileRelleno (Jul 7, 2012)

lowprofile said:


> Nice Hammer! and good effort.
> 
> side of his face looks beat up, did it lay sideways and do the classic "sledge hammer" move? lol. they'll knock themselves silly.
> 
> what did you do with it? call FWC? get the jaws?


He wrapped the leader around one side of his head and gills, cuts on head, gills and body.

Since we couldn't legally land it, or anything else, e.g. eat it.
It was left for FWC to dispose of as they see fit, maybe they'll feed a homeless shelter or three.
There were some people on the beach who wanted to butcher it when we left, thats on them.

It is a damned shame if it goes to waste, but then again, Mother Nature won't waste it.


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## recess (Oct 8, 2007)

Way to go Nathaniel !!! Nice hammer .


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## Jason (Oct 2, 2007)

Nice hammer....had no clue they were considered endangered though...sorry that it died but the cycle of life goes on, he/she will feed other critters!


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## lowprofile (Jan 6, 2013)

Jason said:


> Nice hammer....had no clue they were considered endangered though...sorry that it died but the cycle of life goes on, he/she will feed other critters!


 not endangered, just protected by Florida state law.


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## Justin618 (Aug 18, 2013)

Very nice hammer. Sucks about It dying, but nothing you can do sometimes. 

I'm trying to get out there tomorrow for the new moon. We'll see if I get a chance with school work etc.

But, pointless anyways. Nothing ever picks up my freaking bait lol

Congrats.


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## Realtor (Oct 1, 2007)

ChileRelleno said:


> He wrapped the leader around one side of his head and gills, cuts on head, gills and body.
> 
> Since we couldn't legally land it, or anything else, e.g. eat it.
> It was left for FWC to dispose of as they see fit, maybe they'll feed a homeless shelter or three.
> ...


 
Nice catch, interesting point here. what did the FWC say when you called them and let them know where it was and what happened? This could be a good learning tool for other in the same situation. How long was the fight?


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## lowprofile (Jan 6, 2013)

Justin618 said:


> Very nice hammer. Sucks about It dying, but nothing you can do sometimes.
> 
> I'm trying to get out there tomorrow for the new moon. We'll see if I get a chance with school work etc.
> 
> ...


did you notice he was using a 12/0? :whistling:


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## ChileRelleno (Jul 7, 2012)

Here is a better pic.


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## Justin618 (Aug 18, 2013)

lowprofile said:


> did you notice he was using a 12/0? :whistling:


And it fought so long it died. 130, 20 mins and still swimming


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## lowprofile (Jan 6, 2013)

Chili, that's a good pic! one for the wall!



Justin618 said:


> And it fought so long it died. 130, 20 mins and still swimming


 Justin, I'm so glad you only have one button and its easy to push.  but for real. I'm just messing with you.


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## Justin618 (Aug 18, 2013)

lowprofile said:


> Chili, that's a good pic! one for the wall!
> 
> 
> 
> Justin, I'm so glad you only have one button and its easy to push.  but for real. I'm just messing with you.



I know. And Im just saying lol....

Much better pic chili


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## darsinika (Apr 18, 2010)

*Dead 12 foot shark*

they brought in a front end loader to remove an ALMOST dead 12 foot Hammerhead shark. no visible injuries, just a beautiful waste. the took it to the far east end of the beach to bury it. i am waiting on photos taken by the beach crew.


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## darsinika (Apr 18, 2010)

*Dead 12 foot shark*

they brought in a front end loader to remove an ALMOST dead 12 foot Hammerhead shark. no visible injuries, just a beautiful waste. the took it to the far east end of the beach to bury it. i am waiting on photos taken by the beach crew.


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## lowprofile (Jan 6, 2013)

darsinika said:


> they brought in a front end loader to remove an ALMOST dead 12 foot Hammerhead shark. no visible injuries, just a beautiful waste. the took it to the far east end of the beach to bury it. i am waiting on photos taken by the beach crew.


It's not going to waste weather it was steaked or buried.


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## ChileRelleno (Jul 7, 2012)

darsinika said:


> they brought in a front end loader to remove an ALMOST dead 12 foot Hammerhead shark. no visible injuries, just a beautiful waste. the took it to the far east end of the beach to bury it. i am waiting on photos taken by the beach crew.


We were pretty upset too when we couldn't get this shark swimming again.
Goes against our primary goal of C&R.
You ever try to get approx 500# of deadweight up and moving seemingly against it's will & while fearing getting bit? 
Have it try to swim & then roll multiple times & keep washing back in the surf? 
News flash, it sucks for us too.
My PB shark didn't swim off with a NOAA tag in him, *[email protected]%*>!


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## Justin618 (Aug 18, 2013)

Hey chili, how was the grass out there? Looking to hit up dock for bait tomorrow for bait and try new spot again.


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## ChileRelleno (Jul 7, 2012)

Very little grass in the Sound & not enough grass nor the green algae stuff in the Gulf to get upset about.


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## Justin618 (Aug 18, 2013)

ChileRelleno said:


> Very little grass in the Sound & not enough grass nor the green algae stuff in the Gulf to get upset about.


Thanks man


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## yukondog (Feb 12, 2013)

Nice, you did your best, anybody that say's other just don't get it.


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## Angryturkey (Jul 17, 2014)

I can empathize with you about the dilemma we all face when sharking (especially as a biologist). We know that the death of a beautiful and rare creature is always possible, but I think the conservation value of folks getting excited and thereby protective about our natural resources might just out weigh the death of a single animal (even an endangered one). 
You were out there with NOAA tags ready to conduct more than just a pleasure catch and did everything you could to revive it. When capturing animals, sometimes deaths are simply unavoidable.
Also, what an experience (certainly one I dream about....)!:thumbsup:
d


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## JerseyDevil13 (Apr 21, 2012)

Wow, nice fish, shame about it dying. You did everything you could brother, sometimes that's just what happens. I'm with Angry Turkey on the education side of the catch, if even one of those bystanders learns something from seeing that beast it was worth it. Only thing that sucks was that they couldn't tell you on the phone or in person that you could take the meat. They're great eating if you clean 'em quickly and get the steaks on ice. Shame to leave all of that out there when you could've butchered it and dropped it at a shelter or taken some yourself. I hunt deer up in VA every year and they do a great job with hunters for the hungry, if you kill a deer and don't want it, they have designated drop spots for them. Wouldn't hurt to have a shelter already identified that you could call in the event that this happens. Catch of a lifetime to be sure!!


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## sharkwrangler (Sep 29, 2013)

Well done Chile!!!


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## Shark Hunter (Apr 17, 2014)

yukondog said:


> Nice, you did your best, anybody that say's other just don't get it.


Well said Dog! Me and my boy tried to revive him for about 40 minutes. He just wouldn't come around
:no:


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