I got an invite from Brian (Outdoors Addiction) to head out on his World Cat for a day of shark fishing off the Jersey coast with Matt and Roly rounding out the crew.
This would be my first time ever shark fishing, so I was pumped for the experience!
Brian did a great job getting the boat in order and securing bait/chum for the trip the day before.
So we met up at Brian's boat for a 5:00AM departure, stowed away the gear and headed on out.
Since I actually took a few pics this time, I'll let them tell the story ;)
Roly and Brian ready to roll!
Brian shoving off..
Brian's neighbors were also heading out for a day of sharking!
Scenery on the ride out...
Leaving the canal...
Nice morning...
And we're off!
The Barnegat Lighthouse as we head out the inlet...
One of Roly's sunrise pics...
So we arrived about 35 miles out and set up to troll for tuna for the last few miles on our way to the sharking grounds.
Worst case, we catch a couple blues for fresh shark bait!
Some of the setups...
Roly sporting some OA style! ;)
Cruising in the blue waters...
Some more of Brian's setups...
Brian had some rigged ballys he set out on the rods...
Roly with his HD headcam, ready for some action!
Matt, looking for some more trolling rigs...
Closeup...
And the troll is on!
Nice clear day...
Matt, playing captain...
Brian, setting up an outrigger
Roly...pimpin lol
The boys, just chilling...waiting...
Me, just lounging...
Knockdown! Fish on! Matt at the reel...
Jersey Tarpon!!! Also known as a bluefish, or...fresh shark bait!
We wound up catching another bluefish on the troll before calling it quits and heading off to the shark grounds.
Once on the grounds, Brian filleted up the fresh bluefish and rigged it up!
Then came the frozen ground bunker for chum...
We set out two float setups with bluefish fillets and one deep rod with squid and mackerel (aka ham and eggs lol)
Well, about an hour into the sharking, we had a hit...but no take. Just bit off 3/4 of the bluefish fillet.
So we re-rigged and set it back out.
30 minutes later, we had another hit as the float started skipping across the surface, so I grabbed the rod and put it in freespool.
The fish ran with it for just a couple seconds then stopped.
15 seconds later it started to run off steady and just as I was about to set on it, it stopped again.
We sat, discussing it for a few seconds, thinking maybe it was just a bluefish running off with it when all of a sudden a nice sized mako launched completely out of the water about 40 yards from the boat!
What an amazing sight! He must have grabbed the bait, ran a bit, got some slack in the line, then realized he was hooked and launched out of the water.
Once he splashed down, the line started ripping out, I locked the reel, tightened up and set the hook!
Now when I say set the hook, I had asked Brian and Matt what we needed to do when we get a hit.
Their instructions were to let the shark run for a good 5-10 seconds, then lock the reel, let it tighten and swing HARD three times, like your swinging for the fences as it's important to bury that hook in the very tough jaw of a shark.
Well apparently I did just that...because they were busting my chops for swinging like Barry Bonds via some dramatic, yet hilarious re-enactments lol
So, at this point, I'm fighting the fish and Roly is videoing and taking stills with his camera.
The fish ran hard for the first minute and then I just put the screws to him, turned his head and kept on reeling...he literally came right into the boat, ultra fast.
He was boatside and gaffable in probably 4 minutes.
Brian had the leader and approached the task very tentatively knowing makos can go crazy at any second, and this one was green still.
Matt was by his side with the gaff and decided to give it a shot and stuck him right in the side of the head.
The fish thrashed around until Brian came in finished him off with the 20 gauge to the head!
Here's a few of Roly's pics from the battle!
Me after the hookset, at the start of the short battle...
The mako coming in, action shots...
Matt and Brian ready to put the leader and gaff him!
Matt in position...
Matt gaffing him!
Some post-gaff shots...
Brian breaks out the 20 gauge!
BOOM!
Game over...
Some close ups...
Pretty wicked teeth!
Once we had him tied up and secured, we set the baits back out for some catch and release action.
30 minutes later, we're all BSing and Brian says "What's going on with that deep rod" as it starts heading up toward the bow of the boat!
We're so immersed in conversation, reliving the events around the first mako that we didn't even see another one taking the deep bait!
Roly grabs the rod and FISH ON...but this one is pissed off!
This fish took off, ripping drag like a mofo.
Roly was belted and harnessed in...fighting the fish to the boat only to have it rip more drag off.
Here's a few shots from Roly's battle!
His mako coming up top...
Didn't like the boat very much, he was angry!
And he took it out on Roly lol
Get em Rol!!!
Unfortunately he couldn't get his head cam to work on his fish...sucks would have been great to have that fight on camera.
Once we realized that, I put down his digital still camera and picked up Brian's video camera to get some of the action.
Roly battled the mako for quite a while...we had the leader at the boat several times (considered a catch), but each time that mako would see the boat and rush off.
He was under the boat, around the motors, on the other side, then back to the original side...just all over.
Then just as we had him away from the boat again, about 20 yards out...we could see him in the water broadside, he gave a headshake and the hook just floated right out.
Disappointing to not get him in for some closer pics before the release, but truly a great battle!
After Roly's fish, we set the lines out one more time.
I took the time to rest a little, watching Roly get worked by that mako made me tired! lol
So, again, 20-30 minutes later we had another take...Matt grabbed the rod but just never got a solid take, only a bait bit in half.
I set out another bait, a whole bunker this time, and while still drifting out, had another take, handed it off to Matt and again...just came back with a bait bit to the hook.
As we were rebaiting, about a 50-60lb mako launched out of the water 30 yards from the boat and splashed down...so we assume that's what was hitting that baits but wouldn't take it down.
We fished for a little bit longer before calling Brian's friend over to take over our slick.
We had a mako to take home and called it a trip, packed up and headed back on in!
Here's the one I caught on the deck for the ride home...
Brian's lovin it!
Group picture back at the scale.
Later, while cleaning it...we found this longliner's hook in it's stomach!
Pretty wild! Maybe a reason he was a little sluggish and came in so quickly? Could have been sitting on a long line for awhile and was in recovery mode, looking for an easy meal?
And a little shot of the end result...dinner time! Nice grilled mako steak, man was that goooooood!
What a truly awesome time with Brian, Matt, and Roly! Big thanks to Brian for taking us out and for showing me the ropes of shark fishing!
I never expected to have as much action as we did, it was incredible!
Who says those OA boys only know how to hunt! ;)
Can't wait to do it again!
Until next time...
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