Even though surf temperatures have been more or less at or above 70F since June and surf conditions have been excellent, we just haven’t been able to put a good shark event together this summer. Seriously, the water temperatures have been Florida-esqu, and very early in the year, but for whatever reason the teeth haven’t been around in good numbers. One of my theories is that because the weather has been so calm for so long we lost our sandbar (it isn’t missing it’s just piled onto our new gigantic beach), and without dips and cuts and drop offs to hold the smaller fishes like fluke, sea robins etc there is just no reason for the bigger predators be around. It’s been a dead sea, at least here. No fish, no waves, no sandbar. But plenty of nice ‘beach weather’. That’s ‘get other stuff done that doesn’t involve the beach’ weather for me.
So, in search of a beach with form, we decided to try an area that is known for its form- and found no form. Same straight as a ruler shapeless beach. But it looked fishy. The near full moon would rise in an hour and I had a good feeling. This was going to be our night. When you get really in tune with the sea and the wind, the sky color, the vibe, your instincts just know automatically. It’s something like what humans used to do before computers. It’s pretty cool.
We had a guest with us, Chris, and this was his first experience of the Jersey Shore. As we set up camp, we could see the lights of Seaside in the distance. Will informed Chris that what he was about to experience here would be the ‘real Jersey Shore’. He knew what Will meant. Chris is a lucky dude and very cool. He never fished the ocean before until two days before this. We went out on the party boat for blues on Thursday, there were no blues, but Chris figured out how to catch squid and ling in about 10 minutes. Put those in the cooler dude, we could use those for bait for the sharks. Really? You better believe it. Oh and the next day Chris caught the boat record fluke on Will’s boat. Never fished a day in his life until the party boat.
So we get the baits in the water. There’s four rods out, from north to south, myself, Doug, Will and Chris. Thanks to Chris I eagerly threw out a fresh ling head. The other guys chunked up some bunkers. I knew I would hook up first with that fresh slimly ling head. Again, it’s the instincts.
Not long into it my rod goes DOWN. Holy . . . I sprint over to it, pause for a second so I don’t do something silly, and . . . HUMMPH. Fish on! It started to swim hard with a powerful shake. The rod did not cease its U bend. Shark! Shark on! Coming south- get your lines out. The crew quickly got the lines out of the water and as soon as they did I was in front of our camp and heading south. The fish did its thing and took me back and forth and up and down. Will got on the ‘backpack’ full of the essentials- camera, dehooker, pliers, line cutters, and measuring tape, and got into the ‘leaderman’ position. If you time the waves right, they come in right over the hump. Will got the leader and floated him in. The receding waves revealed a nice 3 and a half foot black tip, angrily snapping and spinning. Ah shoot, these smaller ones are scarier, they can whip around so fast. Fears aside, we hoisted the fish to the dry sand for dehooking and a couple of photos.
So, in search of a beach with form, we decided to try an area that is known for its form- and found no form. Same straight as a ruler shapeless beach. But it looked fishy. The near full moon would rise in an hour and I had a good feeling. This was going to be our night. When you get really in tune with the sea and the wind, the sky color, the vibe, your instincts just know automatically. It’s something like what humans used to do before computers. It’s pretty cool.
We had a guest with us, Chris, and this was his first experience of the Jersey Shore. As we set up camp, we could see the lights of Seaside in the distance. Will informed Chris that what he was about to experience here would be the ‘real Jersey Shore’. He knew what Will meant. Chris is a lucky dude and very cool. He never fished the ocean before until two days before this. We went out on the party boat for blues on Thursday, there were no blues, but Chris figured out how to catch squid and ling in about 10 minutes. Put those in the cooler dude, we could use those for bait for the sharks. Really? You better believe it. Oh and the next day Chris caught the boat record fluke on Will’s boat. Never fished a day in his life until the party boat.
So we get the baits in the water. There’s four rods out, from north to south, myself, Doug, Will and Chris. Thanks to Chris I eagerly threw out a fresh ling head. The other guys chunked up some bunkers. I knew I would hook up first with that fresh slimly ling head. Again, it’s the instincts.
Not long into it my rod goes DOWN. Holy . . . I sprint over to it, pause for a second so I don’t do something silly, and . . . HUMMPH. Fish on! It started to swim hard with a powerful shake. The rod did not cease its U bend. Shark! Shark on! Coming south- get your lines out. The crew quickly got the lines out of the water and as soon as they did I was in front of our camp and heading south. The fish did its thing and took me back and forth and up and down. Will got on the ‘backpack’ full of the essentials- camera, dehooker, pliers, line cutters, and measuring tape, and got into the ‘leaderman’ position. If you time the waves right, they come in right over the hump. Will got the leader and floated him in. The receding waves revealed a nice 3 and a half foot black tip, angrily snapping and spinning. Ah shoot, these smaller ones are scarier, they can whip around so fast. Fears aside, we hoisted the fish to the dry sand for dehooking and a couple of photos.
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| Getting it done on a fresh ling head |
Awesome! Baits go back out. Told you guys that ling would work. You can use the ling, I’m going to up it and throw a squid. Guess who caught the next fish. I know when to boast. My rod heaved over within minutes. I grabbed it out of the sand spike and didn’t need even need to set since the weight of the fish had done that for me. After a few minutes I knew it was a ray. A fighter though for sure, not just a bottom sucker dead weight. 10 minutes later the fish was in the drop off and 15 minutes later he was on the sand. Getting it over that drop-off is when the ray realizes its power as a dead weight fighter. Got the hook out, even with that nasty tail whipping around, thanks to a long dehooker. The beast was returned and it was back to fishing.
So we mend our rods and settle back in, albeit somewhat discouraged from the ray since one usually means more than one, and that would interrupt the quest for sharks. Indifferently, the bite slowed down for a bit, so there were no more rays and no more sharks. We settled onto the sand and discussed the state of affairs under the moon.
Just as we were about to finish solving all the world’s problems a rod went down. Doug! You’re up! Doug was on the rod pretty fast for sitting on his butt for an hour. The rod was going down to the floor so he set up on it quick. The drag immediately peeled off. Shark! And just as soon no shark. The rig was gone clear through the running line. Did you tie that uni-uni Doug? Geez. ‘No you did‘ he told me. Oh. Sorry. With a mixed state of elation and defeat Doug rebaited immediately.
Now, this is the strangest thing, but what happened next has happened prior so it’s certainly a thing. We did not pull our rods during Doug’s bite off, so while I spent the next ten minutes assisting Doug with a new rig our baits remained in the water. Watch this I told Doug. You’re going to cast your bait back and out . . . And you’re going to get a hit very soon- wait for it man. You’ll be the first one to go. The sharks wait for it. So Doug’s bait is back in the water. In the time it to took to put the rig bucket back in its place and to get a sip of water Doug’s rod got SLAMMED. I told you bro! How the heck did the fish ignore all the other baits- that were no more than 30 feet away for the last 20 minutes? But, it was a cow nose ray. Hmmm I guess they wait like the sharks too. We’ll have to work on that theory.
For the next hour or so the action was quiet. A couple other sharkers we met earlier in the tackle shop stopped by to exchange information and drop off their remaining bunker, which we much appreciated. They informed us they had a couple of sharks and some hits. They said they did best when they stopped using bunker oil on the baits. Thanks for the extra bait!
We settled back in, and within a few minutes Will’s rod went down hard. All the way down with sand spike failure. Will set up and was on. The drag immediately began peeling off the reel. Lines in everyone, this is the real deal. Chris and Doug went to cheer Will on while I went to grab the backpack. The falling tide had caused a shelf bar which would make the fight more challenging as knee-thigh deep water extended about 40 feet or so out. So down the beach we went. Stay ahead of it Will! We’ll go a mile if you have to. Just make sure you don’t let him turn on that line! About 15 minutes passed before I realized I forgot my headlamp at the camp. I ran back to get it, and when I returned the beast was on the shore. Holy . . . Alright, Alright, I’ll grab the tail. Sheet this is a big one Will! Hey, Chris, you want to try this? Come on!
Chris got in there and dragged him onto shore like a pro. In only three times fishing- ever- Chris learned how to bottom fish for ling, caught the boat record fluke, and was now dragging a five foot sandbar shark up to the dry sand. Alright! Alright! First we get the hook out and then the pictures. I grabbed the ARC dehooker out of my back pack and went to work. Some guys mount the shark and lift its snout, and then use small needle nose pliers to get the hook. I have no problem admitting to you I am cautious and girl-like in these situations so I use the dehooker. I slid the ARC down the line, did the twist, got the shank, and pop it was out. Then the camera came out of the back pack for some photos.
So we mend our rods and settle back in, albeit somewhat discouraged from the ray since one usually means more than one, and that would interrupt the quest for sharks. Indifferently, the bite slowed down for a bit, so there were no more rays and no more sharks. We settled onto the sand and discussed the state of affairs under the moon.
Just as we were about to finish solving all the world’s problems a rod went down. Doug! You’re up! Doug was on the rod pretty fast for sitting on his butt for an hour. The rod was going down to the floor so he set up on it quick. The drag immediately peeled off. Shark! And just as soon no shark. The rig was gone clear through the running line. Did you tie that uni-uni Doug? Geez. ‘No you did‘ he told me. Oh. Sorry. With a mixed state of elation and defeat Doug rebaited immediately.
Now, this is the strangest thing, but what happened next has happened prior so it’s certainly a thing. We did not pull our rods during Doug’s bite off, so while I spent the next ten minutes assisting Doug with a new rig our baits remained in the water. Watch this I told Doug. You’re going to cast your bait back and out . . . And you’re going to get a hit very soon- wait for it man. You’ll be the first one to go. The sharks wait for it. So Doug’s bait is back in the water. In the time it to took to put the rig bucket back in its place and to get a sip of water Doug’s rod got SLAMMED. I told you bro! How the heck did the fish ignore all the other baits- that were no more than 30 feet away for the last 20 minutes? But, it was a cow nose ray. Hmmm I guess they wait like the sharks too. We’ll have to work on that theory.
For the next hour or so the action was quiet. A couple other sharkers we met earlier in the tackle shop stopped by to exchange information and drop off their remaining bunker, which we much appreciated. They informed us they had a couple of sharks and some hits. They said they did best when they stopped using bunker oil on the baits. Thanks for the extra bait!
We settled back in, and within a few minutes Will’s rod went down hard. All the way down with sand spike failure. Will set up and was on. The drag immediately began peeling off the reel. Lines in everyone, this is the real deal. Chris and Doug went to cheer Will on while I went to grab the backpack. The falling tide had caused a shelf bar which would make the fight more challenging as knee-thigh deep water extended about 40 feet or so out. So down the beach we went. Stay ahead of it Will! We’ll go a mile if you have to. Just make sure you don’t let him turn on that line! About 15 minutes passed before I realized I forgot my headlamp at the camp. I ran back to get it, and when I returned the beast was on the shore. Holy . . . Alright, Alright, I’ll grab the tail. Sheet this is a big one Will! Hey, Chris, you want to try this? Come on!
Chris got in there and dragged him onto shore like a pro. In only three times fishing- ever- Chris learned how to bottom fish for ling, caught the boat record fluke, and was now dragging a five foot sandbar shark up to the dry sand. Alright! Alright! First we get the hook out and then the pictures. I grabbed the ARC dehooker out of my back pack and went to work. Some guys mount the shark and lift its snout, and then use small needle nose pliers to get the hook. I have no problem admitting to you I am cautious and girl-like in these situations so I use the dehooker. I slid the ARC down the line, did the twist, got the shank, and pop it was out. Then the camera came out of the back pack for some photos.
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| Everyone smile for the camera! |
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| It was this big! |
We took about 10 or so pictures. Everyone was pumped but the shark was pissed! He was not staying still for the camera but it worked in our favor for the first shot above. Finally the shark calmed down and laid straight so I could mark the sand with the dehooker for measurement. He taped out a few inches over 5 feet. A very nice fish! Time for the release. I wrapped my hands around the base of the fishes tail and did the hunchback walk back to the water line. A wave come and I got him floating for the turn and let go and he slinked away fine. We shone our headlamps on the water to watch the dorsal fin cruise until the fish was out of our light line. How cool does that look! They tend to stay on top a bit after the release and you can see the iconic fin in the water.
After high fives and hand shakes the baits were back out. The action was slow for an hour again but then we had three bite offs in rapid succession around 200am. You guys have to tie your uni-uni knots better! We definitely lost a couple nice fish to rig failure. So it goes. At that point we were clear out of bait, even with the generous donation earlier, so it was time to pack it in. Had we more bait we would have finished the night out since the weather was perfect, the moon was full, and the bite was there. It was cool to leave them biting though. It’s good showmanship.
THE END
After high fives and hand shakes the baits were back out. The action was slow for an hour again but then we had three bite offs in rapid succession around 200am. You guys have to tie your uni-uni knots better! We definitely lost a couple nice fish to rig failure. So it goes. At that point we were clear out of bait, even with the generous donation earlier, so it was time to pack it in. Had we more bait we would have finished the night out since the weather was perfect, the moon was full, and the bite was there. It was cool to leave them biting though. It’s good showmanship.
THE END
