southfloridasharkclub.com

Decided to fish with my buddy Jimbo on the seven mile bridge after calling him at work and passing along a report of solid shark action earlier that day as told to me by shark club member Luis Iglesias .I got a late start and It was 1 am when i arrived to meet up with Jimbo who was allready there fishing alone but expecting me.The night was pitch black and we were the only two souls on the entire south end of the seven mile bridge.The report coming from shark club member Luis Iglesias earlier that day was that the shark bite was hot with bull sharks and blacktips swimming in the current homing in on his shark bait.Allthough Lui had to leave before we got there he reported that he had hooked a big shark on his 14/0 that had taken a solid 300 yard run before cutting him off on an unseen underwater obstruction that same afternoon.That night after loading up my cart and wheeling everything out towards the end of the bridge i set up camp next to Jimbo who was fast asleep but was awakend as i got closer to him.Shortly after arriving as i was getting ready Jimbo's shark rod got a solid hit and he asked me to grab his rod and catch the shark,,,offcourse i quickly obliged.The shark took one solid 75 yard run then settled down into his fight up and down the bridge.We finally managed to get him in close enough to see it was a bull shark about 7 foot.Jimbo and i had the entire bridge to ourselves that night so we figured it was ok to leave our campsite unattended and walk the shark to the end for some close up pictures,measurment and a quick release.The walk to the end was made much easier because we employed the trick of keeping the shark about 50 yards out away from the bridge and leading her towards the end of the bridge without having to drag her from piling to piling straight down.It took several tries but Jd is a master and we eventually got her to swim where we wanted.We took the pics measured her(7 ft 2 in) in the water, and cut the wire close to the hook and she was free.Since it was late we were tired and decided to catch more fresh bait the next morning.Early the next morning Jd and i strolled down to our spot to cach bait and we were instantly rewarded with a three big crevalles and two large yellow jacks.We fished our bait spot til one in the afternoon and Jd also caught two snook, one in slot, and a short that was released. The day was slightly overcast and cool so after filling two coolers with big jacks and snook we ate lunch then decided to set up our shark baits with fresh offerings to the shark Gods.Jimbo sets up his two 12/0's straight down with a half a jack on each and i decided to ballon my baits out away from the bridge one about 100 yards and the other about 125 yards out.I laid down to snooze a bit tired from our morning assault on the bait.Jimbo is sitting on the rail watching a big nurse shark and a blacktip shark homing in on the scent put out by the big crevalle's blood in the water.After a while the two sharks disappear and we knew something big was out there that commanded respect.My 12/0 gets a slow hit and Jimbo;s tell me "it's a nurse slow hit"but at that instant the sharks starts picking up speed and i tell no way a nurse.I let swallow the bait real good and when i set up the shark was pulling out tight drag like nothing after 20 seconds i tell Jd "it's a big boy" he agrees and 5 seconds later i'm cut off by something out there,Dammit it was a solid shark and a silid hookup,,,,,,why the cut off ?The rest of the day we caught two more bull sharks both smaller then the first but lots of fun non the less.So we ended our fishing that night when Jd catches a fat 5 lb mangrove snapper by one of the pilings.This man is a shorebound fishing encyclopedia and he never let's up and never fails to impress me with his vast knowledge of spots and bag of tricks that have taken him a lifetime to develop and perfect.Thanks Jd.After a cup of strong coffee i drive the 130 miles home and Jimbo is still up on the bridge by himself,the only soul in the middle of the blackness, but completely at peace and doing what he loves and lives for.


Hooked up to the first bull shark


she's coming in closer


The bull next to the bridge





Getting ready to measure her


Ready for the release


In the morning catching bait,,,,big yellow jack


Big jack crevalles for bait

Jimbo with his barely legal 28 and half inch snook


Jimbo posing with his snook and our crevalles


setting up our baits on #19 wire and double strength Mustad tuna hook

getting ready to balloon out my bait

On windy days in order to reduce sideway drift we use smaller then normal balloons to reduce the effect of the wind


Preparing to lower our baits


Jimbo's bait's set up the way he likes them -short and side by side


Like a good bird dog Jimbo watches his baits while sitting on the rail

The hookup


The fight


The shark a bull close to 7 ft


bridge side bull shark


Leading the shark without having to drag it


Jd gets hooked up


Check out the background on this pic


Jd's bull coming in


Jd the master working his magic

You guys are on fire dude. Nice Jacks for bait too and of course nice Mangrove.

catchem up you guys are!.....nice fish and nice report.. good going!...mike

nice report will and wish i coulda been there.
good job and nice catches jd

I love this report. Just great. Man that bridge fishing seems like fun, especially being able to see everything from above. The pictures showed the step by step. You guys had the real sexy bait.

Nice job on the bull sharks. Those are good fishing. I sure wish you could have got that big one. The two of you would have had your hands full.

Thanks for the great report.

Deaver

im telling you man. you fish with hammer and you will learn 5 new things each week he is like never out of place or in a spot that he knows isnt going to be good. most people would walk right by the jack crevalle ,snook and yellow jack hole and not even know it.

excellent trip guys!!!! Damn hammer how many sharks you have this year so far 15 or more? you look like the same hammer of the 80s and early 90s with the back to back trips your having !!!

will your tearing it up too, right on family!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks guys.Sure enough fishing with Jd hammer is always a pleasure because there is always an opportunity to learn a new technique or a new spot you never would of imagined like seaweed said.I feel honored to fish side by side with Jimbo, he's always a gentle man, always patient and a great friend.Jd never hesitates to help us learn more because he is like a grand master gladly passing along to others the skills learned in a life's work. Thanks Jd.

Awesome step by step report...Like Luis said, "You guys are on fire". If I was off I would have gone...

Hey guys its grate to here all the post from the
people I love and think of as famly. In the past I used to fish alone with my three boys and
my forth son shannon aka seaweed junor.And now
they are grown its time to teach a new generation.
Find some new kids and start again. It will keep you
young and give mabe keep one more kids out of
trouble. Rember a team can beat any one person in
lots of ways. Aaron aka sharker 4 will be my next son
and is up and comming. Thanks agin every one.

..I hear there is another monster report to follow this one. You guys are on fire. Congrats on all the catches.

Dog