50 LB KING & A BLACKTIP SHARK

For a week I had plans to fish with Josh on his home turf once he made it down from Canada.I picked up my buddy Ken at his house and headed north to try our luck with Josh.Ken brought the fresh fozen bonitas his captain friend Chad hooks him up with.Ken's been anxious to get back on the beach to fish since he's been laid up nursing a back injury he suffered in a car accident.On I-95 driving north i get a call from Josh ("Blacktip Hunter")that he just caught a 60 lb kingfish from the beach and i'm excited for him and anxious to take a look at the huge king so i speed up to get there quicker.When we get to the spot and unload our gear Josh shows us the fish that he caught ona shark rod using a half of a bonita.This King is huge ,,,,,,it's bigger then any i have seen caught from any shoreline beach,bridge or pier-it's gotta be close to 50 lbs I estimate; with a huge head and long streamlined body.I tell Josh to take it and have it weighed because this is one of the biggest kingfish ever from a Florida beach but all he wants to do is shark fish and does'nt seemed too concerned about the fish's weight.

Josh and I with his beastly sized KINGFISH

the fish almost as tall as Josh

As we arrive on the beach Josh's friends Byron and Jeff are leaving to go to the store and they promply come back with a brand new grill,charcoal,butter,onions,and spices to cook up some of the fresh caught kingfish.We prepare our rods and i yak them out as Byron ,Josh and Jeff prepare a big fillet to go on the grill with alunminum foil. We have a total of 7 rods fishing out in the clear blue waters of Palm beach and now we gather around the grill to tell tales and wait for the kingfish to finish cooking on the grill.I take the dinner of Arroz con Pollo that my wife has prepared for me and place it on some foil with butter and we eat a grilled kingfish and Cuban food combo.Man that was the best kingfish i've ever tasted anywhere.A little while later a catch a (est) fat 6 foot blacktip on my 16/0 and that was it as far as the sharks ,,,,they were waiting for there kingfish dinner but were offered only fresh frozen bonitas.

Ken and I with the blacktip

Josh and I with the blacktip
At the end of the night at about 1am as we were leaving we walked by a huge loggerhead turtle that was trying to lay her eggs right next to where we were.Amazing how such a huge animal can cral over the jagged edged rocks without much problem.Thanks to Josh for the invite and thanks to Byron and Jeff for a masterful job of preparing for us a delicious unforgetable meal.Thanks to my friend Ken for once again joining me on the beach.