Fishin the Blacktip Challenge Shark Tourny w 2 good friends

WOW!!!What a great day we had on the beach today .Days like today reaffirm that my passion for this sport is real ,and makes my committment to helping it gain the respect it deserves stronger.After spending a whole night at one of our spots without a bite, we decided to meet up with Josh(blacktip hunter)and the Paxton brothers Tuesday morning for some fun in the sun and a chance to tangle with some blacktips on light to medium sized tackle.My friend Jimbo and the young shark fishing phenom Aaron Bunch (941 sharker)and i arrived early and soon we were hooking blacktips and having a great time and quickly adapting to a new style of shark fishing for us.The new style involved casting baits with long spinning rods from a rocky shoreline.It reminded me of the style of shark fishing that is done in South Africa using 14 foot surf rods.We have caught plenty of sharks on spinning and conventional tackle while targetting fish such as snapper,grouper,mackeral,and kingfish in our times but have seldom targetted sharks specifically on this lighter spinning gear.Sean and Brooks Paxton set up there equipment and were soon able to catch on film some great action .Within a couple of hours time three blacktips were caught,tagged,documented and quickly released .On hand to oversee the tagging was Pat Ford a representative from the National Marine Fisheries Service the organization in charge of the Apex Predator tagging program.After the morning session with the blacktips it was time to rock and roll with the Big Boys that we like to target so we brought out our big guns and in a big surf,and a strong current and a dangerously rocky shoreline the young Prodigy shark fishing phenom Aaron took on the daunting task of yakking out our big baits past the roaring surf without missing a step.I can't say enough about this young man and his potential to become the next Rene de Dios .He is gutsy,fearless ,dedicated, and a focused firebrand that has got the right stuff for a bright future in the sport of shark fishing.The highlight of the afternoon was the solid hit I got on my 16/0 using 10 lb bonita that was completely engulfed in one bite 30 minutes after Aaron dropped it 300 yards offshore beyond the raging surf.The way in which the shark picked up the 10 lb bonita and ran in a steady deliberate way indicated that this shark was large without a doubt.The rocky shoreline and strong current caused by the high surf and wind created a dangerous belly in the line that tends to drag along the bottom and snag any coral that sticks up off the bottom.The instant i set up on the shark the line allready caught on a piece of coral was instantly sheared off and I reeled up about 30 feet of frayed 130 lb test line. We had a great time fishing ,filming and hearing Jimbo tell shark fishing stories to the Paxton brothers.Today was a good day and one which I will remember for a long time.

Monday night on the beach with Jimbo and Aaron

The new Emotion "Spitfire" kayak on the beach -a very nice riding addition to our team

The first night on the beach the full moon came up a dazzling Orange ball of fire from the horizon and lit up our our camp.My camera could not capture the true spectacle that was the moon creeping out of the ocean with such colors and brilliance reminding me of how great it is to be alive and able to witness such remarkable beauty. WOW!! natures work is truly unparalled.

Tuesday we meet up with Josh on the beach

The entire crew comes together to fish and film


Josh and Pat Ford the NMFS apex predator tagging program representative.

Aaron and I setting up the rods in the holders-notice the angry surf in the background

The action quickly starts with Pat's husband hooked up

The shark is leadered and held for measurements and tagging


Josh removes each and every hook with a dehooker

I hook the next fish and lose it quickly

Aaron is the next one to hook up -thanks to Josh

Aarons first blacktip of the tournament a male with a 66 inch overall length,57 inch fork length and a 32 inch girth measurement-tag #312990

Aarons second hookup

Second blacktip for Aaron(941 sharker) a male 69 inches long,57 to the fork and 32 girth-tag #312991

GREAT TIMES
The day's events,the lifelong frienships made,and the stories told while waiting for the next shark bite will be etched into my memory forever.Thanks to everyone present for sharing your time with us in the great outdoors ,competing in a tournament and helping science in there efforts to better understand and preserve world shark populations.Also i want to thank my Team mates Jd Hammer and young Aaron Bunch who today proved his worth as a vital part of shark fishing Team "Hammer N the Phenoms" and i say to all -keep an eye on this rising shark fishing star because you will see much more of him in the coming years.