Fishing in a State of Emergency!

I got a call from my buddy Mark from Maryland. On our first day we decided to focus on catching shark bait in preparation of fishing the Florida Keys for the next few days. We hit Lakeworth Pier and managed to gather up some jacks and bonita. Mark was happy when he landed his first snook.

Shortly after we found ourselves down in the homely and fresh air of the Keys. I started off the afternoon with a shark bait and the first fish landed on my new avet combo.

We hopped a few bridges later that night and had a little discouragement due to the sinister and gloomy weather. The next day it was revealed that the Keys were in a State of Emergency because of the brutal weather. It didn't phase me but Mark was nervous over it. We hit Long Key again in hopes of catching some fresh shark bait and had success. Mark had caught his first cuda.

The tide switched around so we put three shark rods out. I knew the pressure was dropping as storms gathered around us. When the bar drops the sharks bite. Mark asked me a little later about the rarity of hooking hammers. I told him it was very common to hook them but very rare to land them. Mark's 80w took off strong, he set the hook, and a hammerhead surfaced and spit the bait out. The hammer charged the cuda chunk again... another swing and a miss... I attempted the running man and missed as well. This hammer was persistent and super hungry. This time it devoured the bait and ended up getting both hooks set in the fish.

Here are some pics. The fish was 9ft 2in long. Mark's first hammerhead and worthy Florida shark. With Mark and Mark working together, we landed and handled that shark the best we could.