Long Overdue May Report (Pics & Video)

So I was finally able to get back to swfl in May for the Canadian long weekend. We made it an EXTRA long weekend and made the trip a Thursday-Tuesday thing . I brought a friend of mine who also was with my on the March trip but was skunked, so he was back to revenge.

Thursday May 19

Our first night there. We flew in at 10am and immediately went to catch bait. We loaded up on catfish, ladyfish, and Spanish macks. Got to the beach at sunset and yakked out the baits. We each had a 50w about 350 yards out and a spinning surf rod about 200 yards out. A couple of friends met up with us who had some bigger reels doing deeper drops with cownose rays. About 1 hour into the night they got a big run, set up on it, and after a rather short fight on the 16/0 had a nice 9 foot hammer on the beach. They were fishing the sharks after dark tournament and were pretty excited. An hour or so after that my spinning rod started bouncing. I tightened the drag and thought I had a small shark on. After another minute it started taking huge runs. It was a very strange fight and we actually thought it was a tarpon. We soon found out it was a 6 foot bull! Fun fight on spinning gear.

Here's the video of this night: https://youtu.be/gArGhITKlzE

Friday May 20

We set out to the same spot, same types of baits. We tried the Sanibel Causeway for carcasses but struck out. Set out baits an hour before sunset and the wait was on. Fifteen minutes after that my buddy's spinning rod went off. He had something nice on for 30 seconds and POP. The 65lb braid broke. This is the 3rd time in a row this had happened with this rod. I told them after the first time that the line was bad but no one listened. The next morning we were going to get it respooled. The action was fairly quiet until an hour after dark when my 50w went off, however the shark was never hooked and stole my bait. Conditions worsened and we headed back after a bit. Skunked!

Saturday May 21

Set out again. Almost instantly after setting out baits we had a run, but it stopped. Then again. And again. My friend reeled his 50w in to find a sharpnose on the end. We released it. The same thing then happened with my 50w. Released it again. The same thing happened AGAIN with my buddy's spinning reel. Released it again. The current also got really strong and lines were everywhere. It was a disaster. We were running out of bait and had nothing to show for it. A couple of friends of ours were fishing a different beach so we decided to change it up, even though we didn't have much bait. It was either that or go home. Upon reeling in my spinning rod I found a small blacktip on the end of it that I didn't even know was there. This one was coming as bait.

We set up at the new beach which we had not fished before around 10:30pm. We each had just one rod out while our friends had 4. Me and my buddy cut the tipper in half and used it. We figured the small sharks wouldn't mess with it and being so fresh our chances were good. Just five minutes after the baits were dropped my other buddy's Makaira 50w started screaming. After a 20 minute fight he landed a solid 7' tiger! The night had turned around completely. An hour after that my 50w went off. I put it in strike and we were in business. The shark felt heavy. Another 20 minute battle and we landed this 8' lemon.

Again, we were pumped so we kept fishing. Keep in mind, the friend that had joined me on this trip and the trip in March still didn't have a shark. He bought an Avet 50w which had the head of that blacktip on. He asked if I wanted to pack it in around 2am but I said let's stay a bit more, even though I probably had 500 noseeum bites on my feet. Around 3am his Avet started screaming. He set up on the fish and the battle was on. The fish took some huge runs, it was a good one. After a 30 minute battle there was a 7'8" tiger shark on the sand. Imagine that, his first shark is a tiger! He was very excited. We left after that as it was 4am and we had to get up and catch more bait.

Video of this whole night: https://youtu.be/QNOVq13gwZY

Sunday May 22

We loaded up on some nice bait during the day. We had some Spanish macks and a huge baccacuda. Got to the same beach that we got the tigers/lemon at only to find BRUTAL rip tides. A friend tried yakking out a bait and it washed up on shore with his breakaway. There were boats out there doing tarpon drifts (no not Boca) moving with the current crazy fast. We casted a few baits out with spider weights that held but the current did not slow down. I have never seen current like this. I remember thinking if someone were to fall off the yak in that, death was a possibility. We cut out losses, put the bait on ice, and headed home very disappointed.

Monday May 23 (the last night)

Chris who I had chatted back and forth with on Instagram invited us to come fish his spot. He claimed he had never been skunked at this spot and he guaranteed we would be the only people fishing it so we agreed to try it out. We got there kind of late so rushed to get baits out before sunset. We had two huge barracuda chunks out, a Spanish mack, and a jack. A couple hours after dropping baits my buddy's avet went off for a few seconds then went slack. Not 10 minutes after that my 50w started screaming. This was different than any shark I'd caught before. It was moving crazy fast. I put it in strike and the shark was peeling drag like nothing. At first I thought it was a huge blacktip cause of how fast it was going but I didn't think a tipper could pull 35lbs that fast for that long. I then got the fish about 50 yards out and he was not moving. It was a standstill for a solid 5 minutes with it making a short run every 30 seconds. Finally 25 minutes after hookup I got it over the sandbar and saw a fin. It was a HAMMER!! We all jumped into action to ensure a clean catch and release. We got the shark half out of the water, removed the hook, snapped a photo, and sent it off. I am very careful about keeping sharks alive and this one swam off as fast as it came in. No revival needed! This was the perfect ending to an amazing trip. I know I'll be back in Florida in December but I'm hoping to get back sooner. I want more!!!

Video of the hammer! https://youtu.be/fZ-LwysPALM

Sorry for the novel lol hope you guys enjoy the report!