Work and the scorching heat, among other things, have kept me off the water for the better part of the month but lately I've had the itch to go shark fishing from the beach. I called a few people up on saturday but no one wanted to put baits out on such short notice so I headed out solo at 8pm. I rigged up a 15lb cownose ray I caught back in May, paddled it out 350 yards, and dropped it in the warm gulf waters just as the sun went south of the horizon. Not 20 minutes after the drop the 12/0 went off and I was hooked up to a nice fish. Shark fishing alone is quite foolish but you forget about it when the clicker goes off and the adrenaline starts pumping. After a few short runs I got it close to the beach..had a little troubling getting her over the sandbar with the low tide but once I did the incoming waves pushed her onto the beach. Took a quick measurement, 8'2" total length and really thick. My camera didn't want to work right but I got one picture before it died. I really need to get another Nikon. That was the only bait I had so it was a short night. My pursuit for a tiger continues...
Congrats brother, I don't know many people who would shark fish from a beach solo. Nice fat lemon. Thanks for the pictures.
Good job doin it solo. The way I view it its better to be fishin by yourself than sittin at home doin nothin.
Way to get it done solo!
Very nice lemon dude.
Bauer
Great photos and report!
THX for sharing.
TEAM GETCHA GETCHA SHARKON
you should have called or text Capt.Gaff he is always looking for someone to go sharkin in Sanibel 
Solo sharking,,,,,,,,balls to the wall!!!! 
.Thanks for the sharing the adventure.Had you hooked one of them 14 foot west coast hammers you would of known how alone you were when it came time to leader a giant in the surf,4 foot high sickle shaped dorsal enough to make your heart beat out of your chest.Congrats Doug.
SOUTH FLORIDA SHARK CLUB -President SFSC-Founding Member est 1983 SFSC-Website Administrator BIG HAMMER SHARK TOURNAMENT -Founder Rene Memorial Sharkathon -Founder NMFS Shark Tagger
Solo sharking,,,,,,,,balls to the wall!!!! 😮 😮
.Thanks for the sharing the adventure.Had you hooked one of them 14 foot west coast hammers you would of known how alone you were when it came time to leader a giant in the surf,4 foot high sickle shaped dorsal enough to make your heart beat out of your chest.Congrats Doug.
Haha for sure..I actually hooked a giant while fishing solo at the end of the 08 BHC..I ended up getting cut off..my biggest dilemma at the time was whether or not to paddle out another bait knowing what was lurking out there..made the dumb choice and went home haha. I got my hammer already though..Now I'm on a mission to get a tiger. There's not too many around these parts but I'm determined to get one -- solo or not.
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SOUTH FLORIDA SHARK CLUB -President SFSC-Founding Member est 1983 SFSC-Website Administrator BIG HAMMER SHARK TOURNAMENT -Founder Rene Memorial Sharkathon -Founder NMFS Shark Tagger
Great work by yourself....also looks like you had to fight off the bugs also....Dave
man that is sweet, loks like you had your hands full. congrats to you. great job