Summer wrap up (everything but sharks)!

This being my first report I'd like to start out by saying how great this website and its members are. You guys have been very helpful in advancing my shark fishing skills. That being said I'm still searching for that big one, really just anything other than a tipper lol.

So here goes nothing. Let me first start by stating a disclaimer, contrary to the title we did in fact catch some sharks just nothing worth bragging about but enough to keep us coming back. Ill start out with the first fish of the summer...
I know its just a jack crevalle but its a big one and i thought it was a cool catch. Caught on a sizable chunk of ladyfish. We had one other hit from another jack but that one didn't get the bait all the way down.

The next catch is something a little more recent, about 2 weeks ago, and something another form member, Gucci, recently caught as well. A Spotted Eagle Ray

I was pretty surprised when I saw this thing in the surf but I knew they were around and had a friend who caught one off a dock so I knew it wasn't unheard of. The mouth on this thing is really bizarre and i was astounded at the size of bait it tried to eat. It was a solid 8in bonita tail and the ray was hooked in the mouth. This thing also weighed a lot more than it looked probably around 60lbs and put up a solid fight.

The next catch took place down in the keys and is truly a rarity and it has been a wild fantasy of mine to see one up close. Im talking about none other than the sawfish. Thanks to the great conservation efforts these awesome fish are starting to make a comeback and I have been lucky enough to not only see one but to help catch one.

We didn't get an exact measurement but estimated it at around 7-7 1/2ft. The power and speed with which this thing could swing its rostrum was truly frightening. The fight on the heavy spinner lasted about 45 mins but mainly because it was a back and forth battle at the boat where we were trying to pry the fish up from the bottom of the channel. After we snapped some pics we cut the line as close as I dare get to that barbaric weapon of a nose and she swam of no worse for wear. Me and my friend may not have caught the shark we were looking for but what we did catch was way better.

Last but not least is not a fish but something else you don't see too often but have heard stories about. And that is a cuban raft washed up on shore. Me and my friend stumbled upon the raft early in the morning last week at the base of commercial pier. The cubans that built this rickety old thing and set sail across the ocean in were long gone.

In all its been a great summer filled with good fishing and good times and I can't wait to hit the sand again and hopefully get my first real shark.