This has been a tumultous year for the land-based shark fisherman with the severe winter weather that extended into the spring on a few occasions and with the BP oil spill in the gulf of Mexico threatening to wipe out some of the most productive shark fishing beaches in the world many people have been discouraged from venturing anywhere near a beach this summer.Despite those setbacks the true hardcore shark hunters continue to press forward with impressive catches to rival any other year.
Again in 2010 Florida continues to be the leader of the pack when it comes to the big toothy critters .Some fascinating big shark news guaranteed to entice the harcore shark hunter from around the globe includes the capture of the biggest hammerhead ever caught anywhere- a behemoth weighing close to 2500 pounds that was caught by a commercial fisherman off Austarlia's east coast . There is no doubt that Australia with it's enormous coastline would rival the catches made from Florida if more land-based shark fisherman there would take advantage of the incredible fishery available to them .In the future we hope to see a spike in reports coming from that part of the world as the world wide internet continues to grow and more fisherman proudly post there pictures and stories.It is our hope that shark fisherman in other countries such as South Africa and New Zealand with rich shark fishing history will also be encouraged to reveal there current monster catches on websites such as this one.
Land-based shark fisherman around the world continue to PUSH THE ENVELOPE and make incredible catches while fishing in an era when many of the big coastal sharks have been affected by long line vessels with five mile long sets.The envelope continues to be pushed further and I attribute the improvement to the internet and the free exchange of knowledge among fisherman giving the average guy with determination and passion the ability to catch MONSTER SHARKS from shore.In other words shark fisherman are getting better as they learn more and more about the sport thanks to shared fishing techniques and a better understanding of sharks behaviour including feeding habits and migratory patterns.
Awareness among the shark hunters of the plight of sharks has moved the old mind set of "a good shark is a dead shark" -to one of "catch,tag and release a shark and be an asset to the sharks not a detriment.Here in the state of Florida we are facing other battles in land-based shark fishing but with good resources, and the United States Constitution on our side we will continue to protect our sport although a call for unity to create a unified front should be on the mind of every serious shark hunter that values there rights to fish on a beach.We will continue to fish hard and we will continue to represent the sport of land-based shark fishing to the best of our abilities.
Ernie Polk continues to set the bar higher with the passing of each year this incredible fisherman and his cousin Joey are making some of the most extraordinary catches ever.Last year it was his record mako and this year two massive female tigers the bigger one at an incredible 12 ft 9 inches.The completion and opening of several piers in the panhandle section of Florida might mean that more giant sharks will be caught in the future during times when the rough surf and frigid tempatures make it extremely difficult to fish the beaches.like I said before the envelope continues to be pushed to new levels.
Thank You all for your participation.
WORLD'S BIGGEST LAND-BASED CAUGHT SHARKS (2010 Edition)
FIRST PLACE
Leading the pack in 2010 Zach Miller with his 13 foot Monster hammerhead that looks to be over 1000 pounds,Quite a fish and ,quite a fight.Fish of a lifetime !!Congratulations to Zach for his dedication to the sport.
SECOND PLACE
The dynamic duo Joey Polk and Ernie Polk with Joey's beastly 12 foot 9 inch Tiger
THIRD PLACE
Ernie Polk and Joey Polk with Ernie's 11 foot 9 inch pregnant Tiger shark with a 80 inch girth,that had an estimated weight of 928 lbs.This was the winning shark in the 2010 BIG HAMMER CHALLENGE
FOURTH PLACE
The newly revitalized Team Shark Fever has several outstanding Palm Beach sharkers including Carl McCauley and Chris Salomoni .Here is Carl (far left)with his 11 foot 5 inch monster hammer
FIFTH PLACE
Will Fundora -Fifth place with a 11 foot 2 inch Hammer caught in the Big Hammer Challenge Shark tournament good for second place in the month long tourney
SIXTH PLACE
TEAM BLACK BART'S Dave caught this 11 foot hammer
SEVENTH PLACE
Reggie (rdmedic71) with his his 10 foot 7 inch Florida panhandle caught Tiger shark.
EIGHTH PLACE
Oz's 10 foot 6 inch Texas Tiger puts him in 8th place
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