Re:(DEC 2012) Getcha Getcha wire broken!!!

WOW!!!Sounds like you waited too long to tie in,,,,,,,,,waited too long to hit that beach,,,,BUT there will always be next time/next year.Wish you would of caught that beast.What reel did he hook the shark on and what lb test line was he you using?

heartbreak! and the not knowing will stick with ya a long time BIG fish

Wow! Chris, Billy, and I went out last night on a mission and Chris hooked the biggest shark of the year. Chris locks down his reel and starts to get dumped, we go "over, under, over, no under" to keep out of the other lines. I look over and his reel is still getting spooled and his rod has never been so bent. After a long battle to keep line on his reel, the bottom of the spool is showing and there is about 15 yards left, he tries as hard as he can to reel as Billy was rigging the next rod to tie in and then BAMM!!!. Chris reeled in over 1000 yards of line and the #19 wire was cut! MONSTER WAS LOST! He has caught hammers and big bulls on that reel that took no where near that amount of line. We know where they live and we know what they eat, GETCHA GETCHA HOOK BACK!!!!!

This was the beginning of the run as you can see Chris was a little calm and just kind of hanging. Trying to light up his black and mild so he could get into the zone..

But then after looking down at his reel he then said "Holy crap where did all my line go ". It was like in an instant we went from saying nice shark to MONSTER!!!! As he bumped the drag little at a time we realized this thing wasnt stopping!!!!!

So as i started to get another rod ready for a possible tie in(Which in reality i think would have not been possible because of the way this thing was moving and trying to grab braid and tie in. This beast wasnt going to give us that chance) and when i turned around it was over as fast as it started. So after reeling in 1000+ yards of line this was the end result!!!!

Until we meet again old wise one of a monster!!!!! Sorry for the crappy iphone pics thats all we had......

heartbreak! and the not knowing will stick with ya a long time BIG fish

It always does!!!!

Oh im soo sick thinking about it. You guys shouldve seen the spool at the end, literally 15 wraps left, half was bare!!!! We'll get his ass Chris dont worry

Sorry to hear that guys!!! I'm convinced that spot holds 14-15ft Hammers. And they frequent there more than we think. Next time guys!!!!

Sorry to hear that guys!!! I'm convinced that spot holds 14-15ft Hammers. And they frequent there more than we think. Next time guys!!!!

That's for sure Luis !!! Many have been lost there!! Next time.

Location: Car ride
chris: I reused a bait once and I will never do it again
Billie: I agree
Carl: Yup, no oil left in the fish and its not worth it.

Fast forward 2.5 hours
Location: Beach
Chris: My ray looked sooo sexy. I may just bring it home with me tonight. I rarely use rays.
Carl: Didn't you just say... you would never do that again. I saw a post a long time ago..they were crushing sharks on rays and I wanted to use a ray at that time. I was hunting for rays for about a month and didn't see one.
Chris: Look, the odds are against us this time of year but maybe I'll get a chunk taken out of my ray tonight. I'll be ok with it. At least my clicker will go off.
Billie: A lot of sharks are caught in December and I know we are getting a monster.
Chris: I sharked all year and my clicker never went off. Not one click.

Fast forward 1 min.
Location: living on the edge
Chris: My clicker, my clicker
Carl: get it, go
Chris: its rolling - nice and smooth. Let it go…I'll put my harness on
Billie: Lines are crossed - I got it
Chris: its taking off - screw the harness. (thinking - I got this - pay attention - let him get the circle - I got this - I'll get help with the harness)
Carl: How is my braid wrapped around yours - I'll go over. Billie get the rod.
Chris: He is running south near the buoy. He is picking up speed. I'll cut north. I need help with the harness.
Billie: Carl, its over this one, around that one and I have no idea about that rod.
Chris: i need help here
Chris: I got him now. (tightens drag, sets the circle, pump, pump, pump and takes a few steps backwards). I got him - what are you guys doing. I need help here.
Carl: Go over the line
Billie: No step over it
Chris: I'm moving north..he is getting to close to the buoy.
Billie: (helping with harness)
Carl: Fixing lines
Chris: He stopped…..I'll turn him…I can't crank.
Carl: Is it in low gear?
Chris: It is now and I still can't reel. Wow - he is supporting my wait.
Carl: take it cool, don't pull the hook
Chris: he is making a little run…he is getting tired..I'll get him now
Chris: Holy Sh*&% he is picking up speed. Its ok…..I'll turn him soon..he is getting tired..let him run with a little more drag and give me my cigar.
Carl: (try to light cigar)
Chris: WTF - I'll light it…give it to me
Carl: no no
Chris: give me the lighter (lights cigar). He stopped
Billie: reel reel reel
Chris: i can't budget him. a bit more drag
Carl: I need you to lower the rod
Chris: What…are you F(*&^%$ kidding me
Billie: go under
Chris:: I can't pick up my feet. They are pinned to the ground.
Carl: (Digs out some sand under Chris's feet to place line)
Billie: I got you…lean on me
Chris: Hold me..I feel the tail pumping me forward. Ok..he is going north. I can pick up some line. (5 wraps on the braid)
Carl: Dude - where did all you line go
Chris:Oh SH&^, he stopped…I'll turn him
Chris: give me room..I need to pump him in…I can't move him…give me room..He is going again..its ok..he is hardly moving….he is getting faster….
Carl: Shut that clicker off
Chris: no way - I love that clicker -its been a long time - I'm fishing with my clicker on from now on ….I can't believe he is moving faster and faster. I have to pump up the drag..he stopped (i take about 5 wraps of the braid). Here he goes again. He is moving slow..I'm sure he is very tired…my legs are going to be soar tomorrow.
Carl: is that the bottom of your spool?
Chris: He is picking up speed again…its just the corner of my spool…Billie…get the 14/0
Billie: He runs for the 14/0 and starts the rigging
Chris: Dude, where did all my line go. He is going faster and faster
Carl: Chris, I see the bottom of your spool…you only have a few wraps left….all I see is metal….and he is picking up speed.
Chris: Billieeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
Chris: I got to do it. I have no choice.
Carl: do it
Chris: push that lever, push that lever, push that lever and stop that bitch. I got him..I'm picking up line
Carl: Billie, we turned him
Chris: Billie, he stopped…I just covered the bottom of the spool with line..stand by with the 14/0..Oh shit. here he goes again.

fast forward 4 seconds, well, I don't know how long we were living on the edge of the world because time was standing still at this moment.
Chris: oh no, what happen
Billie and Carl: Reel it in and lets see what happen..hook pulled, line snapped, I have no idea.
Chris: (reels in about 1100 yards of line)
Billie: The wire kinked about 3 feet from the hook.
Chris: Lets pack up, go land some rays and come back again. I'm only fishing sting rays

Wow that's hilarious Chris, great recap

Great recap of events, thanks Chris.Hindsight is 20/20 and we often ponder what we coould of done diferently to change the results in the end.Sometimes everything was done correctly and the shark still wins in the end.Equipment failure is usually the culprit when a monster is lost,sometimes it's angler error,sometimes it's a smart old beast that always swims towards the same swim bouy or telephone poles,,,this is the nature of fishing.

In my opinion the MOST IMPORTANT thing is the preparation before the battle begins.The equipment to be used HAS TO BE IN TIP TOP SHAPE and that includes your line,your reel,your rod ,your rig ,including hooks and wire or cable or a combination of wire,cable,heavy mono.Whatever you feel comfertable with is fine just keep in mind that a huge shark will find the WEAK POINT IN YOUR SET UP.Your job will always be to minimize the number of weak poinst and to convert them all to strong ones.Make sure and check your line at the end of each time you fish and you are reeling in your line,check to make sure your line is not FRAYED UP,CHOPPED OR GASHED AND IF IT IS EITHER REPLACE OR TIE A BLOOD KNOT if you don't have a large usually expensive spool of back up line to respool.

Getting spooled can happen to anyone in this sport.ANYONE!!!!!I don't care how high tech you think your reel is and how many pounds of drag you are able to apply---there are hammerhead sharks and tiger sharks out there that will demolish your gear and make a grown men cry.A backup reel should be ready when a shark seems like a real' big one' don't wait til the reel is almost empty,,,it's almost too late then.Hammerhead sharks can move so fast and the giants of the species can cover alot of water in a matter of seconds SO BE PREPARED AS SOON AS YOU see the SPEED and feel THE POWER---YOU WILL LEARN THE TELLTALE SIGNS WITH EXPIERIENCE.ANY SHARK that is melting heavy line off a big powerful or small powerful reel in a fast or slow but continous pace should be considered a SPOOLER and the preparation for tieing in has to start right after HOOKUP.If you're not thinking like that from the begginning you've already lost half the battle.BE PREPARED and take the steps right from the begginning.The lazy will more then likely not catch the monsters in land based shark fishing.

The newbie with the 800 dollar purple reel will think "no problem I can stop this fish" as the line quickly disappears off his reel but the studious expierienced sharker will say"GET THE BACKUP REEL HERE NEXT TO ME,GET A PAIR OF GLOVES READY,GET THE KNIFE READY AND HAVE THE SNAP SWIVEL TIED TO THE BACKUP REEL --DO IT NOW".

Anyone can catch a 10 footer it is only the best that will land the real monsters in our sport.

Things will happen at warp speed when a monster is hooked so you better have rehearsed what everyones role in your team will be when the moment comes, and if you fish long enough IT WILL HAPPEN.

You should have a plan for tieing in and the equipment should be ready beforehand.A few Loops at the bottom of the reel when you first put line on your your reel MIGHT save you from getting spooled BUT if you wait too long to do it your line is gone in a flash.Not all sharks will spool you in fast run some sharks like big bull sharks or even lemon sharks when FOUL HOOKED will dump your reel at a much slower pace then the huge hammerheads.A huge tiger shark will dump your reel much slower then a huge hammerhead but in either case being prepared and knowing what to do will be critical to come out victorious.

Some might critizize what I will say here but it's my opinion from many years of shark fishing.Don't wait till your reel is almost empty to APPLY MAXIMUM or NEAR MAXIMUM DRAG
on that big shark that is taking lots of line.APPLY MAXIMUM FORCE AFTER the initial setup when you see the shark is taking line like a freight train RIGHT Then put the screw to him and see what he has while there is less line in out in the water creating drag and you have a more direct connection.Once your line is out 700 yards alot can happen to your line so tighten up from early on and keep pressure on the fish that your equipment can handle(you should know beforehand from testing).IF THAT SHARK CONTINUES TAKING LINE WITH MAXIMUM PRESURE FROM THE START then you know you are in for a MONSTER FIGHT and will know to get everyone on their toes .If the hooks pull or the line breaks when you put on the MAXIMUM PRESSURE FROM THE BEGGINNING then you know that it was gonna end badly anyways.

YOU CANNOT BABY A HUGE SHARK AND HOPE TO CATCH IT YOU GOTTA FIGHT IT HARD FROM THE START

This is one of the reasons I like using BIG J HOOKS because they take a deeper bite ,will grab the jaw or even the bony cartilege (ideal for a long battle that may last hours)Again some will say I want the shark to get hooked in the corner ,,that's fine if you're fishing for wiener sharks such as blacktips and other smaller regular sharks BUT IF YOU WANT TO CATCH GIANTS YOU MUST GET A DEEP HOOK SET,,,,sorry to all the P.E.T.A conservationist save the world types WE FISH FOR MONSTERS it's what we do.

Trial and error and expierience has no substitute .Read all you can,ask alot of questions on the sport,PREPARE TO BEST OF YOUR ABILITY and then hit the shoreline ready to do battle ,prepare mentally for the fight of your life and be willing to go the distance to achieve VICTORY.

I can compare shark fishing to my professional golf career thus far. There are no pictures on the scorecard. It doesn't matter whether you have a Penn 16/0, 14/0,12/0, 130w, 80w, 50w, whether you use wire, cable, big J-hooks, small circle hooks, 600 yards of 200lb mono, 1500 yards of 150lb braid, huge baits, small baits. You can be 20 years old or 50 years old, the shark doesn't know or care about you.

In shark fishing, what matters is what shark you take pictures with on the shore. In golf, the only thing that matters is your score. If you have a perfect looking "Tiger Woods" swing or a crazy-looking swing, if you shoot a score lower than the competition then you get the big $$$$$$$$$$. If your swing is perfect in theory but can't shoot a good score, then you get absolutely nothing. If your reels, line, hooks, bait and everything looks or sounds good, but can't land the sharks, then you did not win.

The proof is in the tape measure and pictures. Doesn't matter how you do it, JUST GETCHA GETCHA SHARK ON THE BEACH!!!!!!!!!!!

I agree with willy and I agree with cmoney, that its obvious to just get the shark on the beach. However, the part about tackle and etc not mattering is a fairy tale. Don't get me wrong, there are many people with top notch gear, and tackle . That catch black tips and 8 ft bulls there whole lives. Then there are the Mark resto stories and the kid who won the last two BHC with OLD 12/0s , where luck and good fortune can definitely be discussed.

However 9 times out of 10 for a big brute of a 13-15 foot hammer in open water, you need lots of heavy line , and perfect tackle, along with an Angler who never leaves any slack in the Line throughout the whole fight.

That number 19 wire looks to be a kink and not a mark of being bitten through!!

Ps. I made a post including all of you writing on here and no replies or confirmation from you guys
It's the ( dec 29th shark pub party) post

I can compare shark fishing to my professional golf career thus far. There are no pictures on the scorecard. It doesn't matter whether you have a Penn 16/0, 14/0,12/0, 130w, 80w, 50w, whether you use wire, cable, big J-hooks, small circle hooks, 600 yards of 200lb mono, 1500 yards of 150lb braid, huge baits, small baits. You can be 20 years old or 50 years old, the shark doesn't know or care about you.

In shark fishing, what matters is what shark you take pictures with on the shore. In golf, the only thing that matters is your score. If you have a perfect looking "Tiger Woods" swing or a crazy-looking swing, if you shoot a score lower than the competition then you get the big $$$$$$$$$$. If your swing is perfect in theory but can't shoot a good score, then you get absolutely nothing. If your reels, line, hooks, bait and everything looks or sounds good, but can't land the sharks, then you did not win.

The proof is in the tape measure and pictures. Doesn't matter how you do it, JUST GETCHA GETCHA SHARK ON THE BEACH!!!!!!!!!!!

Shark fishing is not about winning or losing it's about fighting a great beast with all your best might,your best spirit and YOUR BEST EQUIPMENT and about not giving up .If you don't catch big sharks at first and don't have pictures with big sharks does that mean you lose as you do in Golf?I DON'T THINK SO!!!
There ai'nt NO DAMMED THEORY in what I wrote, what I wrote up top is based on many years of shark fishing and the advise I gave "does matter"and your equipment and the shape it's in MOST DEFINETLY MATTERS,,,,,,,this is not a golf game .There is no substitute for expierience and only those that practice the sport often will get better and those are the ones that are more likely to get the huge fish but there will always be the lucky FEW.You can try and discredit what I wrote but it's FACTUAL.

take it easy fellas