Official 2013 Big Hammer Challenge-Reports,Pics,Leaderboard

Congratulations to Junior Hammer Wrangler Austin on an AMAZING catch of a lifetime!! WOW!!

LaSharkHunter

Also, Austin has fought all the fish on the blue avet when I have been there. Niño has his brand new tiagra 130 and Rico has his purple avet. I have watched Austin catch 9ft bulls no sweat, niño did not catch the hammer for him.

These accusations being made toward Austin, Rico and neno are complete BS being made by jealous fisherman, I have fished with hammer wranglers many times throughout this tournament, I Gaurantee all of there fish are legit
Captain Orion Wholean

Congratulations to Hammer Wranglers once again for another huge hammer and another win it seems at this point.A great catch by any adult but more so for a smallish Junior angler AUSTIN MATURO with the heart of a lion.

We will not allow anyone in this site to attempt and disrupt this tournament or to make accusations without basis.If you want to file a Formal Complaint based on accurate information with evidence we will gladly review it but PLEASE DON'T FILE A COMPLAINT BASED ON RUMOURS OR HEARSAY.We HAVE DELETED some accusatory post that were made .IN LIFE IT'S BETTER TO LEARN TO LOSE and if you cant handle losing you'll never learn how to TRULY WIN.

I cannot allow ANYONE to post allegations based on rumors .These guys kick butt fair and square and I have known Nino Diamandi and his family for the last three years and I can say that these young men prepare like no other Team prepares and they in turn catch the biggest Hammers at a place known to hold many of them.These young men sit on a beach day and night like no other Team does and they eventually catch there prized fish.If only a small percentage of the anglers put as much effort and preparation into this tournament as Hammer Wranglers do you would see many more huge sharks.Some anglers who likee to talk smack not put in much effort ,they like to stay in the comfort zone are unwilling or unable not sure which to travel far and near as was the tradition of the True Hard Core sharkers that started the SHARK CLUB and this site.If you don't excel in this sport and someone else beats you fair and square maybe you lack the PASSION FOR SPORT ,THE DESIRE TO TANGLE WITH MONSTER FISH, maybe you lack imagination ,prepararation and the organiazation of the Winning Teams.A True hard core teamS take steps to go where the big sharks are;they travel, spend the money on gas or whatever else needs to be bought even rent a room on Anna Maria Island but travel to find the fish.You get mad because an outstanding Team wins again,,,tough crap.Maybe you don't deserve to win it and you more then likely will never.

I got rid of the ignorant commentary including that from the peanut gallery= Doug81-you have'nt posted on this site in a very long time yet the first sign of trouble you are quick to jump in and beat down someone,,,,I don't think so bud ,,you have'nt earned the right to talk down to anyone on here.You sir have not had the courtesy to participate and somehow add something positive to the sport you supposedly love ,,,take a hike think about it ,then reconsider causing damage elsewhere NOT HERE.

i think i hear a 2x4 knocking on concrete...

glad thats over.

Congrats on the monster hammer! but we still have till midnight to see what comes in!

The most incredible part of that catch is that that 12ft hammer is a male , to see a male hammer of that size and girth is incredibly rare considering that the females always dwarf the males in comparison, the females that that stud shark has the pleasure of mating with must be absolutely enormous. That spot is one of few true shark meccas just as Palm Beach and the Florida keys are known to be; a place where the monsters favor and frequent. I've seen quite a few extraordinary catches made and this is no exception. The haters multiply as the triumph grows, I've experienced quite a few people trying to disprove my catch and know the feeling. Unfortunately, I can't defend you as i'm not a witness but as far as what I've heard from teams that I know that have fished next to you, you guys seem to fish like everybody else with an enjoyment for land-based fishing. Congrats you guys put some killer fish on the board just as many other great teams on here have.

Wow! I can only hope that one day I can put a shark like that on the beach. Awesome fish!

This is story of Junior Rangler Austin Maturos 12' Hammer. from the beginning of the evening by Nino. So I land our first fish around 9 o clock, it was a blacktip. So we re-bait and sit back down its about 11 o clock when my rod goes off again. I fought the fish for a while and I ended up getting my Lemon shark. So we re-bait again and sit back down and we both started to doze off, that's when my rod went screaming once again. By this time I know austin is feeling left out not having caught anything all weekend and that's when we land my Bull at around 2:30 in the morning. after re-baiting once again, but this time I told austin the next fish is yours. After sitting back down for a while we start to doze off when the 130 started screaming. Austin got all strapped in to the rod and he set hook on the fish. It must have ran 200 yards in full drag with the preset loose and it just all of a sudden went slack, we reeled in the bait to see that it had practically been chewed in half, but we let it ride. We took this bait back out and reeled up Austins bait and gave him a new one. I told Austin "you're back to fishing your own rod" wondering why we may have lost that fish. It had to have bee a big fish because it ran a LOT more than all others and it pulled a lot more drag. So by this time we're back to sitting down again and it was starting to get a bit chilly out. I had just asked Austin if he had wanted a cover to cover up, then we dozed back off.At about 4:30 I hear him saying "THE 80! THE 80!" refering to his rod. He ran over to it and so did I. As he got strapped in we let it run for a good amount of time hoping to let it eat the whole bait in the process. As he set the hook we watched our top shot knot fly off the reel. The fish ran straight out not much right to left, We went from low gear to high gear as the fish charged the beach back and forth. Austins arms were getting tired and everytime he would go to rest them the fish would charge the beach forcing Austin to reel as fast as possible. After a little while I told him i'm going to sit you down, so he sat down to fight the fish. He fought the fish sitting down for a while as I started to see the swivel of our leader I called out "Swivel!" as I rushed back to austin to get him to his feet. As he stumbled to get on his feet I pushed him back to keep the line tight, and as the fish ran again we see the swivel dissappear into the water once again. After a little bit longer we started to see the swivel again and once i got it in my hand I called out "30 feet!". Austin reeled the next 30 feet to get the swivel to the tip and we only had anothr 30 feet to go. As he walked backwards up the beach I started to see the dorsal and long tail. I called to Austin saying "it's a hammer!" with the most enthusiasm of any words i've spoken all year. As the fished head came close to the beach it darted around in a tight circle only leave the tail to grab on to. As I grab the tail and fight to get the tail rope around it I yell to austin "come forward, come forward". As he runs forward passing our pvc pipe, not even to set the rod down like he should have, we both fight with the fishes tail as it flails about. austin still having the reel in one hand. I just couldnt get the rope around it being so out of breathe. As the fish slips away from both of us trying to make its last wind, I yell to austin "go back up the beach, go back up the beach". As austin goes back up the beach to keep the line tight I go back after the tail once again screaming "tighter, tighter! Keep that line tighter!", as Austin is double over in fear of pulling the hooks my legs are tangled in rope as I grab the fishes tail one last time. Not even getting the rope around the tail properly but having it just enough I had Austin run back forward. We got it properly attached to the tail. Luckily we landed the fish right in front of our pvc pipes, and I dig my pipes really deep in fear of having my rod fall over. We took the tail rope and wrapped it around the base of the pvc pipe and used it sort of like a pully and every time a wave would come up we would move it another foot. The last few feet were the hardest. After taking a few quick pics, we tagged it and released it. By that time we were toast. Looking at the clock it was just about 5:30 so I called Rico telling him the news and asked him if he had posted our pictures from thursday morning. He said he had forgot to so I had him post them immediately. Like I said this is Austins first Hammerhead. He wanted to catch one so bad, not just for the prizes but because he loves to fish. I'm glad he caught this fish, not because he wins more stuff but because he deserves it. Austin works just about as hard at fishing as I do. He's always at the pier whenever I am. We spent all of last fall catching bait together and preparing for this years tourney. I do this because I like to do this, I entered this tournament for fun, not to be dishonest. Don't get me wrong I wouldve loved to caught that fish on my new rod n reel, and for years past I would have loved to have caught those sharks too but we are a team and I would never take a rod from somebody just because I knew it had a big fish on it.We have fished every friday thru sunday fished every wensday sometimes not geting home till 630 and haveing to unload to be to work at 9 . i even to two weeks off a full time job to fish . we fished school nites close to home on mondays or tuesdays we probably fished 20 days . going for fresh bait in the day time and useing it up at nite. i had 20 frozen king fish pre riged months be for time. every bait in my freezer was pre riged just to snap on and go do u know how many hooks that takes when u have 4 freezers
so i try to do every thing i can to keep from wasteing beach fishing time we prepair so mutch shark fishing is our lives and and we try to keep good karma
-Captain Nino Diamandi

First off I would like to say a BIG THANK YOU to William Fundora !!! as a father myself and a person who unfortunately knows what is like to lose a best friend I commend you on your strength and commitment to all of us anglers in the BHC and SFSC. If there is ever anything that Team Sea Level can do to help out please don't hesitate to ask. I would also like to thank all of staff and fellow anglers for making my first shark fishing tourney one I will never forget! I met some great people here in the panhandle that have the same passion for shark fishing that I have and I already look forward to seeing and competing with all of you next year. And last but not least congrats to Hammer Wranglers and to Jr Angler Austin for such a bad ass 12ft Hammer I know there is a couple hours to go for the tourney but that is going to be a tuff one to beat for any angler. Its been a crazy month of fishing, fishing more fishing and a little food and sleep once in a while. I think this weekend I will take a break get some sleep, eat some food and go catch some big ass sharks with my brothers!!! thanks again Don Riniker AKA UGLY 1 Team Sea Level

Great catch guys....You put your time and effort into a spot that you knew produced big fish... I know how it is to fish the west coast and catch nurse after black tip after 7 ft lemon but you guys stuck it out and made it happen.... Im as sore to see you guys win again this year as anyone but its prime time in the shark fishing capital of florida and you have put forth the time and effort and paid your dues...congrats on an amazing come from behind victory (unless something happens in the next few hours) And anyone who has fished that area knows you dont need a boat to catch big sharks... just heart and determination

Spent a couple days on the sand with a new group of guys and got to meet other teams fishing the area. I think all of them were new to fishing in full stand up gear and decent drag so the first day on the beach I had them in the harness with me running up and down the beach so they could get their bearings .

Team Requiem Team Picture(we took like five photos I could not keep my eyes open for one haha):

First shark ever for Stan at 7'3" Lemon

Will's 5'2" Goliath

Blandings 6'2" Goliath (That is my blood haha)

Scott's 5'4" Goliath

Stan's 8'6" Lemon

My 5'5" Goliath

Another Goliath by Scott this time 5'10"

I believe Im waiting on another

We had a couple more Goliaths and Lemons that we ended up not entering in the competition I think our final count was 7-10 Goliaths and 4 lemons. We had a 6th person along who was a friend of Will and Blanding that we put on his first shark and needless to say he is HOOKED! I will not post any more of the pictures from sharks/goliaths we did not enter not to confuse anyone. We also had a heartbreak fish but I will save that story for another day . (I think we also have another goliath but it isnt as large as the other posted)

20+ hour ride both ways and it was worth every second! Thank you Will for holding this Tournament.

NO FISH TO ADD.
We fished up to the last moments. Hooked up on a really big fish about 10:30. Tore drag off the. Tiagra 80w. Did.t stop until he had shook the hooks. Disappointing for the las shot at possiblly "THE ONE". all in all a great month lots of good memories and a couple new scars.
WOULD LIKE TO SAY A HUGE THANK YOU TO WILL!!! LADIES AND GENTLEMEN WE SHOULD ALL TAKE A PAGE FROM HIS BOOK. IF YOU HAVE EVERY HAD THE PLEASURE OF FISHING WITH HIM .... HE TRUELLY IS THE APITAMY OF WHAT.THIS SPORT IS ABOUT!!!
This tournament is more work than any of us know and tons of stress. But he does it year after year !!
great job everyone.!! Stiff competition. Alotta people caught Alotta.great fish !! Congrats..to all who participated.

I want to thank Will and everyone who makes thia tourney happen.This has been the most stressful, mentally exhausting, exciting and yet fun month. I remember signing up thinking I'll fish when I can and see how it goes, but I ended up fishing 26 nights in between school, work and finals. Every day consisted of going to charter boats buying bait, getting supplies from home depot and planning our next beach assault. It has tested me mentally beyond beleif. I remember me and Garrett went 8 days fishing during the cold front, paddling through 6 ft swells, staying at the beach till the sun rose and not even hearing a click on our reels. I wanted to quit then and there, but I perserved through the struggle. This tourney gave me a reason to fish every night, regardless of any prizes or rewards but simply for the love of fishing. Every tourney has controversy in it and will always have cheaters, but that should make everyone fish twice as hard and surpass any tricks someone may have up their sleeves. I'm not accusing hammer wranglers of anything Im saying in general cheaters are everywhere and in the end they know who they are. A lot of sharks were caught and everyone should be proud of thier catches big or small. I know I fished my hardest and yet my teams biggest shark was only 9'6, but I have no regrets because I know I gave my all. Everyone needs to let go of the macho ego shark complex that has devloped over the years, because at the end of the day fishing is supposed to be fun and thats why I fished this tourney because I could spend one month doing what I love. Congrats to everyone who fished and thanks to all who made it possible. Tight lines

My final catches for the 2013 BHC....I have been fishing hard the last few days up until about the last hour of the tournament.

ANGLER: DIANA COUPEL---- TEAM JURASSIC
#8
7FT 8IN. BULL

ANGLER:DIANA COUPEL

#9
9FT 1/2IN. BULL

ANGLER:DIANA COUPEL
#10
8 FT 6IN. BULL (MY MOTHER'S DAY PRESENT)

ANGLER:DIANA COUPEL
#11
8FT 1IN BULL (MY 2ND MOTHER'S DAY PRESENT) ------BUT GAVE ME A HARD SLAP IN THE FACE

ANGLER:DIANA COUPEL
#12
8FT 101/2 IN BULL

Thank you Will and everyone else that puts this tournament together every year. I count down the months until this tourney comes back around. Congratulations to everyone on some very exceptional catches!!!!

congratulations austin and team hammer wranglers on the huge hammer.

i have fished countless hours with nino and have personally used the boat gaff to remove hooks from our sharks along with gaffing rays.