April 2010 Bahamas Expedition-the fishing

william · 2010-04-06T13:45:14Z

Loaded to the gills with 300 gallons of diesel,60 gallons of fresh water, 25 blocks of chum,10 dozen fresh ballyhoo,12 blocks of ice in four big igloo coolers my cousin Pete owner of "the good life" complains that this boat has never had this much weight on it as we crash through 3 to 5 foot seas heading on a 105 degree course due east to Bimini Bahamas.Once we clear customs and buy the conch and lobster we sail south to the ledges of Ocean Cay due south 22 miles from north Bimini.All the extra weight would prove to be worth the trouble as we are quickly rewarded with great fishing shortly after our first anchor is dropped overboard.As we motor to within a few short miles of our destination we troll the reefs with the wire line to catch some fresh shark bait and soon we have all the barracuda and mackeral we need for our first night's fishing. the coolers are loaded to the brim for our Bahamian adventure we catch what we need for our expected night time visitors our destination Ocean Cay in the distance One live wrasse on the 9/0 produces two Amberjacks and a Caribean reef shark the first donkey AJ would be the key to attracting in a school of Great hammers right behind the boat for the first 24 hours of our fishing at Ocean cay The huge AJ was a nice suprise-notice the wrasse hanging in front of it's mouth. Will J and his wife Irma pose with the big jack.We were hoping for a 80 lb black grouper but the AJ was the best thing for what we wanted. The second Aj within the first hour a fine specimen of about 25 lbs--"the wrasse does it again" the sun begins to settle and we start to chum heavy with our block chum and Aj hanging from the transom cleat we start catching flag yellowtail snapper Irma gets in on the yellowtail action With fresh yellowtail and fresh lobster I start brainstorming how i will prepare the nights meal Big horse eye jacks are a nuisance but good Tiger bait The third fish I catch on the wrasse bait- a Caribean reef shark boatside. Will ready for the release the next shark must a been one of Sonny Gruber's lemons that followed us across the Gulf stream from Florida was an 8 foot lemon -quickly released .Unusual to catch a lemon on the deep water ledges in the Bahamas. The first night I prepare a dinner of yellow rice served with fresh bahamian lobster glazed with sesame oil and cracked conch steaks.Then we get to catching a mess of yellowtail snapper but we're all very tired from the bumpy crossing on the 32 foot sportfisherman so we crash early to get some rest for the second day's plans but not before I set out my 12/0 and stand up rod witha fresh chunk of cuda.I hook a big shark in the early morning maybe 4 am and it's awoken me but I've been humming Rene's song "Hammers in the night"looking for inspiration and I yell for everyone to wake up "it's him"just like Rene used to say when he hooked a big shark that was pulling heavy drag.He would say it like it was one more monster shark specifically destined for just him.I'm fighting the shark and it's cutting around towards the anchor line and i'm pleading with my cousin Pete to hurry and get the engines started ,mark MOB (man overboard)on the GPS so we can drop the anchor line with big bouys and chase the shark .Go right,no the other right --mayhem and shouting the shark is ripping off 200 yards and the captain is slow to get to the helm.Once there he says one engine has a dead battery and so he is powering in reverse trying to motor against the waves and keep my line clear of the anchor rope but it's too late; I feel the line rubbing on the rope, so I free spool the reel to take tension off the 130 lb test line but shortly there after I predicted i was gonna get cut off--it Happens!!CUT OFF This team is rusty and needs some hard discipline.I figured we'd sharpen our efforts for the next oppurtunity by discussing mistakes made with this beast.I'm angry but I know i will get other chances--Relax I tell myself.Next morning we awaken and my cousin Will J spots the great hammers swimming behind the boat looking for the scent of the big Aj. the hammers are out behind and around the boat 2 or 3 at once can be seen Will gets hooked up and he fights the shark like a true veteran no hasty moves just smooth strokes on the rod and patience and a clear head to defeat the shark.He has a large supply of luck on this hammer because it does not swim forward like mine have done. once the swivel comes out of the water i grab it with my gloved hand and try to manuveur the shark in but it's too powerful and with a flick of it's tail is swimming down and around the vessel's rudder.After a few tense minutes the hammer comes loose from the rudder.Amazing how this hammer fights to keep from being pulled in next to the boat.Every time I try to leader it in he thrashes with more force and I'm forced to let go of the leader or lose my gloved hand.We finally subdue the hammer ,get a tail rope on it ,a quick measurement and pics, ...

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e polk

(@e-polk)

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That water is blue! I'm jealous.

Land Based World Record #5 short fin Mako 700lbs
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Land Based World Record #9 Tiger shark 949lbs
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Posted : 04/13/2010 11:34 pm

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