50 lb test World Record Hammer -Boca Grande Pass

Bump this up because I think knockdown (Pete)personally knows Clark9the angler in the above article) who was the president of the Venice Shark Club sometime back in the 80's .Maybe knockdown can comment on this catch and on Clark Balsinger as a shark fisherman.

What would the length and girth measurement need to be to break that record?

Clark was always one to push for Bigger !He is a Great Sharker/Sportfisherman. We discoverd a while Back the importance of Tarpon for Chum & Bait ! Clark took it one step further though , Clark found the big Sharks offshore for the most part ! The Hammer above however was caught in the pass & tarpon was the bait . Clark always wanted to do Better & I believe it shows with his catch History ! A great guy for sure ! I miss those days of the Venice Sharks club & the fishing !!! Great times & memories !! Sorry for the absence on the forum ! Been workin way to much & was chaseing the Bluefins at Hatteras ! Tight lines to all !

A little more info, I believe the fight time was close to 4 hours in duration. To anyone who fishes Boca Grande pass here is a little help , when stoms come up in the Pass , The Tarpon head out , The Sharks follow thier food source for the most part (Big Hammers & Bulls ) Depending on the storm severity will determine the time the tarpon stay out of the pass. We also learned that the spawn actually takes place off of the pass Offshore some what.Next time a bad storm kicks up at the pass pay attention to the Tarpon and thier movements this is key !!! PS I learned this from Clark through many talks. I know big Hammers & bulls will feed on Stinrays , Cuda & Other shark but always remember why they show up when they do !

Some baits are better ,some are legal and some are not but that is a discussion for another day.What I can tell you from my personal expierience is that barracuda is fine bait that will get slammed from land ,in the pass, or down the street from the pass. The monster hammer that wrecked one of my 14/0's during this years Big Hammer Challenge ate the tail section of a barracuda.That was one of the fastest and hardest pulling sharks i've ever hooked.Some of the monster hammers at Boca Grande will eat a variety of natural baits although they are in the pass chasing the tarpon.Sharks that are that large need to feed quite a bit and will eat plenty .Capt Bucky Dennis uses mostly live rays for his giant hammers and he once fought a Hammerhead bigger then the 1280 lb World Record hammerhead shark he caught in 2006 for 10 hours and it took him 7 miles out to sea away from the pass and they could not exert enough pressure on that shark to finally subdue it.

No doubt William , Cuda will get the job done as will live ray . You and others prove this time and time again ! Back when we fished Fixed object , Our mind set was on Tarpon for bait. Like you have said times have changed along with technology & better methods ! No doubt if we would have used Baits like Cuda & Ray more often we would have seen this for ourselves , but we didn't . Don't get me wrong we used Cuda & ray but when the tarpon were around that was our go to bait & that is what brought in the larger sharks back then . From Past reports I have read I know that you & others have the baits for Large shark perfected ! I always pick up something new on here ! Never to old to learn !!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks for the info Knock Down. Going down to Port Charlotte near Boca Grande this march and hope I can catch some sharks.

great info here.