Hey everyone names Rich and I am 26yrs old. I have been fishing the Tampa area since I was 10 and shark fishing since about 16 using light gear (309s and 4/0s) and haven't looked back since. Spent some time overseas in the military and decided to spend some money on some real gear. Owned a 16/0 and 2 14/0 senators and have since sold the 16 and one of the 14s.
I currently fish a 12/0 everol on a harnell, a 9/0 everol on a custom 130 rod, a 6/0 everol on a 100lb dogfish stick, a 4/0 everol on a harrington, a Shimano Tyrnos 30 2speed on a 80lb dogfish stick and a Shimano Stella 20000 spinning reel on a dogfish stick (landed a 8ft 6inch Dusky on it last Aug).
The local pier we fish at we have to cast out about 30 yds to hit a manmade channel that flows out from a local non-nuclear poweplant, thus the reason for quite a bit of "lighter gear" from the typical shore shark anglers. I use my 6/0 everol as my largest setup for this location and landed a 9 ft 4inch Bull that was estimated around 600lbs. For the larger gear we travel to Ft. Desoto Pier and Skyway areas where I have landed a 11ft 9inch Hammer and just a few nights ago had a 12-13ft hammer up to shore on my 12/0 everol using a 50inch cuda for bait.
I have browsed around the site a bit and am quite anxious to read a lot of the old time stories and see the pictures of the old records caught. I am a person with a serious lack of pictures myself and I apologize for that in advance but look to change that with the Big Hammer Challenge!
Do you have a team to fish with for the Big Hammer Challenge?
Do you have a team to fish with for the Big Hammer Challenge?
Team Stellarol with a few of my buddies. We will be looking to make a big splash from the West Coast. 
Welcome to the club. I look forward to seeing those Everols in some of your shark photos.
TEAM GETCHA GETCHA SHARKON
Hey Rich welcome aboard budd.Sounds like you will be one of the main teams to beat on the west coast with those very impressive catches.You gotta have a digital camera for the BHC it makes it much easier to upload your pics and then post them.I love Ft Desoto and I feel a land-based monster hammerhead over 1000 lbs can be caught there from the pier.That deep chamnnel on the left side of the pier looks like it holds some monster bulls also.Do you have a picture of the 9ft 4 inch bull-thats a BIG BULL ? How long did you fight it ,and on what gear?
Good luck to you and your team .
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
you sound pretty good, hope you can post up some pics for us
Just an average fisherman.
welcome to a site that actually gets it.good luck in the BHC!!!!!
Hey Rich welcome aboard budd.Sounds like you will be one of the main teams to beat on the west coast with those very impressive catches.You gotta have a digital camera for the BHC it makes it much easier to upload your pics and then post them.I love Ft Desoto and I feel a land-based monster hammerhead over 1000 lbs can be caught there from the pier.That deep chamnnel on the left side of the pier looks like it holds some monster bulls also.Do you have a picture of the 9ft 4 inch bull-thats a BIG BULL ? How long did you fight it ,and on what gear?
Good luck to you and your team .
I caught him on my 6 everol that at the time was on my harrington (due to having to cast the balloon out to the current). It is loaded 3/4 full of 80 powerpro and then roughly 200 yds of 80 mono on top. 480lb 7x7 black coated leader with an 11/0 Jobu Big Game Owner, used about a 2-3lb dead mullet butterflied and had it roughly 400 yds out still drifting when she hit it. Took me 20-25 mins to pull it in and it didnt fight really. I was disappointed as I have had 7ft blacktips fight a lot more from the same pier. We got two cameraphone pics of the shark in the water but came out terrible and when 4 of us got it in 2-3 inches of water I got my 9 dollar hook back and was worried about releasing it after all that stress. Taking a picture didnt really dawn on me until after the release.
welcome aboard and good luck with the tournament well not that much luck cause my teams in it too 
DIRTY SOUTH SHARK HUNTERS
2012 1st place BLACKTIP CHALLENGE
2011 NO LIMIT TOURNAMENT CHAMPION 2nd year in a row
2010 BHC biggest hammerhead shark on 80 lb test
2010 NO LIMIT TOURNAMENT CHAMPION
2010 BHC 3rd and 5th place biggest shark
2010 april sharker of the month
2009-2010 Rookie of the year
Hey Rich welcome aboard it's James.
Hey Rich welcome aboard it's James.
Thanks James, Good luck to your West coast team as well.
Will,
That shipping channel is crazy deep and usually the hammers are on the other side of Eggmont Key behind the island on the wrecks. But we get them to travel once in awhile around the island and I hope to land a 1000 plus shark. I watched a 13fter landed back in 2001-2002 timeframe on a 14/0 senator and it was an amazing sight. The cuda I used for bait the other night by the skyway was caught there on a kingfish rig and a few more were seen so if they stray over towards the pier hopefully the hammers will too!
Welcome to the site!!!!!!!!!!
good to see some more tampa sharkers!!!!! welcome! my name is dave and i am a little older (37) and live by picnic island and ballast point maybe we can get together and fish.
Great stuff Rich -trying to FIND and Catch them big azz sharks it's what drives us !!!Was that 13 footer caught from the pier at Ft Desoto ?How long did it fight and who caught it?
A thirteen foot hammer is a very respectable shark no matter where it was caught, but from a pier or bridge the odds are stacked against the angler in different ways.Any pics available of that catch?
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