Two 15 foot Monster Tigers and other Beast

Courtesy SOS.com Sharks on the Sand by Capt Chip South Carolina

This is the story of Capt Chip's top three sharks

Re: Your top 3 sharks - with details
Unread postby OUTCAST on September 18th, 2013, 12:09 am

3) Size: 13.6 Tiger Shark
Bait: Barracuda Filet
Gear: Penn International 50, 60lb mono, 14ft single strand wire, 8/0 Live Bait heavy duty Gamakatsu
Fight: Inhaled the filet, which was on the bottom, and swam up to the boat without knowing she was hooked. When we set the hook she turned on her side and slammed the side of the boat so hard it knocked the rivets out. Fought it for over 3 hours and barely slowed her down. This shark was my first true giant that was around Walters record.
Area: Hilton Head, SC
Time: mid-August, 2002, late morning

2) Size: 15 foot Tiger Shark (my first tiger that I knew would break the record)
Bait: Bonnethead Shark, maybe one third of it.
Gear: Shimano Tiagra 50W, 200lb power pro, 14ft single stran wire, 8/0 Live Bait heavy duty Gamakatsu
Fight: Smoked the bait and had to give chase immediately. The drag on the Tiagra was tight, and she was pouring it out without one stop or small breaks. She swam north, and we chased her through a few nasty breakers and shallow water. 4 hours into it and with all 3 of us taking turns fighting it, I finally grabbed the wire to try and control her which was nearly disastrous. While I had the leader in one hand and trying to turn my camera on with the other, the wire wrapped around my wrist while she was digging down and making another run....I screamed like a girl, yelled help, and somehow the wire slid off my hand just before I went it. My charter (2 pastors) got nervous and recommended I cut her loose. Before I did, I put it all on the table on how rare and "once in a lifetime" animal we had on...I even asked them if they wanted to drag it in and how I was 100% sure it was over 1780lbs. I remember the answer like it was yesterday "The good lord gave us this fish, we'd like to release it back to the sea". They sent me the video of the wire wrapping around me, I studied it that night and deleted it. Lesson learned.
Area: Hilton Head, SC
Time: June, 2007, morning

1) Size: 15ft Tiger, my largest I've ever hooked and landed. This is like no other I've ever seen.
Bait: Sharpnose head
Gear: Shimano Tiagra 50W, 200lb power pro, 14ft single stran wire, 8/0 Live Bait heavy duty Gamakatsu
Fight: Took off like a train with no pauses. We fought this shark for 3 and a half hours with numerous people battling her. To keep it short--when I finally grabbed the wire, it felt like I was stuck on the bottom. Her dead weight was massive. This was the only time I was honestly worried of the damage a shark could do to the boat. I called other boats in to get a look at her size and we debated for 20 mins on whether to haul her in. It would have demolished 1780lbs, but numerous people fought her and that always comes out, especially with kids on the boat. I've caught a lot of Tigers and I had no idea one could get that large.
Area: Hilton Head, SC
Time: June, 2011, late afternoon

The one that got away:
Size: Unknown
Bait: Stingray wing
Gear: Same trusty Shamano 50W set up
Fight: I was trying to get something small for a family I had on the boat, but the small sharks werent chewing. I sent the bigger bait out to try and get anything going, some excitement. The bait was out 15 mins before it got hit and that reel hit a gear I've never heard. It was like a wahoo scream. Typically, when I hit a huge shark, I start to give chase when I see half or three quarters of the spool out depending on the speed. This thing hit so hard that I ran to the front of the boat to release the anchor within the first 20 sec's of the initial hit. My charter was screaming "its going to take all of it" as I was untying the anchor. I yelled back,"no way in hell"...well he was right. As I ran to the wheel to start the motor, I heard the POP. 100% of the line was gone. I got spooled in less than a minute and a half. The reel was so hot you couldnt touch it. I've caught some huge Tigers and Hammers and even chased monsters for 3 or 4 hours only to give up and cut the line, but I've never even come close to getting spooled.
Area: Hilton Head,SC
Time: August, 2012, early afternoon

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