my buddy caught 2 sandsharks off the beach on pavilion in long branch.i know a lot of people surf there,so watch out for sharks.i caught a few stripers over the fall,nothing worth bragging about.
I was on my boat trolling umbrellas in the bay with my son when he was 6 and hooked into something bigger than usual. he couldnt pull the rod from the holder during the initial run so I hand him the rod after adjusting the drag a little looser so the fish doesn't rip the rod out of his hands. He cranks forever and then the line goes limp, im watching and I realize the fish is coming straight at us. i look over the side of the boat and see this bass that trumped my personal best (42lbs) by 10 pounds easy swimming by with our umbrella and another bass about a ten pounder playing tug a war with the big one. My son looks at it and goes wide eyed. Im like reeeeeeel reeel reeeeeeel !!!!! he fights the sea rake full o bass for like 5 more min and comes up with just the ten pounder. He was so psyched I didnt have the heart to tell him the big one came off. I convinced him what he was left with was the cow we saw swim by.
Im no fisherman by any means, but I mess around sometimes and have fun. Couple months ago, my restaurant was closed for a few repairs and my AGM and I went out on the dock and fished for about 40 minutes. We caught a total of 11 sting rays in 40 minutes. It was nuts. I think a few black tips bit but they took the line with them... I have no luck fishing round here. I am a sting ray magnet. about 8 years ago, my friends and I were fishing off the OB pier and couldnt catch ANYTHING. these asian dudes next to us were pulling up Mackerel and bass every 10 seconds... After about 30 minutes, some elderly, obviously drunk Irishman came up to us, asked if we wanted help. He caught a Mackerel in about 20 seconds, fileted it down and explained that the fish we wanted were canibals basically. We used Mackerel as bait for the next hour and I swear, every 10 seconds we were hooking something... We had a full cooler within an hour... It was nuts how easy it is if you know what you are doing. Thanks to whoever that old man was. He was a fishing pimp.
It was Summer and the beach was packed. I was hanging with my girlfriend and decided to go for a body surf. The waves were 1-2, the water was clean and warm. I was standing in belly deep water and noticed all of the people south of me were quickly exiting the water like dominos coming toward me. I new something on the bigger side, must have been swimming north along the beach. I couldn't see much until the last couple of people (guys) bailed. I could now see that it was not a shark, so I hung tight. F*ck it right? I waited for it to swim by in front of me, and all in one motion I dropped into a Sumo squat, wrapped my left arm under and around it's head while wrapping my right arm over and around it's tail, pulled it tight to my chest, and started backing up fast toward the sand. Basically, I insta-yolked this fish with a death grip and dragged it out of the ocean before it knew what was happening. It was a huge Black Drum. MOST of the people in the immediate area came running over including the life guards. The guards were yelling "everybody back" repeatedly. They didn't know what to say to me, or do. That was amusing. I just smiled and did my thing. I already had the Drum laid out on some groms Mach 77 boogie board. The head and tail were completely hanging over both ends. I put it at 85+ pounds. A lot of people took pictures but the friggin guards wouldn't let anyone get close enough to be in them, except me obviously. There was one person on the beach completely oblivious to the mass of commotion, engulfed in some slutty book. This person had a camera too. How do I know? It was my oblivious girlfriend. Anyway, I didn't keep this fish and I got it back in the water fairly quickly. I hung out with the Drum in the ocean for a few, pulling water through it's gills and petting it. Once the fish was good to go, it swam straight out to sea and everybody clapped. The end. I swear on my quiver this is all true. I still can't believe it myself.
I enjoy salt water fishing, but there's something to be said for cooking up fresh caught rainbow trout over an open fire during a backpacking trip in the Sierras. Been a long time time since I last did that, but it was some of the best fish I ever ate.
A few years ago, I was walking down the beach with my girlfriend. Off in the distance, we noticed a large crowd had gathered in front of a beach access. As we grew nearer, we could see a lady explaining "there is a beached whale, she's dying." Another man yelled "is anyone here a marine biologist?" That's when my girlfriend looked at me and said "save the whale, dlrouen…..for me." I started to walk into the water. I won't lie to you, boys, I was terrified! But I pressed on - and as I made my way past the breakers, a strange calm came over me. I don't know if it was divine intervention or the kinship of all living things, but I tell you, at that moment - I was a Marine Biologist! The sea was angry that day, my friends, like an old man trying to send back soup in a deli! I got about fifty feet out and suddenly, the great beast appeared before me. I tell ya, he was ten stories high if he was a foot. As if sensing my presence, he let out a great bellow. I said, "Easy big fella!" And then, as I watched him struggling, I realized that something was obstructing its breathing. From where I was standing I could see directly into the eye of the great fish! Then, from out of nowhere a huge title wave lifted, tossed like a cork and I found myself on top of him face-to-face with the blow-hole. I could barely see from all the waves crashing down on top of me but I knew something was there so I reached my hand and pulled out the obstruction!
I bet it was good. Fresh, salt, any fish story qualifies. Sh*t, I don't care if you were catching Sunny's as long as something out of the ordinary happened.
This washed up a little over a week ago in my neighborhood: Does anyone know what this is? I thought it was an Atlantic Sturgeon, but apparently not. I didn't take the photo and wasn't on the scene. It was about 3ft long.
Little vague on the timing, circa 1980, at one of the beach clubs in northern Sea Bright. 7-8 foot Mako swims right up and beaches itself right next to the swimming section. Obviously, a lot of panicked bathers sprint out of the ocean. Lifguards try to push it back into the drink with big wooden oars, but thing keeps coming right back up on the beach. I remember some moron dropping a big hopkins lure in it's mouth from the end of his rod, and the shark just snapping the leader. Eventually they just dragged it up the beach a bit, and called the cops. There was a big crowd around the shark touching the tail, fins, etc. At some point a woman asked the cop, "Aren't you gonna get those people away from the shark, tha's gotta be dangerous." His reponse, "Lady, I am not getting any closer to that thing then I have to." Hours later, the shark is assumed dead, and the crowd dwindled. At some point, a few of the guards went to stick a big slab a wood under it's head to get a better look at the jaws, and the thing took a big bite out of the wood. Again, a long time ago, and the memory a little foggy, but those are the highlights I recall.
I used to love it when one of the charter captains would bring in a big shark. There was one (can't remember who) my Dad knew that would drag them backwards on the way in, then throw them on the dock. All the tourists would gather around thinking it was dead then the mate would sneak up with a pole and poke it in the eye and the thing would go beserk. They got a good laugh at all the screaming tourists.
I was surfing the jetties at Pawley's island, SC, waiting for a wave when I saw a shark fin in the distance. I sat there watching it as it came closer, headed straight for me. The water was muddy, but when it was about 3 feet from me, I could see it was a 5 foot hammerhead. I pulled up my legs and the shark ducked right under my board, popped up on the other side, and kept swimming away. I slowly paddled in.
Sharks take a long time to die when they come out of the water unless they are killed. Usually shotgun, or dragged backwards so they cant breath otherwise they can live an hour+ if not. From being around boats and docks my whole life i can say that most shark "attacks" or injuries to people that Ive seen has been from dead sharks or sharks presumed dead. I cant tell you how many people ive seen get their hand cut or sliced or even caught in a sharks mouth after the head was already cut off when we are cleaning it. Everyone assumes that they can just rip a sharks tooth out by hand and that there is no danger once the sharks heads been removed. Wrong!!! Just last year I had to open the jaws of a 250 lb mako to get some 13 yr old boys hand out, the head was sitting to the side of a cutting board when he wanted a tooth. opened the jaws stook his hand in and it closed immediately down on it. Cut his hand up good but no serious injury because it was just the sharks muscle memory and rigor but he shrieked like a 6 yr old girl and his parents freaked. I just asked them if they thought it was a bright idea to stick your hand in a sharks mouth?
Waitaminute! Northendcanyon=livesurffish??? If that's the 57 pounder caught in NH this story is sounding a little "fishy." That pic with the bass was definitely taken at the Va. Beach Fishing Center.
I do remember, that they were saying the jaws could still move and react, so they were very cautious in putting the wood under its head. Even so, scared the crap out of everyone when it actually happened.
