Report submitted by 'Oz'

PINS 4/20 Solo Tiger Report Padre Island National Seashore, TX April 20th, 2010 Tweet

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Well I just got back to Texas and saw a forecast window with great possibilities. Scott and I hit BHP Sunday/Monday to take a look and analyze the surf and to see what is moving and being caught. There were mass schools of cownose moving through and Scott scored some Cownose from a young lad courtesy of a minty green Andrew Jackson. With the water looking as good as it did, I had made my decision. I am rolling down the beach. Regardless of the weed, horrible driving, and other hazards, I am going!

I left Monday evening to hit it on a low tide. Curtis was going to meet up with me the next day. Upon arrival, grass was all over the beach and driving did suck... not so much 4wd as it was slow. I get down past Big Shell and decide to wait until the morning so I can see and drive til I see something I like. Somewhere past the high-banks I had the front passenger side tire get nailed by something. Didn't notice til the morning but the tire was indeed flat and I had to change to my other spare (already had one spare on until I get back off the beach).

The surf was looking decent... pretty clear and fairly calm. Sun was just breaking out. Things seemed to be shaping up despite the plethora of sargassum that just washed up.

Due to the tire issue and not having another spare, I decided to play it safe and not go down south or even to the jetties like I had wanted. However, I did find an area with some good looking water and as minimal amount of present weed as possible. I set up camp and thaw a few baits and slowly get rigged up. There was too much weed in the wade and first gut to cast baits or catch bait, so what I have is what I got. I immediately ran out a couple mini 5lb Jacks and couple small slabs of cownose. 4 Baits out, things are looking good.

My only worry was that the water was too clear and with the conditions to calm more, the water would also clear even more. Curtis finally drives up. He notices the weed and is not too optimistic. Too be honest not sure I was either. However my baits were out and out far and holding. I was determined to stay and dedicate this trip to sharks regardless of how much I wanted to kayak fish. Curtis with great concern decided he was just going to meet up with Kevin at the jetties and I quote "I'll be back here later on tonight"... and again "I'll be back here later on tonight". Anyhow, Curtis leaves me and I am left relaxing with baits out... by myself as I have done countless other times. About an hour later one of the cownose baits gets hit. I hop on the platform and see the shark breach... guaranteed Blacktip... hell, I could've called it before I even ran the bait.

Not real lengthy, but very fat. A 5'8" female that was about to pup any day. Get a couple pics and release her to get on her way.

I kayak another small bait out... with that glimmer of hope that maybe a Scalloped Hammer or something 'cool' would pick it up. Have baits out again and it is early afternoon. I get a visitor. A lil' Beach Sparrow flies over and hangs out... ALL DAY. Heck, it even ate some scraps from some of cownose. Very interesting. I swear this bird would follow me around and be quite curious. I would climb the ladder on the platform and then he would jump on the ladder and look up towards me. I would go rig a bait, and he would fly over and hop around on the ground to watch me. It was my own lil' parrot... I called him 'Jack'... get it? Nevermind.

Anyhow, as the late afternoon goes on I decide to thaw out a grander Jack and make two Rockstar Baits out of it...

Around 6:30-7:00pm I kayak out and switch the baits on two of the rods. On another I run out a large central cavity of Cownose. As I am out there, the tide is going out pretty good and I am concerned as I see the weed (mostly dead) work its way from the 1st gut and head offshore. My lines are high up, straight as an arrow, and 500yds minimum. So far things look good and I'll just keep my fingers crossed hoping the weed doesn't wreak havoc later in the night. I do end up running one closer bait about 250yds just to test the ability to keep it out. So far so good on that one too. Actually, after an hour that bait actually gets hit but the fish ends up dropping it.

As darkness falls, things are looking good. I have 3 big baits out, and they are staying out. There is a train of Mullet running the beach but not much action behind them. Still, I have a good feeling. Around 8:00pm I get all dry and a change of clothes. Several minutes later, I decide that I am going to start cooking... and if Curtis shows up then he'll just get the leftovers :twisted: ... Grilled Beach Chicken... haven't done that one in a while. Usually though it results in some fiery inferno as a rod goes off and I usually forget about it.

It is about 8:45-9:00pm and the Avet goes slack. Damn... thought I got cut off. I hop up on the platform and start to reel in the slack. Welllll it's not cut... could it be a Bull coming in with it?? I catch up to it, then it turns around and begins to head offshore slowly. Hmmmmmm... I let it go for a few seconds and then hammer the fish with the hookset. Yeah baby... Game On!. Whatever it is, it has about a 10lb head section of Jack in its mouth and dragging a godzilla weight... this has to be a good fish. It keeps taking line at a slow pace... have yet to get any back. Then all of a sudden something happens... history repeats itself. I begin to hear something other then the drag of my reel... I look behind me and the grill and my entire chicken dinner is engulfed in a flaming fireball! NOooooooooooooo! Not again! It is one of those rare times when you have to choose between your dinner or battling an epic fish. Hmmmm, fish wins this round. I continue fight the fish for a couple more minutes while my beach chicken lit up the night sky.

After a few more seconds and shooting grease flames from the grill, I decide I have to put the rod up for a second just long enough to hop down and remove the propane canister from the grill to prevent any real fireworks from going off. I do it and get back up on the platform and strapped in. Dammit Curtis, where the hell are you... Anyway, the fish slowly stops taking line. I still have a fair amount of braid on the 50W so not worried about the Ozinator getting spooled just yet. After a couple more minutes I turn the fish and it begins to come in slow. I had the drag as tight as I was wanting to push it, trying to horse that fish in now. She is coming in... slow and steady. I do the constant cranking routine for several more minutes and the fish is right around the 3rd bar now.

Soon I realize something is different. I can't feel the fish... actually can't feel much. Did I lose it? I continue to get line at a slow rate. If the fish did spit the bait, then at least the godzilla weight or 14/0 hooks from the bait would drag or catch in the sand, however that is not the case. I have a suspicion that the shark may be wrapped up in the leader. Still I have no idea what it is... Tiger.. Bull.. Lemon... who knows. It could be a sabertoothed kraken for all I know. Regardless, I have to get this fish in... if indeed it is still on there.

I get the fish in close, then finally into the 1st gut... I noticed the line starting to move back and forth a bit... there is definitely a fish on there. I get it close enough and see it freak out and tailkick the surface... Good fish. A few seconds later I put the rod up and hop down and run over to the leader. I am on the first bar at a low tide and see the leader... and see a tail... a BIG tail. I'm starting to think now, putting the pieces together. Before I even know what the fish really is, I already know. I get closer and with the crystal clear water I can see just enough. The lights from the rack/platform are lighting up the beach but the fish is just on the outer edge of the beam. The headlamp will have to suffice. As I start to get the leader, my suspicions are confirmed... TIGER. Nice fish.. fat fish. She is wrapped all up in the leader. Fortunately she is still kicking and pissed off... unfortunately she is still kicking and pissed off... and I'm having to handle it solo. Not having immediate access to a tail rope, I just grab the tail and pull her just enough out of the wade gut to where I can deal with her. A couple of crashing waves help push her up for me. After a few deep breaths, she is landed. April Tiger baby!

First thing I do is run to the truck to get some cutters to chop away at the leader. Probably had to make 10 different cuts for she was all wrapped up in the 25' leader. It looks like she was just wrapped up and luckily no harm to her. It really did help with the landing process. However, with not expending much energy the last half of the fight, she is still green and compared to my other Tigers, much more ferocious. After removing the leader I am left with the drop in the mouth. 14/0 J in the corner of the mouth... perfect hook placement. No blood loss either which is a positive thing. Maybe I can pull this thing off just yet. I get the cutters and cut the cable at the hook simply giving it to her.

I give her the hook and she begins freaking out again. Man, fat fish. Tremendous girth. I run back and get the measuring tape... The tape itself is 10' with a couple inches to spare. Since this fish is still in the water, I can't place a stationary object on top of it near the head to measure, too much water movement. I try though. Every time I would attempt the tape would slide from underneath the pliers. One thing was certain, it was bigger than the 10' 2" tape itself. I still couldn't get an accurate measure by myself though... not with the fish in the water. While all logic in my head tells me a fairly accurate estimation of this fish was about 10-1/2', I can't 100% verify it. Therefore I'll have to just stick with a confirmed 'at least' measurement of 10' 2". The shear size of the fish I believe is at least as big, more than likely bigger than the 10' 6" I caught two years ago. This fish was definitely fatter. A true brute bitchhh probably full of pups.

I run back to the truck one last time to put up the pliers and tape and look for a tag... the tags are all buried away somewhere...screw it, I don't have time, the fish don't have time. I grab a cinder block I brought with for a breakoff-weight and use it as a stand for the camera. Fortunately the G10's have a single button accessible through the underwater housing which allows you to set the self timer shutter. I set it for 10 seconds and I quickly take three separate pics, two which turned out.

Uno Mas..

The fish is still flopping around and I'm trying to be careful for it not to take me out by its tail. As things are going smooth as can be with all things considering, I grab a couple more quick pics.

Here's looking at you kid...

I decide since I can't get an accurate length measurement, I'll get a good girth measurement. That ended up being a good idea at any rate. Went fast and easy, and she went 71"... friggin Toad.

One last pic as I walk away and put up the camera and tape...

I get back over to the shark. Now this is where I really needed an extra individual... aka Curtis. I grab her by the tail but can't get her to turn around.. too damn big. Luckily she starts to flop around and gets closer to the drop-off into the gut. Her body is finally turned around and I can try to pull her out from the base of the tail, which is pretty damn large I might add. I still can't budge her. Over the past few years I have packed on some weight and got increasingly stronger... stronger now then any other time in my life. Yet, I can't move her. This fish is heavy. I try with all my might and get an inch at a time. Fortunately I get a few rogue waves coming in that allow the buoyancy of the fish to move ever so slightly. Man, this is going to be tough.

A couple more waves and in a 1' of water I can begin to barely move her. I had to get the fish back in... failure is not an option. I expend all my energy and the Shark Gods are on my side as I am finally able to get the fish on the edge of the gut and turned around. She is kicking like crazy but I wanted to make sure I get her just far enough to where she won't beach herself by accident. And this is the other part where I wish I had another hand... this time for the video camera. With the dark night sky lighting up the unusually CLEAR emerald water of the gut, I pushed the Tiger off and you could see her swimming in the gut due to the extraordinarily clear water clarity. To see her swim off and head offshore and over the 2nd bar was something that I wish so much could have been captured on video, however no celluloid frame of film can capture the raw moment as much and as vividly as actually being there and having the experience burnt into the salty fibers of your brain.

While this was not the most epic fight in the world, the challenges I was faced with alone were paramount and how I handled the situation from the beginning (along with a bit of luck) helped determined the outcome. This was truly another amazing moment on the beach. It was a night, like so many other nights I've spent alone on the beach with big baits out. However, this one resulted in a confrontation where I would cross paths face to face with a beast. Miles away from any civilization, or people period, and within the night's April sky... anything can happen. Seeing the fish swim off was an exceptional feeling.

As I walk back to the truck I am and relieved, thrilled, and fortunate all wrapped up in one. I take a look and analyze the bait. No bite marks. She took it and tried to down the whole thing. What Scott and I often refer to as a 'potato chip' bait for a fish like that.

I also get back and take a look at my carbonized dinner... yeah, it's toast!

Luckily I always bring enough food and water to last me a week in case something happens. I make up a quick dinner and look over all the rods before I finally hit the sac. Tiger night has concluded... or has it?

Around 3:30am I am awakened as the truck gets rocked... this time the Super-6 with that tail section of Jack. The reel slowly starts taking line... slowlyyyyy. After a minute the fish drops it. Hopefully it will come back. I waited and went to sleep. I woke up in the morning, and needless to say that bait never got picked up again. I brought it in and saw it had been bit twice... from the leader side. Not the first time this has happened but always curious as to why it happens. Anyhow, the shark grabbed it once, the bit it once more in half.

With the forecast predicted to pick up, I was planning on getting off the beach later that day. But with big Sharks around... I had to role the dice and put more baits back out. I rig a small whole Jack and put it back out on the 50W. I also run a couple other baits along with a slab of cownose. Baits are finally back out.

With the water being as super clear as it was, I knew the chances of a shark picking up a bait were slim. But I wanted to keep baits out for a Hammer. A beach Hammer really is my goal for the year. But like I said, I know my chances were slim to none but thought it would be worth it to kill a few hours with baits out. Around 5pm I decide to bring everything in. The only thing touched was the slab of cownose, which the shark missed the hook by just a fraction...

Looked to be a Bull or a Blacktip... oh well. I'm happy. Great trip regardless. I get everything put away and the truck packed. I also noticed birds working heaving about 3/4 mile offshore. They've been working hard for nearly 2 hours now. The wind is also cranking hard. I decide to get in the kayak and chase them down... maybe I can bring home a Jack or something. I finally get out there and tried keeping up a couple of times, the wind was just getting brutal and blowing me around though. The culprits underneath the birds were Bonita (Little Tunny). They move fast and have to keep up with them if you want to stand a chance. I was tired and the they were moving faster than I was so I headed back to shore. As I get back, Kevin drives up. He is heading off the beach after an iron man trip of his own, being down there for 4 days. Him, and Curtis were just recently hammering the crap out of the Reds. They said it was bonkers down there. Despite what action they may have had, I wouldn't trade anything in the world for the experience that I endured the previous evening. I pack up the kayak and follow Kevin off the beach hoping for no more flats.

This trip was monumental to me for several reasons. One, it tested me physically and mentally when I was alone. It also helped me decide what I can and can't do. I'm not sure I would want to have another solo encounter with a fish of that size and scale again. Luckily things panned out well for both myself and the fish. Another Texas beach Tiger goes in the books. Even if only at 10' 2", the formulated weight with this girth is a hefty 600lbs... no small guppy. This is and always has been the fish I have always pursued. Seeing each one and sharing that encounter is nothing shy of priceless. One thing is certain, the more you do something and get in routine, the better you are at it. You will NOT likely catch your monster you are seeking unless you put in your due time and effort. I have now been lucky to have caught Texas Tigers in the months of March, April, July, and September. I guess we'll just have to see what May and June has in store :twisted:

See you one the sand (if the weed ever moves out)

-Oz

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