Report submitted by 'Shindle'
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Mega FL Surf Report
Gulf Coast, Florida
August 11-17th, 2005
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Here's a couple shots of the 8'11'' male lemon caught and released
Thurs eve at midnight...The second photo is a pic of some strange orange
catfish that Corby caught on a snickers bar...We think it might be called
a mandarin blubberfish but need some help with a positive ID....Fri we hit
the everglades and dodged serious lightining. Jeff jumped two tarpon and
Corby and Dave caught small snook. We went back to Wiggins after dark where
Corby had a screaming run/drop....The fish came back and really sang this
time only to be dropped again...At midnight we had a double run where Corby
caught his nurse and my fish took off towards Cuba. The fish never slowed
and ran for 7-8 minutes before the tail touched the relatively short leader
of 6'...The big fish always seem to hit the small rod.
Jeff and I shark fished Wiggins Pass again the other night.
After a number off missed tarpon and sharks we got a blistering run on a
small jack. We saw the fish jumping in the calm water under a bright moon
and figured it was another tarpon....instead I pulled this up on the beach.
This is where the story gets interesting...We decided to release
this big old beast and I spent a few minutes reviving her in the shallow
water while Jeff took some pictures. Suddenly something catches Jeff's eye
behind me. He shouts and I turn to see a big wake and dorsal fin appear out
of the moonlight not 10 yards from us and only about five feet off the beach!
I gave the cuda a push and scrambled for the sand. In an instant the bomb
went off ! I've never seen such an explosion in shallow water...within seconds
the water calmed and we were left with our jaws dropped in amazement. Overall
good interesting night.
We move down to the Everglades. Caught my first tarpon finally,not
a monster (yet ) but fun on light tackle . Jeff and I were fishing the canals
off the Tamiami Trail in Big Cypress Preserve by the everglades. Also caught
a 7' gator by accident ( no pics ).
Tues night we tried a new spot south of the pass. Though we
got two runs, our baits including stingray were vaporized by reef fish. Wed
we went back to the pass. This time the casting gear stayed home and the
big gear accompanied us to the beach along with a kayak. We had the place
to ourselves and strong storms offshore kept boat traffic to a nil. First
out was half of a stingray on a 6/0 wide.
Though there was a little chop due to storm outflows kayaking
was a piece of cake compared to running baits in the normally rough Texas
surf.
The 12/0 was rigged with the other half of the ray and was quickly
run as well. Both baits were dropped in a deep, large ''bowl'' south of the
pass.
As we sat on the beach I couldn't help but think of the fish
that ate our cuda and of what other sharks lurked near the pass. after a
couple of hours we heard the unmistakable sound of the 6/0 scream. After
free spooling for what seemed like an eternity the fish dropped the bait.
We let the bait sit and in a few minutes he was back. This time I hammered
him and was solidly hooked up. The tide was still incoming and the fish headed
for the channel. I put the brakes on him and we slugged it out for awhile
in the moonlight. After I wore him down Jeff grabbed him and pulled him onto
the beach. Another Lemon shark this one a male just over 9' long. We took
some photos and back he went , but not before b*tch slapping me in the face
with his tail.
The 6/0 was re-deployed and we kicked back on the beautiful
beach at Wiggins...Shark fishing is often a game of waiting. Sometimes it
is years of waiting...This time it was mere minutes, and the 12/0 began a
slow tick- tick as a fish moved off with the bait. I let her run under a
light drag and then the line went slack.This fished messed with us for what
seemed like an eternity. So much so that fearing the bait was gone or destroyed
I reeled it in to check it. As the bait neared the beach we both could see
that the shark, a large one, had followed the bait to the beach. We could
see the large shadow turn and disappear back into the gloom.We had spooked
her. There was no choice but to get back in the kayak and drop the bait again
- and it would be creepy. Within minutes the fish was back and the 12/0 took
off. I cranked down the drag and reeled furiously to catch up to her as she
ran towards me. The line came tight this time and I slammed her hard a number
of times. FISH ON! Then she turned and ran hard straight out. For those of
you that have never been strapped to a fish on a 12/0 it is a wonderful feeling.
This was a strong fish but I knew if I kept her hooked she didn't have a
chance vs the 12/0.
After a valiant effort to escape she showed at the beach. We
manuevered her into position and this time it took both of us to pull her
up for a photo. The second fish in an hour, another hot water Lemon, a female
of 9' 3''.
I was feeling pretty stoked by now.Here we were, two brothers
who have fished their whole life still feeling the same excitement that we
did years ago...We got her going and sent her back to the deep. Cool.Thanks
Richman for tech help.
9 foot male Lemon
9 foot 3 inch female Lemon
Here are a few shots from this last weekend in Naples...
Here's one of about 20 small snook we caught while kayaking Clam Pass
A ''typical'' Spanish of the trip vs 28'' smoker
Watch your step!
A little Batfish that Jeff caught by hand...
Some old Scallywag catching bait caveman style...
Another moonlight ''tarpon'' that ate a live mullet and
turned into a 'cuda...This one went into Jeff's freezer as monster bait.
Thanks to my bros Jeff, David, and Corby for a great time. Thanks
also to Terri, Kat, and little Zane for the fun. See ya back on Bigshell
soon friends.
What an incredible trip...Adios. - Shindle
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