Next fish was a small hardhead catfish. Then 15 minutes later I got another good hit and came to be a bluefish. All fish were caught within 45 minutes.
Monday, May 20, 2013
Flat Bridge Slam! Small Hammerhead Shark!
Hit the flat bridge at night again. Used some frozen ladyfish as cutbait and caught a nice variety. First fish of the night was a small Hammerhead shark that was no bigger than 15" long. Gave him a quick release back in the water so one day this little guy will hopefully grow to be a 12' tarpon eating machine.
Next fish was a small hardhead catfish. Then 15 minutes later I got another good hit and came to be a bluefish. All fish were caught within 45 minutes.
Next fish was a small hardhead catfish. Then 15 minutes later I got another good hit and came to be a bluefish. All fish were caught within 45 minutes.
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Personal Best 6 LB Gafftopsail Catfish - Flat Bridge
Hit the flat bridge with Zack Wednesday night. A little bit of a late start since we arrived at 11:30pm. Tide was slack when we arrived and just starting to move out. Tonight I also got to bring my new pier drop net that was purchased at Gander Mountain. It's a 36" diameter steel ring basket with a 100' of rope. I was definitly hoping to use it for the first time.
The bite was slow tonight for jigging. So nothing to talk about on the jig report. So we cut the ladyfish up and waited. My first cast I got a good run but the fish dropped the bait before I could even grab the rod. Then I get a nice hit and the fish is on. My first instinct tells me it's a shark with the sudden long runs during the fight. Then the moment of truth, I get a look and it's a big sail catfish. My personal best in fact, 6 lb 2 oz! Picture below shows him laying in my 36" drop net.
Before we left, I noticed we still had a whole ladyfish leftover for bait. So I told Zack we're both going to use a 5-6" filet off this thing and see if we can catch a monster on our last cast. I had two nice hits but the hook didn't set, so no fish. I'm starting to question the 8/0 j-hook with all the missed hookups tonight, and next time I'm switching back to circle hooks to see if that makes a difference in my hookup ratio.
Gafftopsail Catfish
Location: Flat Bridge (Port Orange)
Bait: cut ladyfish
Tackle: single strand wire leader - 8/0 Owners SSW Cutting Point Bait Hook
The bite was slow tonight for jigging. So nothing to talk about on the jig report. So we cut the ladyfish up and waited. My first cast I got a good run but the fish dropped the bait before I could even grab the rod. Then I get a nice hit and the fish is on. My first instinct tells me it's a shark with the sudden long runs during the fight. Then the moment of truth, I get a look and it's a big sail catfish. My personal best in fact, 6 lb 2 oz! Picture below shows him laying in my 36" drop net.
Before we left, I noticed we still had a whole ladyfish leftover for bait. So I told Zack we're both going to use a 5-6" filet off this thing and see if we can catch a monster on our last cast. I had two nice hits but the hook didn't set, so no fish. I'm starting to question the 8/0 j-hook with all the missed hookups tonight, and next time I'm switching back to circle hooks to see if that makes a difference in my hookup ratio.
Gafftopsail Catfish
Location: Flat Bridge (Port Orange)
Bait: cut ladyfish
Tackle: single strand wire leader - 8/0 Owners SSW Cutting Point Bait Hook
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
31" Atlantic Sharpnose Shark @ Flat Bridge Monday Night
Had the day off work on Monday as always, so after taking my son Cody to school I headed out to Sleepy Hollow. Tried my favorite spot with no hits. Then decided to leave the holler early and try the flat bridge instead. I think I was just lucky last week with the sleepy hollow flounder because recent reports have been skunky from others in the area. Flat bridge has been HOT though...
First cast on the flat bridge I hook into a small jack but it came off before I could get it over the rails. Using the same white gulp swimming mullet, I kept casting and jigging looking for the school of jacks. Several minutes passed and I finially get another small jack. After trying a couple other spots on the bridge that was it for the day trip.
Suddenly on the way home I get the urge to stop by Gander Mountain and stockup on some shark rigging. You see the last couple weeks I've seen 3 sharks hooked but unable to land. To prevent cutoffs I grabbed some 80lb steel wire leader. I also found an awesome drop net that was only $30 so I picked that up as well. With the new drop net and the wire, I'm not losing anymore sharks!
Night time comes and I get to the flat bridge around 10pm. I made wire leaders earlier in the day so I was ready. First spot I had a good hit on cut jack but somehow the hook popped off during fight. Now I'm not certain but I thought I saw the tail of a shark as it approached the shallow shoreline. But as the fish turned the hook just came out. Ahh! Not cool!
I jigged a white gulp swimming mullet for awhile and caught a few ladyfish. I even caught a 11.75" flounder that was thrown back.
I waited a long time for another hit but nothing. I decided to cut the ladyfish I brought and try dropping it a little past where the ladyfish were steadily feeding. This plan turned out to be very smart. I got a couple nice licks then finially...another fish on and it's pulling very good. I knew it wasn't a stupid catfish. I see my victim and thank god, it's a shark! Now since I'm fishing alone tonight, I didn't bring my new drop net. That would be extremely difficult with one person. But I did have my wire leader. My first attempt to hoist the shark up on the bridge didn't go so well. It didnt make it over the rail and luckily the shark was still on the hook. Second attempt was much better and successfully landed the shark. It came out to be a 31" Atlantic Sharpnose shark. I was going to eat the meat on top of keeping the jaws, but I didn't know you had to clean the fish immediatly after catch. I read that sharks get a really bad smell and taste in the meat if you don't bleed, gut, and filet the shark as quickly as possible. So the meat will probably be used as bait someday, and I'm currently in process of cleaning my first set of shark jaws. I'll post a photo when it's complete.
31" Atlantic Sharpnose Shark
Location: Flat Bridge (Port Orange)
Bait: cut ladyfish
Tackle: single strand wire leader - 8/0 Owners SSW Cutting Point Bait Hook
First cast on the flat bridge I hook into a small jack but it came off before I could get it over the rails. Using the same white gulp swimming mullet, I kept casting and jigging looking for the school of jacks. Several minutes passed and I finially get another small jack. After trying a couple other spots on the bridge that was it for the day trip.
Suddenly on the way home I get the urge to stop by Gander Mountain and stockup on some shark rigging. You see the last couple weeks I've seen 3 sharks hooked but unable to land. To prevent cutoffs I grabbed some 80lb steel wire leader. I also found an awesome drop net that was only $30 so I picked that up as well. With the new drop net and the wire, I'm not losing anymore sharks!
Night time comes and I get to the flat bridge around 10pm. I made wire leaders earlier in the day so I was ready. First spot I had a good hit on cut jack but somehow the hook popped off during fight. Now I'm not certain but I thought I saw the tail of a shark as it approached the shallow shoreline. But as the fish turned the hook just came out. Ahh! Not cool!
I jigged a white gulp swimming mullet for awhile and caught a few ladyfish. I even caught a 11.75" flounder that was thrown back.
I waited a long time for another hit but nothing. I decided to cut the ladyfish I brought and try dropping it a little past where the ladyfish were steadily feeding. This plan turned out to be very smart. I got a couple nice licks then finially...another fish on and it's pulling very good. I knew it wasn't a stupid catfish. I see my victim and thank god, it's a shark! Now since I'm fishing alone tonight, I didn't bring my new drop net. That would be extremely difficult with one person. But I did have my wire leader. My first attempt to hoist the shark up on the bridge didn't go so well. It didnt make it over the rail and luckily the shark was still on the hook. Second attempt was much better and successfully landed the shark. It came out to be a 31" Atlantic Sharpnose shark. I was going to eat the meat on top of keeping the jaws, but I didn't know you had to clean the fish immediatly after catch. I read that sharks get a really bad smell and taste in the meat if you don't bleed, gut, and filet the shark as quickly as possible. So the meat will probably be used as bait someday, and I'm currently in process of cleaning my first set of shark jaws. I'll post a photo when it's complete.
31" Atlantic Sharpnose Shark
Location: Flat Bridge (Port Orange)
Bait: cut ladyfish
Tackle: single strand wire leader - 8/0 Owners SSW Cutting Point Bait Hook
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