Flat Bridge Report 8/29

Hit the flat bridge last night from 10pm to midnight. Still trying to find the ladyfish pretty much all week but haven't had any luck. I know they are still hanging around the area but they are shy on the bite. The ladyfish are used primarily for sharking, it's my #1 bait for sharks in fact. I think every shark I've caught, besides bonnetheads, has been on cut ladyfish. Alot of times I go to the flat bridge to specifically target ladyfish for the bait freezer. I'm probably the only person there that wants to catch a ladyfish LOL.

Intel from locals that fish the flat bridge often are catching a few small ladyfish, trout, flounder, and now some small snook have made an abundant appearance recently. My online friend "fishnfool" fishes the flat bridge just about every morning at 4am to sunrise. He says most days the bite only lasts about 20 minutes and then shuts down. He has been catching some ladyfish too, so I know they are in the area.

So last night I returned with the same agenda but unfortunately yet again I couldn't get the ladyfish to bite. I tried several spots around the bridge lights and only came up with an undersized flounder that got a release. It was caught on the DOA mullet paddletail. During the last couple weeks the needlefish have found a new home around the bridge lights too. Those annoying fish can easily snip the tails off my plastic bait, rendering them useless. Hopefully the needlefish depart soon so I'm not spending so much money on soft plastic baits!

Saturday Night Sharkin' - Bethune Beach

Another night trip to Bethune Beach with Zack. We arrived before midnight and setup two rods, both baited with cut crevalle jack. The action was very slow most of the evening, in fact, only a few small bites but nothing was hooking. I didn't catch anything but my friend Zack caught another 3' Atlantic Sharpnose shark at the end of the night. The fight was disappointing though, it really didn't fight at all. It pretty much came in without any aggresive runs. The shark swallowed the hook and was already bleeding out when it came on the beach. So I began the process of cutting and gutting the shark for the cooler. We had to packup to ice down the shark so we ended up leaving a little earlier than planned. Here's Zacks shark on the beach...

Wednesday Night Shark! 37" Atlantic Sharpnose

Took my two friends Kyle and Zack to the Bethune Beach last night and had a blast again! Armed with ladyfish, each of us had a chance at a toothy shark tonight. The first hit came on Kyle's rod but it didn't stick to the hook. It quickly came off after a brief battle. Next turn was Zack. He had just casted and was about to put his pants back on...wait wait...let me explain this. We typically wear long pants and shoes on the beach at night because of the no-see-ums and mesquitos. They can be really annoying and uncomfortable during the summer. So everytime we cast our lines out, we take off our pants leaving our boardshorts on so we can get wet. Once the rod is set in the sand spike, we dry our legs off to put the long pants back on. You have to keep exposed skin to a minimum during the summer nights in Florida. =)

So back to the story, as I was saying it was Zacks turn. He had just casted his line out and dried off. As he was putting his pants on, his rod gets a bend. This is the crucial moment where you have to rush to the rod. Needless to say, Zack was a little delayed in getting to the rod with his pants around his ankles haha. The bite didn't stick unfortunately and the fish was gone.
And finially, it was my turn. My rod gets a good lick and I immediately feel the battle. During retrieve it tangles lines with another rod, but I still successfully got it in. It was a 37" Atlantic Sharpnose shark! And to top it off, Zack and Kyle untangled the lines without cutting anything off. It took them a good 10-15 minutes, but they got it figured out.