learning experience-or-'gotta be tough if your'e dumb'

[xtheline]

-channel 2 this weekend, a wide 6/0 spooled w/80 pp and a top shot of 80 mono, custom 8ft rod and about a ten lb. chunk of tarpon. Flipped it out and after only 10 or 15 min. clickzzzzzz. flip the lever, wait a second to let him stretch the mono then whip, set the hook. Oh no! drag not properly set, lousy hook set, adjust drag and set again. Is he still there? Pull crank, pull crank he dropped it. now I can see my 10 lb Tarpon chunk on top fluttering in the current about 30 yards in front. Suddenly my entire group lets out a collective ' Holy Sh_t!' when we see this huge bull shark on the surface about 20 ft behind my bait. I hear, 'drop it back! he's still lookin for it, faster faster!' In free spool I start feeding line as fast as I can and in a matter of seconds I'm thumbing spool because line is peeling off. I know this was a mistake because of the blister on my thumb, lesson learned. Good hook set this time and in a couple of seconds 150yd mono top shot is gone and power pro is flyng off the reel. Figured out rather quickly that if I touch the PP when it is flying off the reel, my friends would have to pick my fingers up off the deck and ice them till they could be reattached.
battle now underway, walk backwards on bridge and wind as I skitter forward. Now I learn that Penn 6/0 really torques to the right when under big pressure. If left hand grip is not solid on rod then handle wants to pivot towards the ground. Maybe I can modify top grip on rod before someone convinces me to invest in a $600.00 reel.
Oh yeah, hand on reel grip...good. Touching star drag....bad. Wow that was warm. we did not have any warm water at the ready so we did not quench the reel for fear of seizing it.
Anyhow about forty or fourty five minutes he went from one power pole to the other trying to get around, stalemate, then he'd turn back around and the fight would be on again. I dont know how he did not break off except the angle of the line looked high enough that he was rubbing it on clean concrete around the poles instead of the barnacle encrusted stuff near the water line.
my buddy and I switched off on the rod a couple of times by now. last time off the power pole and my buddy starts getting line back pretty good. Is this it? is he finally whipped? are we gonna' see this bad boy up close and personal? He must have been on or near the top right in the channel. Cause just then a boat went by and I could see my buddy jerk backwards.He cut us off! That S.O.B. cut us off! After all that!
To tell you the truth, after all that, I was too tired to be very upset. I was just happy to have done battle with such a magnificent creature! Now he's still free to do what he does and I'm replaying the whole thing in my mind, remembering his moves and looking at what I can do to improve my big fish skills. I want to have that experience again, painfull and addictive, yessir!
Iv'e never targetted big sharks before, but you can bet whenever I'm in the keys, I'll soak a big bait.
And I can honestly say I have a newfound respect for you sharkfishers. Your tackle, your rigging, your angling skills... and your chiropractors. Gettin'em to eat is easy, landin'em takes skill.
So, if any of you real sharkfishers would like to volunteer a few tips, or offer some advice to a novice...I'm all ears!

[SHARKBOY]

whne shark fishing what ever you got u use it for bait

[xtheline]

actually did use mack, got hit quick and and after a minute the wire was sheared. second one same result after just a minute or so mono was cut. lots of structure there. out of macks so third time used what was available, someone else had caught a poon, it was already cut up and they offered it for a bait.

[TarponKing]

Thats illegal

[Cookinman]

[quote="xtheline"] Maybe I can modify top grip on rod before someone convinces me to invest in a $600.00 reel. [quote]

IF ya do, can I buy that 6/0 for what you paid for it?......
GREAT Story !!!!!

[fishnfool73]

Don't let the man catch you flipping out tarpon without a kill tag big fine if he doesn't just take you to jail.

[xtheline]

lesson learned on the choice of bait. Someone offered it and taking it was poor judgement. Thanx to those of you kind enough to point that out. Wouldn't want to make more work for the 'man' I'm sure he can stay busy without me. and while on the subject I'm not the kind of person who takes the law lightly. I carry a law stick in my tackle bag. I do not harvest undersize fish or take fish out of season and don't normally use sportfish for bait.

mistake made, error pointed out, behavior modified.


Cookinman, the reel perfomed great! the angler may have been a little deficient skillwise. I dont see myself letting go of it even if I do buy a bigger reel. It was a nice deal on a great wide 6/0 and I have stormrunner to thank for the experience. sorry man

[fishnfool73]

XTHELINE Didn't mean to imply that you were a bad guy or anything as I have meet you and know this not to be so. Just don't want you to get jammed up over bait. Try an Accurate handle for the 6/0

[xtheline]

fishnfool73, no offense taken, I know you were just lookin' out. I'll take a look at that accurate handle, thanx

[Team rebel]

accuhandles are good stuff....and as for the tarpon as bait....any body who has sharked hardcore has doen is despite what they tell ya...watch ur back out there or anywhere man gamewarden are bad azz guys..night vision and everything...thinkin about goin to school for it myself actually