If you are only gonna catch one fish....

[anonymouscowherd]

It should put up a decent fight.

@Ninering62 has a fishin' tale too, involving The One That Got Away and a lost rod... or two.

 

[michiganmuzzy]

Is that a shark?

 

[Ninering62]

Is that a shark?

It sure is!

 

[deermanok]

Awesome brother.

 

[Ninering62]

Talk about a " fishing story " heres a good one.
A/C & I made it to the pier well before high tide, it was a perfect day weather wise to be on the water & there were quite few ppl on the pier fishing, including a group of 20-somethings we had fished with a cpl wks ago.
We only had 1 10" whiting & a cpl small crabs ( we caught & froze from last trip ) for bait so it was 1/2 a crab on my expensive pole & cut bait on my 40yr old K-Mart combo that I replaced the POS reel with the first yr I got it bc it went kablooey the first real fish I had on it, with a nice Quantom reel. So I had maybe 75-80.00 in it, but its my fav pole to use & I've fished fresh & salt water with it from up state NY to SC & everywhere in between. I hadn't had nuthin bite either pole.......... until what I figured was either a shark or a Ray suddenly yanks my fav pole right over the railing before I could get to it from sitting 6' away. I had to look like I just crapped myself. Steve had good polarized glasses on, I did not, so he could see where my rod was laying in the shallow water. He took my 400.00 pole that WAS right next to it & used it to hook my pole & retrieve it for me. To say that I was over the moon with joy, would be a huge understatement. Well a few mins later the 2 ppl behind A/C in the pic ( the woman just barely seen on the left ) hooks a 2' Black Tip shark. Then shortly afterward, A/C catches his shark. A few mins later, another pole ( a 400.00 set-up ) belonging to one of the 20-somethings gets yanked right over the railing exactly like mine was. I have been fishing for 57yrs of my 60 & lots of it from piers, I know to set my poles at an angle with 2/3 below the rail & to use an eye as a stop under the rail so things like that don't happen. It didn't stop it that yesterday. Welllll A/C to the rescue again. He takes his pole & hooks that guys expensive pole & gets it back to him. UNBELIEVABLE to everyone on the pier! A/C - super hero pole catcher & shark slayer. I didn't catch much in the way of fish, no crabs, but I had an amazing day on the water with my good friend. We have made it a regular thing to stop & treat ourselves to some super good milkshakes, sometimes with burgers & onion rings, but always milkshakes on the way back home too. We both always look forward to that lil treat too.

 

[anonymouscowherd]

Is that a shark?

Yup, baby atlantic spinner. Many folk think they are small blacktips (duh, there's black on the tips of the fins!) and while blacktips do have those markings, they don't have black on the anal fins (the one my right hand is just up against). As you can see the black on that fin there, that means this is a baby atlantic spinner. They do make good eating, but have to be 54" long here in Florida to keep .... The one the lady behind me in the pic caught was about 30% bigger than this one, still too short though ...

Sometimes you can pick up a new door mat cheap, they come with built in buzzers....



Bonnetheads are the other common shark catch where we were fishing....



But what we seem to consistently target and usually miss are the big drum that come cruising through... Gotta have live shrimp or crabs to get these guys interested... Using cut mullet etc you can also tangle with silver and spotted trout, sand perch, redfish, and whiting. Rare appearances by spanish mackerel, sheepshead, flounder, snook and all the other gulf inshore fish are in theory possible and I've seen most of 'em caught at one time or another over the years....

 

[Va Hunter]

My wife and I were on a head boat out of Va Beach a couple years ago. We caught so many sharks the captain had to move the boat to another location. I bet there were 25-30 at a time hooked.

 

[Ninering62]

My wife and I were on a head boat out of Va Beach a couple years ago. We caught so many sharks the captain had to move the boat to another location. I bet there were 25-30 at a time hooked.

I've fished on head boats & charters out of Va beach & OC Md & they would not let me catch any of the sharks we saw. That sucked bc there were a few big Hammerheads around the boat. All Ive ever caught shark wise were small sandbar sharks

 

[Decay]

What’s a head boat?

 

[deermanok]

When I lived in Connecticut, my buddy and I fished Long Island Sound during the summer. We usually went for blues, stripers and black sea bass.
We always tried to fish either the incoming or outgoing tide for best action. When the tide was flat, all we would catch were sand sharks and skates.

 

[anonymouscowherd]

What’s a head boat?

Also known as party boat, theyll take 20-200 folk out to drop weighted baits straight down onto a wreck or reef or other fish holding structure

Usually have rule on equipment, casting and fish that arent allowed to be brought in due to the average person being stupid

 

[anonymouscowherd]

I've fished on head boats & charters out of Va beach & OC Md & they would not let me catch any of the sharks we saw. That sucked bc there were a few big Hammerheads around the boat. All Ive ever caught shark wise were small sandbar sharks

Get some fresh 50lb one one of those pool cues and winches you call a "fishing rod" in the garage and we may be able to do something about that

We need to plan on night fishing fer it though...

 

[Ninering62]

Get some fresh 50lb one one of those pool cues and winches you call a "fishing rod" in the garage and we may be able to do something about that

We need to plan on night fishing fer it though...

Owwww STOP twisting my arm ok. We're going & its settled !

 

[Ninering62]

Also known as party boat, theyll take 20-200 folk out to drop weighted baits straight down onto a wreck or reef or other fish holding structure

Usually have rule on equipment, casting and fish that arent allowed to be brought in due to the average person being stupid

Yessssss " party boat " they open the onboard bar at 9am. Let the games begin when its Bloody Mary's & beer chaser for breakfast & we're fishing.

 

[Ninering62]

When I lived in Connecticut, my buddy and I fished Long Island Sound during the summer. We usually went for blues, stripers and black sea bass.
We always tried to fish either the incoming or outgoing tide for best action. When the tide was flat, all we would catch were sand sharks and skates.

I'd much rather catch the big chomper Blues like we use to have abundantly in the Chesapeake Bay when I was young, but for eating, I'll take a nice striper or a black sea bass any day of the wk. I've caught many many many of all 3 fish. I will NOT eat Blue Fish, I'd have to go lick the cats a$$ to get that taste outta my mouth.

 

[deermanok]

I agree, never did like eating bluefish.
The little snapper blues aren't bad though.

 

[Ninering62]

I agree, never did like eating bluefish.
The little snapper blues aren't bad though.

I still won't eat them, but even them lil guys fight like a fish possessed & thats what I really love.

 

[deermanok]

I still won't eat them, but even them lil guys fight like a fish possessed & thats what I really love.

I tell people that you haven't fished until you caught a blue.

 

[Shorty]

We use to go out of Montauk point long island on the viking fleet. Fill beer coolers with cod and pollock fillets. Now thats good eating.

 

[Ninering62]

We use to go out of Montauk point long island on the viking fleet. Fill beer coolers with cod and pollock fillets. Now thats good eating.

You're right, both fish are outstanding table fare & if ya get lucky enough to get on a headboat mostly full of cool ppl that are about fishing, partying & generally having fun, its a blast. Deep water wreck fishing is fun too, lots of friggin snags & broke off lines though - always. And when the sharks zero in, you'll see lots of - half fish get pulled up.