ultimate shark joke

[quack quack]

Has any one seen that ultimate shark tourney on OLN.?They are in Southern Cali.I saw it for the first time last night and laughed my butt off.How some one did not die I have no idea.I am sure all the professionals in the area hate that show.Most of the guys on the show have no clue about handling fish at boatside.They all acted like it was the first time they had a gaff in there hands.When the guy said he was going to use his overhead tomahawk chop to gaff the fish I almost spit out my drink.I saved the show so my friends could get a laugh to.About 5 guys almost get pulled in or fall in.Even when weighing the big Mako the pulley broke and almost took out some people on the dock.One guy refused to let go of the wire on a botched gaff shot and not only almost got pulled in but broke the fish off after the swivel got pulled through his hands and he broke the main line.The best was the credits that said everyone on the boats were trained professionals :lol: :lol: what a joke.

[FinalPoint]

I saw that episode. I loved how after he broke the fish off he denied what actually happened. He must have felt like a moron after watching the replay of himself holding the mono and snapping it.
I sure would like a shot at some of those fish though.

[catching]

Saw that a few weeks back as well, I thought Mako's were just that tough when it got to the end game :shock: Still want to get one myself but after talking to some of the guys at the party :?: :?: . Have the gear just will have to try and not bring the fish in green if we are lucky enough to hook one.

[quack quack]

A good crew would have made it look a lot easier.When you have a bunch of idiots it makes it look crazy :shock: Big Makos are tuff and not to be taken lightly.But the guys on the show made it twice as dangerous as it had to be.I saw 3 diff guys try to gaff them in the tail on the first shot.It kind of boils down to fear.All the guys doing the gaffing looked those sharks in the eye and got scared.The guy that missed or the head came off then broke off was a joke.Every one that has gaffed any fish knows what to do but when the fear set in they just wanted to be some were else then on the end of the gaff looking at those sharks.Was it my or did it seem like all the boats had about 4 flyers each.I am sure there were no poons allowed and no bang sticks.The tail rope should have been on after the 2nd gaff not after the 4th :lol:

[catching]

All the sharks I have caught so far are gaffed in the body right in front of the tail to get the prop out of the water, then roped off, when I first started tried gaffing in the body and head it just does not work on big sharks they are too strong and gaff tends to rip out of the shark or your hands. Get the tail out of the water and head down the fish is not going anywhere as long as the gaff does not rip out during all of the thrasing around and your are ready with a rope.

QQ correct me if I am wrong but this works real well if you do not have a poon to stick in the head.

[quack quack]

On a big green fish a tail shot is more likely to rip out then a head shot.If you lead the head you lead the fish.The 2nd shot near the tail so you can lift it for a tail rope is good.You saw that gaff get ripped out of the guys hands when they tried to stick the tail.

[catching]

I stuck a 350+ Lemon that way granted this is not Mako, I did get the crap beat out of me :lol: but I never lost my grip on the gaff. Remeber these guys did not look like they had their game on. Since then we have a tail rope gaff when targetting sharks, still need to invest in a poon

[Captain Fred Archer]

I didn't see the show and made it a point not to after I heard about what went on. Bring out the TV camera's and everybody's an expert. Hell, the TV guys probably would love it if someone got bit, pulled in, busted up or whatever. Good drama and there are always some hammerhandles around to provide it. It's a shame!

On gaffing makos. First, whoever said don't gaff a green one was right. Makos are weird fighters and often come back the boat and look things over, even bite the boat (many times), but for God's sake, don't stick a gaff in them then! Remember, these things can and do jump sky high and if you jab a green one and he goes airborn, he might just wind up in the cockpit with you!

My shark books all discuss and have drawings and photos on how to gaff makos and threshers safely and how to release them as well. Bottom line on makos is to gaff them from a moving boat, out of gear on the side the fish is on, place the gaff across and on the back, then firmly pull the gaff into him - fly gaffs only if it is over about 125#. Remember to tie the fly gaff rope off to something strong, like a cleat or chair base - do not try to hold the rope in your hands. The fish will stop and shake for a second when the steel goes home, the boat keeps going and because the gaff is behind the center of gravity on the fish, the boat will pull it around and begin dragging it backwards. You can then reach out and put another flyer on the opposite side of the first one, cross the lines and there is no way that the fish can shake off. I only do that in tournaments and have never had one come off the single flyer once we start dragging him.

To absolutely secure your fish, GRAB, don't gaff the tail and put a tail rope on. He is now yours. It is extremely dangerous to fly gaff makos back by the tail. This is because they have such powerful tails that they can toss a fly gaff head back into the cockpit at wharp speed and somebody might eat it.

Last point, never gaff a mako in the head. Remember, that's where the teeth are, the prop (tail) is still in the water when you stick them up there and you are actually pointing the fish toward you or the cockpit and sticking a gaff in him. If he explodes when you stick him, he could wind up all over you. Right behind the dorsal fin is the safest spot.

If you want more details on shark fishing the professional way, read The New Shark Troller's Bible.

If you are fascinated by sharks, read the novel, Grim Ripper.

[quack quack]

good info Capt

[reelrick]

I am sure that those suggestions will work on makos, but you'll never gaff a bull or some others that way. I have a large swivel attached to my gaff and then to the rope. I fish by myself a lot so keep that in mind. I prefer to gaff a large shark in the corner of it's mouth and then I tailrope it after it calms down. It is nearly impossible to gaff some species because of the thickness of their skin, so I do it that way. Yes, I tie the rope off fairly short and haven't had one in the cockpit yet. Some, such as Tigers, will spin a lot prior to calming down but the swivel takes care of that. Kinda rough on the boat, but...

[Captain Fred Archer]

ReelRick,

Like you said I said, my advice was for makos only. I didn't get into threshers and other sharks.

As I'm sure you know, bulls, spinners, black and white tips and lemons can be great jumpers when first hooked, especially on the flats, but they simply do not represent the deadly potential of a mako during the end game. Makos are pretty unique in that it is hard to tell when they are played out and hurting, or just letting themselves be led in to check things out, bite the boat, or maybe launch one of their patented high jumps that they can somehow unleash from a dead stop. This is a shark with a seriously bad attitude about boats and fishermen and none other than the IGFA states in their book that "they are the undisputed world leader in attacks on boats".

They are different than most other sharks as far as that tough skin most others exhibit. The faster a shark is, the smaller the denticles are that cover their bodies like tiny teeth and cause rough skin. Because of this, both threshers and makos are compartively "thin skinned" and easy to stick a gaff into.

Of course, only those that are going to be killed should be gaffed anyway. Gaff the typical mako in the mouth and you are not only pointing and actually pulling him toward you (gulp!), if the fish doesn't dig his tail in, jump into your midsection and open you up like a busted watermelon, he is going to go nuts and beat himself silly on the boat, most like injuring himself to the extent that he might die later, a terrible waste.

I too have mouth-gaffed some of the other sharks, especially ones on the flats that have eaten plugs, but there is no way that I would remotely consider doing that with a mako - any mako.

I have written that a mako bite is like a head-on collision - you might only get in one in your life and you will be lucky if you don't die from it! I love those flying chainsaws, but a big part of that is a healthy respect for what one of them can do in a split, horrible second.

I have written more books on shark fishing than any other author, ever. Liability issues are important when you do that sort of thing, so if I am going to go overboard with the advice that I give, it will always be on the side of caution.

I haven't killed a mako shark since I wrote Grim Ripper. Can't do it. Many others feel the same way after reading the book. The mako shark is a magnificent creature that nature designed to be her ultimate killing machine by providing them with the weapons and natural systems that allows them to hunt down and kill anything that swims, except the great whales. They are cannibals from not long after they are born, which happens in the womb during their incredible two year gestation period, to when they are thousand pound plus adults. This serves to keep them apart, because if they ever gathered together they would carve out great holes empty of the big prey fish that they prey on. Their brothers and sisters and the bull sperm whale are their only natural enemies and they are the only know shark that regularly hunts and kills the dangerous broadbill swordfish, which is one of their most favored prey.

This is the book that both the Publisher of Big Game Journal and Gary Caputi, Offshore Editor of Salt Water Sportsman magazine wrote "You must read this book!" Those are unheard of reviews. Ripper's story is a wild, exciting adventure that anyone who loves sharks and rolicking excitement page after page will not only enjoy immensely, but will learn some astounding truths from. I hope that some of you get the book and swim with her...you will never, ever forget her and the trilogy of three books that tell her story.

And long before you finish the book, Ripper will steal your heart away and you will wind up loving her like so many others do.

[FinalPoint]

Originally Posted by Captain Fred Archer

Makos are pretty unique in that it is hard to tell when they are played out and hurting, or just letting themselves be led in to check things out, bite the boat, or maybe launch one of their patented high jumps that they can somehow unleash from a dead stop.

We once broke off a "tired beat" mako at the boat and it blasted away in the blink of an eye. You would think a 2 hour fight at 18-20 lbs of drag on a 180-240 lb fish would put a hurting on it...wrong. That thing swam away as fresh as I've seen a fish go.

[quack quack]

Saw another episode last night.I will say this some of them know what they are doing.Not nearly as bad a show as the first one I saw and it had great shots of leaping Mako's.

[reelrick]

I agree with most everything you say. I haven't killed a large shark in a long time either. I caught a small great white in 95 and had it tied to the boat but couldn't bring myself to kill it so it was tagged and released. I've tagged and released over a thousand sharks since the late 60's. I certainly defer to your advice particularly regarding makos which I don't see very often, being a fair weather in close fisherman for the most part. These days a hundred pound blacktip on spinning tackle is just fine for me...

[Boboe]

Have any of y'all watched the Mako video at snappertrapper.com? In the panhandle of Florida and Alabama every spring the cobia migrate along the coast, heading west. Makos follow them in for a feed. The crew of the Snapper Trapper saw a stud mako right near the beach and saw it had something in its mouth.....

Scroll to the bottom of the page to watch the highly-profanity-soaked video of the Snapper Trapper vs the Mako.

[Predator]

Sorry to say but those guys on the snapertrapper video are clearly morons !!
I can understand taking away the sharks food to bait it,but these guys could'nt have been serious about catching it on that spin gear.All they did was take away a hard won meal from it.Don't get me wrong I'm not some tree hugger,I take my share of sharks but this is just stupidityas its finest.
Also, dragging the tarpon away from the shark for such a distance is also a good way to get a Mako on the deck. Which is would've certainly made the video alot better.

[Boboe]

Of course they're morons. They're guys out chasing cobia with appropriate tackle and wanted to dick with the mako. They wouldn't have had a chance catching it. We usually kept 50's on board when fishing for cobia in case we did see a mako. We'd have something that might/could catch it. I love how that one guy is yelling for minutes on end "It's a f***ing cobe! No you morons, that's a cobe!" Then when they see that it's a tarpon he doesn't say a word.

I know this type of people. Fish in Pensacola or Orange Beach and they're out there a plenty.