36 Hours on the Atlantic Coast

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Oh no are there sharks at the beach?
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madshark
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36 Hours on the Atlantic Coast

Post by madshark »

May 12th was finally here. Months of study, research and planning was about to be put to the test. I have long wanted to make a trip to Florida’s Atlantic Coast. To that end I had enlisted the support of the remainder of Team Clusterf*ck (herein known as Team CF). Myself (Mark Duncan), my son Matthew, and friends Mark Conner and Matt Filchek were the crew.

I had scoured Google Earth for the telltale signs of sharky areas. A major pass nearby, structure on the beach and in the surf and put my finger on a spot on the map. Some research on shark tagging programs and a look at solunar and major minor feeding periods and we had a date. I presented what I had to the rest of Team CF and they were in. We spent the next few weeks preparing tackle and establishing the logistics for an expedition 1200 miles from home.
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After a 16 hour drive from Houston, interrupted by a stopover in Gulf Breeze at Gulf Breeze Bait and Tackle for five Bonita and fishing licenses for the rest of Team CF, we arrived at the selected spot. We were later very glad we stopped for the bait, because “Justin” the alleged Captain of a 32’ Seacraft who answered the phone at Snook Nook and promised to have a supply of Bonita for us refused to answer his phone or return numerous phone calls. We also brought a good supply of various rays (Bat Rays, Southern Stingrays and Cownosed Rays) with us form Galveston.

We hit the beach around 0600 Thursday morning and saw an incredible sight; water that was blue to the beach. Any of you who have fished the Texas Gulf Coast know how foreign that sight is to us. We anxiously unloaded the truck and made the hump out to our selected spot. We soon saw why the water was so clear. The sand was very loose and coarse, really tough to walk in, but heavy enough to fall out of the turbulent water very quickly.

Mark C. immediately caught a little Jack Crevalle and Matt D. caught what for us was a huge Florida Pompano (13”). He also caught a really cool little Wrasse or Goby of some sort. We knew it was on.
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We then began setting up our shark gear, 5 14/0 Penn Senators and a Penn 130 International all on various custom rods. We deployed two rods and kind of sat back and enjoyed the day. Soon a hard run was heard and I had the honor of the first catch. This shark was tough. We had a feeling it was a big Hammer by the power and speed it showed during the fight. After a rather prolonged fight we was the sickle shaped fin break the surface in the wade gut and the guys got a tail rope on the 9’1” female Greater Hammerhead. We then found the she was hooked squarely in the right pectoral fin accounting for the difficulty of the fight. Also, sometime during the fight another shark had attacked her. She had a bite taken out of her side 15” wide and 4” deep. We figured she was a goner, but I took her out in shoulder deep water anyway. After I walked her back and forth for about 30 minutes she swam hard enough to pull out of my grasp and appeared to swim off strong.
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We then set up another couple of rods. Soon Matt D. hooked up and almost immediately, Mark C. hooked up. Two good fish on at the same time.
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After a short but hard fight (we were really trying to get all the fish on the beach fast, so they would have a better chance of survival), we put both sharks on the beach. Matt had a pig of a Nurse Shark 8’6” and so pregnant she had stretch marks. His personal best shark. And Mark had a solid 7’6” Greater Hammerhead. Both hooks were cut and the fish released quickly. Both swam off strong.
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In very short order we had another run. This time Matt F. was hooked up on a solid fish.
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It ran to our left and he said it felt like the line was hung on a rock. He let it have a little slack and moved further over and it freed itself. After a tough battle he puts his new PB 9’1” Greater Hammerhead on the beach. This one was really worn out so I again stayed in the water with it for over 30 minutes to keep it righted and give him the best chance of survival.
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A little after dusk we get another run and I’m hooked up on what feels like a solid fish. It moved left again and got into whatever Matt’s fish was on. This time, no luck. The 100# Suffix Superior wore through and the fish was gone.

At 2330 we had another run and Matt D. was hooked up solid. He dogged this fish, got it to the beach quickly and had his PB Bull Shark at 7’4” with good width and girth, a solid male. He got released quickly and swam away strong. We did not get a picture, because the flash on my camera was not working and we did not want to wait while Matt went to the truck to get his. We had two other lines out but no hits the remainder of the night.

Friday morning came with more wind and a little bumpier surf. I made a decision to reserve my energy until the after noon, then get all the baits in the water. It seemed the action was better around sunset, anyway.

We started putting fresh baits out around 1400 and almost immediately hooked up. It was Matt F.’s turn, again. This time the fish ran hard left again and got on the same structure. I jumped in the kayak and paddled out to see what I could do. I paddled out and could see an 8’ Hammer caught on something about 5’ down. I tried unwrapping the line with the paddle and by hand, but to no avail.
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My only other option was to dump the life jacket and bail out of the kayak to try and release it by hand. I decided I would cut the leader as far down as possible a see what happened. I did so and the shark unwrapped himself and took off. Later that afternoon we had a guy come by who surfs and scubas the area and he explained that there is a shipwreck about 150yds off the beach with part of the structure coming nearly to the surface. No wonder we were having problems.

I paddled back in and we finished setting baits. We were down to five reels since my old 14/0 with the old style spool spread after we powered two hammers in on it. Mark C. was soon hooked up again and quickly put a 7’6” Bull on the beach. Somehow, I did not get a picture of it. I’ll try to get him to send me one and post it later.
A few minutes later we had another run. It was my turn, so I grabbed the rod and started cranking. Nothing was there. I reeled some more and came up against a weight. Then slack. We did this until the bait was almost on top of the ledge at the beach. Then all hell broke loose. The empty hook turned around and started smoking back out to the sandbar. It then turned left and I saw the fin of a solid Lemon cutting through the water. Matt and Matt grabbed the leader and dragged the green lemon onto the beach. She taped out to a very pregnant 8’6” in length. After a short but hellish struggle I got the leader cut and Mark and I dragged her back into the water. Another strong release.
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We had three more baits out. When the first of those got broken loose from the sandbag about 2200, we decided to start packing for the drive back to Houston. By 2300 both the other lines had been hit with no hook ups. We got the truck loaded and stopped at a public shower up the beach and cleaned up for the 16hr. drive home.

During our time there everyone we met, both tourists and locals were really cool about us being there. We made a point of being courteous and friendly. We explained to the people who stopped and talked to us that we were not luring the sharks into the area, but rather targeting sharks that were already there in their normal migration patterns. We even involved our new friends in the catches and releases when we could. Everyone we met was very friendly and supportive of us being there. This is a very nice area.

You locals, and you know who you are, are blessed to have such a great place to live. Team CF is looking forward to our next trip there. Maybe in the summer to take a shot at a big Tiger.

What we did this trip was pretty spectacular, for a group of guys who had never set foot on the beach we were on. We were there for 36 hours and our score was:
9’1” Hammer
8’6” Nurse
7’6” Hammer
9’2” Hammer
7’4” Bull
8’ Hammer
7’6” Bull
8’6” Lemon

Mark
I used to suffer from mental ilness. Now, I've learned to enjoy it.
Mark A. Duncan

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CubanExpress
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Re: 36 Hours on the Atlantic Coast

Post by CubanExpress »

THAT'S BADASS!

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Re: 36 Hours on the Atlantic Coast

Post by BoatlessFisherman »

Great Report, Thanks :toast:
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Re: 36 Hours on the Atlantic Coast

Post by fishnfool73 »

Incredible trip , thanks for sharing it .
Dreaming the dream that one day I can be as good as some of the boatless pros and catch some 12 inch mangrove snapper.

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Re: 36 Hours on the Atlantic Coast

Post by bolo »

Just awesome.
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Re: 36 Hours on the Atlantic Coast

Post by bullbusters »

Looks like you guys had an amazing trip
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Re: 36 Hours on the Atlantic Coast

Post by permitchaser »

great trip and report Mark :toast: you guys were ready for war. :D
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Re: 36 Hours on the Atlantic Coast

Post by Goat »

Congratulations and an impressive trip. Thanks for posting up the report.

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GET THE NET!!!!
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Re: 36 Hours on the Atlantic Coast

Post by GET THE NET!!!! »

You guys must have been born to shark fish if you can look at a beach on google maps that you think is good go there and have the success you had, great job. :thumleft:
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Re: 36 Hours on the Atlantic Coast

Post by TeEnAnGlerPro213 »

Absolutely spectacular. You guys are HARDCORE sharkers! Great job on the release as well. I'm pretty sure the 16hr drive was worth it :toast:
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Re: 36 Hours on the Atlantic Coast

Post by mmcauliffe »

Terrific report!!! Great write-up and some awesome pictures. That bite out of the first hammer is amazing :shock: Sounds like you guys had one helluva fun trip!
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Re: 36 Hours on the Atlantic Coast

Post by Jordan »

I'd like to see the shark that had the balls to take a bite out of a 9ft hammer :shock:

Nice report, looks like an awesome trip.

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Re: 36 Hours on the Atlantic Coast

Post by BRunner346 »

amazing trip!!!
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Re: 36 Hours on the Atlantic Coast

Post by Get-em-wet »

madshark nice fish...the spot you fished is notorious for hammers...and some serious big ones hang out there also...it's just tough with all the structure that is there.
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Re: 36 Hours on the Atlantic Coast

Post by JunoChris »

Nice sharks. It took a lot of guts to wade back into the water that far when you knew there was a hungry bull or tiger waiting for that hammer.
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Re: 36 Hours on the Atlantic Coast

Post by crashmister »

JunoChris wrote:Nice sharks. It took a lot of guts to wade back into the water that far when you knew there was a hungry bull or tiger waiting for that hammer.
Your not kidding Chris. That's dedication right there! Great job! Thanks for sharing.
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Boca Jetty Rat
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Re: 36 Hours on the Atlantic Coast

Post by Boca Jetty Rat »

Great Report!! :toast:
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Re: 36 Hours on the Atlantic Coast

Post by Blacktip Hunter »

Very nice report, great job guys! :thumright:
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Re: 36 Hours on the Atlantic Coast

Post by frentals »

Great read, succesfull trip, keep it up and nice catches.
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Re: 36 Hours on the Atlantic Coast

Post by james380 »

Great report Mark. Felt like I was there.
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madshark
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Re: 36 Hours on the Atlantic Coast

Post by madshark »

Thank you all for your kind comments.
strizile wrote:Awesome that you are so careful in regards to the release. Also very good deal on explaining and involving the onlookers.
I've gotten into some heated arguements on the internet over my opinion that a person can do what he wants with his legally caught fish. I hope people now understand that MY choice is to release those large sharks that can successfully be released.

As a recovering alcoholic and drug addict, some people look at me as damaged goods. For some reason I felt a kinship with the bitten Hammer. I was determined that as long as she tried to stay alive I would stay with her and give her every chance. That shark had a very strong desire to live.

I have found that most people are reasonable. If they understand the truth they can accept that and allow people to do as they wish as long as they are not causing harm to others. I want my kids and someday grandkids to have the same opportunity to enjoy this sport as I have had. That said, I realize you guys have a significant population of migrant, liberal, yankees who wish to impose their anti agenda on you. That why we brought 2 .45s and a riotgun with us. :auto: :pistols:
JunoChris wrote:Nice sharks. It took a lot of guts to wade back into the water that far when you knew there was a hungry bull or tiger waiting for that hammer.
Or a serious lack of intelligence. :lol:
GET THE NET!!!! wrote:You guys must have been born to shark fish if you can look at a beach on google maps that you think is good go there and have the success you had, great job. :thumleft:
I am 50 and been doing this since I was 15. Its not as simple as looking at a map and going to the spot. Google Earth can give you spots to look at. I look for a beach with a major pass to a large fertile bay system behind it. Some structure on the beach is a good sign, too (rocks, wrecks, jetties, deep holes). That gave me at least a dozen areas to look at. Several of those were eliminated because of issues with local politics.

There are databases where you can access raw data on shark tagging. By looking at that data I saw a good window in May and narrowed the number of areas.

I like to fish the new moon with a major feeding cycle around sunrise or sunset. That gave us the timing for the trip.

The area we fished was our first choice. We did have a couple of backup spots if access was an issue or we struck out there. We were looking at a power plant north of Jensen Beach and I had reservations at Sebastian Inlet State Park for these three days, too.

As far as our success, a lot of preparation went into this trip. It is my belief that our blessings come from God. He chose to smile on us last week. Usually he is ROFLMAO at me.
I used to suffer from mental ilness. Now, I've learned to enjoy it.
Mark A. Duncan

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Re: 36 Hours on the Atlantic Coast

Post by sight fisher 131 »

NICCEEE :dude:
zzzzzz zzzzzzz zzzzz FISH ON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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