WHAT WAS IT?

[fixed80]

I started off the day by catching 3 rays this morning at a favorite location. Sh!t........ would of had more but D*mn are those thangs hard to snag while there swimming around.

so anyway, later on today i packed up my gear and headed to beach late this afternoon. it was kinda calm with 1' seas and a light bump on the water. after getting my things unpacked i put on a wing from one of the cownose rays and deployed it about 180yds off the beach. I must of sat for nearly an hour until i got bored and walked a ways down the beach to check out something i saw. as i walked back towards the rod i seen the tip bounce a bit. then i heard the clicker and realized I'm hooked up but i am still 50yds down the beach.

once i heard the clicker i took off, grabbed the rod and set the hook.
now this is why i am puzzled. this fish or something had some shear weight to it but when it ran, it was kinda slow. zing, zing, zing, zing, zing. the drag was not loose nor too too tight being a 6/0 but this whatever thang was heading south and didn't want to turn much often. i got quite a few cranks out of it but then it would proceed its direction and head further south taking line out slowly. it seem that i was facing the sand and not the water. btw... it did break off which i believe it was due to a reef. it felt sometimes like it was hung up on something even though the line wasn't frayed to much after reeling it in.

so what was it? it ran like a nurse but the fish kept going in one direction. plus i find it hard for a nurse to eat a decent size wing from a ray.

could it have been a lemon shark? do they fight like that or do they smoke line off the reel too?

or what about a tiger shark? i believe they peel line off slower than other sharks but then again this was a little to slow i think.

a big ray would not have been able to eat this bait so that's out of question.

Hmmmmmm..... definitely not a bull, hammer, tip or spinner.

actually i have a feeling that it wasn't even a shark at all. there were turtles in the water but i doubt one of them got caught in the line.
I'm starting to think that a resident Goliath that ate the bait. its a possibility.......
running slow like it did and felt real heavy at the other end.

any thoughts.

[snookabogus]

A meat eating manatee, also known as Carnivirous blubberous

[Jordan]

I thought ray until I realized you were using ray for bait.. I don't think it could be a sea turtle, I had a dead pinfish out at long key and I hooked up to what I thought was a nurse due to the lack of energy.. but it was a sea turtle.

[fixed80]

i still have no clue what it was... i either going for turtle getting snagged or grouper.

[gdm phil]

Where were you fishing? I believe I had a similar hook up last week, he ran at first than after getting him to settle and setting my drag he was just fighting the line but not taking any.


sounds like you had a nice size nurse

[Goat]

Jew fish. Have had it happen several times and finally got one in about 250#.

[team fin addicts]

I have several under my belt... I dont think they realize they are hooked, and they just swim off.

[fixed80]

i think you guys are right. it was probably a Goliath like seen in these vids.