? What would u do
 

Today I launched out of LJ at 0300 made bait and did our thing. Anyway I ended up hooking up on a 6ft shark. Amazing fight btw. I was using a bait runner 8000(great reel) with a trap set up on mackerel. So I fought this beast for 15min before I seen some shine I thought I was on a huge yellow. I looked around for someone to help me gaft him but the closest person couldn't even hear me. I said fuck it I got this, so I leaned back a pulled him to the front gaft in hand. That when I seen him come up. Tiny eyes big body short tail going nuts. Diffinitly caught me off guard he was a foot away from the yak and I didn't know if I should risk it or say fuck it. I QUIKLY (3min)decided that I like my extremitys and cut the line. WHat would you have done?
PS drifting north @ 90ft

Soupfin? Unhook and let go. Or tail rope it and keep it. Put a float on your gaff before you try to gaff big fish. They fight back.

No offense but you should educate yourself on the species first, last thing you want to do is gaff something that is protected.

yhay would be good however ill have to read up on every endangered fish and i still wouldnt have known unless i stopped him from shaking around u know. he was moving like crazy lol

Soupfin aren't protected and by the description it was a Soupfin or blue. The only ones you can't keep are whites and leopards under 36".

yeah man i thought about both situations before but never really expected a fish that big right up on me lol, i was freaked out the thing was more than half the yak :eek:

nice bro thx

wait till you get a batray... the stuff you will get for that.

I'd do the same thing you did...unless it had my favorite lure in its mouth, in which case I would spend an additional three minutes contemplating whether I should cut the line, or attempt to retrieve the lure.

I don't even know what to do with a shark, so I would def let it go...

lol yeah i had a trap rig on with treble hook theres no way im getting that out of there lol

im guessing you didnt have a steel leader, so it probably wasnt a mako or a blue or any shark with a set of teeth unless you got a really lucky hook set. What pound test line? Blue sharks sometimes roll like crazy and makos well good luck with that. What color was it ?

Lol.

It was grey and white I use 50lb mono with a trap rig 3/0 octopus hook with a treble hook 3-4inches separation Carolina rig 2 oz slider weight

:D Where was mama?

Like this? :D

http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:A...1Swi_DS4rLJOwQ

We caught and released 3 Makos at La Jolla on Saturday so I'm guessing yours was a Mako too. Gaffing a Mako? I'm not too sure how that works from a yak.

:cheers1:

As soon as I seen how big it was I was like fuk that lol

Well if your gaff is leashed down just gaff it and leave it in the agua. While it starts to fade bleed that guy out. A makos too good eatin. Though I wouldnt put it on my lap til its no doubt dead.
Then again my first decent sized shark in a kayaks gona be nerve rackin too. We'll see what I actually do under the circumstances

from your story it sounds like you made the right decision from a kayak,,,,don't second guess

yeah didnt want to chance it maybe if i was on a a yak with marage drive where i can have both hand available but not trying to paddle that shit back lol

If I don't know what the species is, I take a photo, let it go and look it up. As far as the decision is concerned, that is your call and depends on what you are comfortable with.

Two most popular sharks in La Jolla are Makos and Threshers. Typically of the adolescent ages. On Satuday I also had a mako take a shot at a slow trolled mack, but he missed. My bait was going crazy so I looked back at the rod and water and about a four footer came 5 feet out of the air. Definitely a mako. I will attempt the threshers but don't like to play with the makos on the kayak.

My advice, and what I do, try to get as close to him as you feel safe and cut the line.

What would I do? I would try to get the shark close, but not too close, to the kayak and cut the line. I don't fish for sharks, eat them, or enjoy hooking/fighting them. Thats me. Sharks are amazing creatures but for me every second I spend fighting a shark is time wasted that I could be fishing for a target species. Rays too. Learn about the sharks that live in So Cal, about how to handle them safely, about which ones are good to eat and then make an informed decission about taking one. Keep safety in mind, leave the macho shit behind, and you'll be ahead of the game. Grey and white, tiny eyes, big body, short tail. It was maybe an angel shark?? I hooked a mako on Sunday in LJ and saw another so I know they are there but they are blue and white, have big black eyes, pointed noses, and way more teeth in thier mouths the seams possible. Mike

Yeah the fight was good but I agree not out there to play with sharks learn that shit in elementary lol

Just out of curiosity I haven't read too many posts about release tools (have read some about hypo-vent needles).
I have a number of release tools, one for Large Flies (Salt/Fresh), one (ARC) 16" for mostly freshwater and an (ARC) 36" for saltwater just for scenarios just like this (and they work for Jigs!). I also use my Dremel to grind down the barbs 'a little' (on my jigs :jig: and have replaced single siwash hooks on most but not all of my jigs) to make releasing unwanted or protected (i.e. BSB, small :wsb:) and undersized fish easier.

FFY

With all due respect, if you don't have the experience catching sharks from a Kayak, please refrain from giving advice on the subject that could result in injury for someone else. If that was a mako then JNasty did the right thing. You are assuming a mako will let ypu put a gaff in him them swim around all boo hoo poor me till he dies. He will attack your kayak and anything within reach including you.