Hammerhead Sharks

[momo fish]

question..

was at local landing killing time this weekend and ended up chatting with a chartmaster waiting for his group.. Older guy, been fishing all his life and our talk lead to kayaks and places go..

he tells me to avoid an area by palo verdes, as that is a known area (maybe breeding area) for hammerheads.. Tells me they rammed his boat a few times and knows of kayakers that it has happened to... Well this worried me a bit but wasn't sure how truthful it is..maybe old wives tales..


any truth.. Anyone know of hammerheads ramming kayaks.. And yes avoid county line or la jolla from the folks catching all the fish there..lol

[Fiskadoro]

Originally Posted by momo fish

he tells me to avoid an area by palo verdes, as that is a known area (maybe breeding area) for hammerheads.. Tells me they rammed his boat a few times and knows of kayakers that it has happened to...

Total Utter BS.

That said Randal Holman a friend of mine caught Hammerhead off PV back in the eighties, and back in the day people did think that Hammerheads came into there following Bluefin tuna that used to come into Redondo Canyon where they were occasionally caught off the old fishing barge.

[Fiskadoro]

Actually Randall's Redondo PV Hammerhead was caught in 1978. Found some pics.



Occasionally people still see hammerheads in our waters, but it's extremely rare, they do not breed here, and to my knowledge no-one has ever been attacked by one.

[momo fish]

ok I had my doubts but I try to respect my elders who are wiser, but sometimes nuts out of their mind.. Lol!

[StinkyMatt]

Actually there are plenty of em around PV.


I actually came face to face with one while swimming there last summer.


It was huge! I actually took photos of it, will try to dig them out later.

[Fiskadoro]

Originally Posted by StinkyMatt

Actually there are plenty of em around PV.

Palos Verdes or Puerto Vallarta ?

[StinkyMatt]

Things were pretty wild for a while.





Meeting a big predator like that in the water.....I was nervous!





Despite the fact that I was swimming for my life, I was able to snap one good photo. Got lucky, I guess.





This was definitely a mature adult, not sure if it was a male or female.














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[Fiskadoro]

Originally Posted by StinkyMatt

T....I was nervous!.

I'd be terrified

[yaky yak]

A diver was supposedly killed at La Jolla by a hammerhead. It was in late 50's or early 60's.

[MattRabasco]

I forget what year it was 08? The water was super warm 74 ish. There had been reports if guys seeing hh's at the 9 mile bank. No joke, I was circled 2 times by a large hammerhead of la Jolla. Easy over 12 feet. Definitely got the pulse rate up.

[bus kid]

Originally Posted by Fiskadoro

I'd be terrified

rotflmao

[Hammerhead_77]

+1000 to the statement of utter, complete BS.

There are two major subspecies of hammerheads, scalloped HH and Great HH. The scalloped variety are primarily bottom feeders that use their head like a metal detector to find the electric signals of flouder, sole and similar bottom fish buried in the substrate. They congregate in huge schools in warm waters to breed...you can almost walk across Kaneohe Bay on the windy side of Oahu during breeding season.

Great (or Oceanic) Hammerheads are typically very shy apex predators. They grow to over 18 feet and up to 1800+ pounds. They primarily feed on rays in many warm water locations, but are know to take virtually any fish including other smaller sharks. I have spent many, many hours in the water searching for Great Hammerheads and have only ever seen one in shallow water.

While Oceanic Whitetips are known to be fascinated with floating objects and will bump or push them regularly, i would be very surprised to see that activity from a hammerhead. They WILL take a fish as you pull it in...but they are not interested in the kayak, just going after the fish.

To put all this in perspective, worldwide each year there are about 80 incidents of sharks biting people and 8 fatalities. In contrast, an average of 180 people are KILLED each year by falling coconuts! Conclusion - wear a helmet and flee to the shark infested water for safety!!!

[momo fish]

educational and funny! Thanks for the insight..

so I should not join the guys charters I take it? He did mention they target killer whales

Originally Posted by Hammerhead_77

+1000 to the statement of utter, complete BS.

There are two major subspecies of hammerheads, scalloped HH and Great HH. The scalloped variety are primarily bottom feeders that use their head like a metal detector to find the electric signals of flouder, sole and similar bottom fish buried in the substrate. They congregate in huge schools in warm waters to breed...you can almost walk across Kaneohe Bay on the windy side of Oahu during breeding season.

Great (or Oceanic) Hammerheads are typically very shy apex predators. They grow to over 18 feet and up to 1800+ pounds. They primarily feed on rays in many warm water locations, but are know to take virtually any fish including other smaller sharks. I have spent many, many hours in the water searching for Great Hammerheads and have only ever seen one in shallow water.

While Oceanic Whitetips are known to be fascinated with floating objects and will bump or push them regularly, i would be very surprised to see that activity from a hammerhead. They WILL take a fish as you pull it in...but they are not interested in the kayak, just going after the fish.

To put all this in perspective, worldwide each year there are about 80 incidents of sharks biting people and 8 fatalities. In contrast, an average of 180 people are KILLED each year by falling coconuts! Conclusion - wear a helmet and flee to the shark infested water for safety!!!

[lowprofile]

yes there are hammers around Palo Verdes but you are more likely to come in contact with a seven gill or soupfin.

plenty of hammers have been caught from newport to redondo. just because they don't make head lines or the internet experts don't see them doesn't mean hey are not there.

also you will see a lot of pup GWS in the area as well.