Florida fifth report - baby sharks

[BenCantrell]

Yesterday we got out for some more near shore fishing along the Treasure Coast. The sun was hot at 8am, and the launch was easy.



I was in the mood to paddle, so I spent the day trolling and left the bait and live bait hooks at home. I had a Rapala X-Rap 10 on one rod and a Rapala X-Rap 12 (front of the package says Slashbait) on the other. We paddled outside the outer edge of reef where it drops from 16 ft to 20-25 ft. My X-Rap 10 got picked up by a juvenile shark.



I circled around and trolled the same stretch and got hit again. Another shark. They're either blacktips or spinners. I'm not convinced one way or the other, but from the people I've talked to there have been more votes for blacktip, so I won't count spinner as a new species.



Spinner sharks are supposed to have black tips on all their fins, including the anal fin. My second one had a black smudge on its anal fin. Not sure if that's enough to call it though.



I caught a third shark but didn't bother taking a photo. They were definitely schooling that day. My X-Rap 12 also got hit by something, and whatever it was towed me for about 200 yards. It was hugging the bottom and shaking it's head. I was patient, but eventually I had to get it to start moving upward, and when I put a little more pressure on it, the treble hook pulled. I'm guessing it was a grouper, but I suppose it could have been a larger model shark.



I had one more hit, again on the X-Rap 12. Something very fast was on the line for all of 1 second, and then leader got cut. It was too fast to be a shark, and they all bit the back treble of the lure, so I'm guessing it was a king mackerel or cuda.

Ally didn't have any luck trolling, so she pulled out her bag of shrimp and jigged the bottom. She caught a mutton snapper and a big sheepshead.



Landing was pretty easy, but coming in backwards was key. There was a small sandbar with a trough right against the beach where the waves really wanted to turn and roll you.



Miles: 8.7
Hours: 4:47
Water Temp: 81

Next time bottom fishing! That reef drop-off looked pretty interesting, and I saw some nice boulders in 20-25 ft. We'd like to see what else is down there.