DP Thresher

[Vikingj]

After a slow 2 hrs at the pipe Mihiel, Yani, and I decided to troll from the barber poles to the headlands to see if the Threshers wanted to play. When I neared the red buoy there was a SMACK! and the line began to sing that most lovely tune -zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz . I have fought and CR’ed T-sharks on several occasions and think they are the most beautiful and graceful creatures. Their erratic runs out, back, and downward keeps you busy and their aerial acrobatics are spectacular. Right away this run didn’t feel right and I wasn’t sure it was a T until I brought it to color after 25 min. and saw it was tail hooked on my rapala. I decided to take this girl home but could see it would take some help. Yani jumped in to take my other rod and cleared the tangled line from my loaded rod holding the shark. Mihiel played “kayak cowboy” and lassoed the tail, wrestled the shark and removed the lure while I secured my rod, cleared the deck, and tried to get control of my adrenalin charged “sewing machine” leg. After watching my buddies do all the hard work, I cut under the base of the tail to reach the vein & artery that lay on the inside of the backbone. Mihiel, the veterinarian, made his diagnosis and confirmed that the wound was fatal. The fish was too big and heavy to get inside the yak and I couldn’t reach the head so I started dragging it home backwards. It took me almost 2hrs to get back where Ms. T measured 8ft 2in and had an estimated weight of 80+lbs. This is the first and the last T-shark I intend to take and now I can check it off on my bucket list.
I’ve learned an important lesson from almost every fishing trip. The lesson I learned here is that catching a T shark takes team work and I was lucky enough to have a great team working for me! Thanks Mihiel & Yani.
PS- Boy, I really slept good last night!
Wayne

[StinkyMatt]

Great read and an awesome photo.

Congrats!

[jorluivil]

Nice fish.

[mrJB]

Wayne -

Another job well done! You've managed to turn some slow DP fishing into an unforgetable day! Check another one off the "list".

[TJones]

congrats . . guess it was meant to be on the grill .

[WahooUSMA]

Very cool.

[telewka]

Nice catch the size is awasome ,lucky had some friends to help.Thanks again for the peice of steak was good tasting.

[jimmyjones]

Cold killa!!!!!

[Southman]

Congrats Wayne. You've inspired me to get out there and work on my bucket list. Great catch.

[DanaPT]

Welcome back Wayne, nice way to get back into the groove. Ain't nothing wrong with that.

T-steaks are good.

Great tips about T-hunting. You must have been a sight to see peddling back into the harbor with a shark following your yak. Probably a few concerned SUPers!

[Montesdad]

GreaT job Wayne,

I shoulda gone fishing with you guys

[FishNinjaY]

were you at all concerned about dragging (trolling?) a gigantic bleeding bait behind your yak? I guess you'd have to be a very ballsy sea lion to come up and take a bite of T-shark.. but I'd be worried about bigger things out there!

Congrats on an epic day and catch!

I got slammed in that same area, a week ago, right by the red buoy. My mystery fish went on about 6 or 7 drag-peeling runs, but I never got color. I couldn't get the fish off the bottom, and water was only around 35-40ft. I suspect it was a bat ray, but a few people at the ramp thought it could have been a T-shark or mako. I'll have to head out there again... with a rope and some friends!

[Hondatom]

Great job, congratulations on a job well done.

[DannyN]

Nice fish !. Congats Wayne

Wayne,

What a great day. Thanks for sharing some fresh T Shark meat.
It's by far the most tender fish out there.

Miheil and I are so stoked for you!!

[SorryCharlie]

Congrats Wayne!

Way to go on the team work. I've heard those tails can do some damage, and I sure wouldn't want to mess with one.

Enjoy the steaks.

[bellcon]

Cool story and nice team work
did Yani offer to butcher it on the water?

[Vikingj]

Thanks for the comments, guys. In re: to some of your questions:

Share the spoils? You betcha! I filled 1 1/3 five-gallon buckets w/ steaks. 1-2 lbs each went to 5 employees at Dana Jetski/kayak, 3 fishing buddies, and 2 family members. I still have 20lbs in my freezer.

Yani the butcher? We don't let Yani within 10 ft of a knife when he goes fishing with us!

Drag fish through sealions in harbor? I was a little concerned about the dogs so I finally gill clipped the head to make a speedy passage. The T looked like it was swimming alongside w/ its long tail and dorsal fin breaking the surface - this obviously caught the attention of several people in/along side the harbor. I told two young ladies on SUP's that I had trained the shark to follow me on a leash and I left them with an amazed look on their face. When I pulled into the kayak rental dock and hoisted the fish up on the deck there was a group of tourist renting yaks that I sure were considering canceling their kayak adventure.

Tender steaks? Amazingly so! The 1st night I grilled steaks on a skewer w/ lemon, olive oil, and pepper -very good. Tonight I marinated the chunks in teriyaki sauce before grilling. OMG! I thought I'd died and gone to heaven - it was outstanding!

Wayne