Mako's

[Aaron&Julie]

Like I said, Julie and my brain prevailed when we had just small makos hooked off of La Jolla.
Even with a gun, assuming that the gun killed it completely, is there a kayaker willing to do this alone?
OK. Now, that you've got company, what is the other person going to do for you when that mako wants to impress you with his ability to land on your kayak, eat your nuts, and tell you he doesn't want to play anymore.
It's not an impossible feat from the kayak, but who really needs to prove their manhood that way?
Don't be stupid. I too, don't want to read about your results, bad (most likely) or good.

[silverbullet]

Originally Posted by Aaron&Julie

....when that mako wants to impress you with his ability to land on your kayak, eat your nuts, and tell you he doesn't want to play anymore.......

LMAO.... I picked up a Soup-fin that nearly did just that to me...I was working on carefully getting my rig back and he gave a kick... nearly came teeth first into my lap. My reaction was to pull the line back and out holding him away from my jewels.

After I stopped screaming like a girl (not really but it was scary) many jokes about girls with bad teeth came to mind. (Ie: apple test)

I wouldn't recommend targeting aggressive sharks unless you are prepared and if prepared you may still get hurt. We used to shoot big fish in AK before bringing them aboard so they would not smash up the boat... seems harder to do from a YAK....

Definately post pictures here and at Failblog.

[Fiskadoro]

Originally Posted by Aaron&Julie

OK. Now, that you've got company, what is the other person going to do for you when that mako wants to impress you with his ability to land on your kayak, eat your nuts, and tell you he doesn't want to play anymore......

Yeah I was thinking the same thing.

Say you're with a group of kayakers, fishing on a sit on top yak, and a hooked Mako jumps right into you open mouthed and rips through an arm or leg right down to the bone severing vital arteries and tendons. Well I guess the good news is you'll have someone to tow you in, but it's not going to stop you from bleeding to death before they get you in or before someone can get out there to help you. Fishing in a crowd is not going to make it any safer.

Here's a few vids...



That's just a small one but notice how it comes right towards the boat skimming and jumping out of the water. A boats big enough that it can see and then avoid it but a kayak is not going to scare it off.



That's a decent fish, and a classic hookup and mako video. Go to 2 minutes and see what happens when they hook it. Though it initially takes off and runs out to maybe seventy five yards it then comes right back and almost jumps into the boat. Once again the boat is big enough to scare it off but a yak to that size mako is nothing. Look how high it's going into the air. If a shark that size landed on top of you after one of those jumps even closed mouth it would break bones, severely injure you and probably completely destroy your yak.

Look how many times he jumps in the 60 seconds they have him on. 12 times averaging maybe ten feet up in the air each time and he covers a lot of ground while doing it. Now imagine fishing in a crowd of sit on tops kayaks. Not only would you be at risk of getting jumped on, but anyone in the crowd might get hit and he moves so fast and so erratically that there is no way to predict where he's going or get out of his way.

Like I said I've fished a lot of Makos and I have fished sharks in general since I was a kid. Any other sharks Bulls, Tigers, even Hammerheads would not be a big deal to catch from a yak, but Makos because they can and often do act so crazy would be dangerous to hunt from a kayak, especially a sit on top where your body is completely unprotected and exposed.

I mean I'm not adverse to taking risk. I fish small boats way offshore and spend most of my time yakking alone. The deal is have to think strategically and there are lines you just do not cross. I've considered fishing Makos from the yak but I'd wear leather and I should of said this earlier but I would also fish them from my sit inside where my legs would be protected.

Still I'd say it's kind of like Russian roulette. The odds are that the first time you pull that trigger your not going to blow your head off but do it enough you will end up getting hurt. I'm sure guys could fish makos on sit on tops, and they probably will not get hurt the first time, but eventually if they kept doing it without some kind of protective gear, and the proper equipment, Id' say the odds will eventually catch up with them and someones going to end up getting seriously injured.

Jim