Have I Caught My Last Touney Mako?

[Deep C]

Been a long good run. Made a lot of friends, caught a lot of fish, and even slipped a few bucks in my pocket during the ride...
Last year I saw twenty six makos come to my transom in like nine or ten trips. This year.... Well....

We ran hard and fished as hard as I ever have over the last couple days. Saturday we picked a blue dog off on the first drift. Crystal clear water but cold. We moved to spot two. Water green but warm enough. We had a bump on our big bait twice but not a tooth mark on it. Third drift we had structure, color, temp, and even the start of a pretty fair drift. Two miles into it a rogue turtle worked over our spread. Shredding every bait we had out there and I think trying to mate with a couple..
Next drift was also good condition but a blue dog for our effort. Last drifft we had a good something bowed up but the hooks had turned into the bait and never found the mystery critters mouth.

Day two had us push to virgin pastures. Football bluefins along the way , birds, etc. The weather was supposed to be nice but this spot was crap. 3-5' short steep nasty chop. Then to really piss me off we opened our first can of chum only to find it wasn't frozen. I will guess that somebody traded thawed for frozen and the dock kid didn't know when he put it on our boat...
We made do with some MacGyvering and a chum ladle and had to work the day in "manual" mode. First drift drew nothing. Tried four more blanks on tried and true pieces of ground that almost always have at least something. Blanks too.
Went back to an old standby spot and the water was crap... Hell, we had worked pretty stuff without a sniff for most of the day why give her a slide. Late in the day there was the feeling of skunk in the air when the big bait got doinked. Aha! A nibble. More doinks then a full on savage attack taking place down there... "Please God make it a mako and make it count!"
The beating was intense but no real run off for a while. Then it began swimming and we bowed up. No jump and the feeling of blue dog filled the air.
Then I saw the snout. "Bingo!" Looked at the watch though. Times up... Got her to the transom... Meat fish not money fish... The 13/0 mustad of the big bait was planted in her gills and the blood flowed. We boxed her and with heavy hearts our day was done...

Saw that NMFS has just labled them as "overfished". I can see the writing on the wall and I think it spells the end of mako fishing as we know it... Yall know I love the game when it comes to them. You also know my utter contempt for NMFS. But this time I have to agree that old Isurus Oxyrinchus can't maintain the hammering we have put on them through the years. Unlike the circle hook thing, if they slam the door I won't find it in me to argue.

To all those I have fished with and to all those fish that have tasted "Deep Love" I thank you... Most years I have been the one on top but this year the fish got me... To the cobalt missiles of June, I salute you...

[BlueH20Boss]

Deep, Good post, and we feel your pain with almost every mako coming to the boat this year being less than 130lbs

[Deep C]

I don't know... Not sure if its really pain I'm feelin. Like I said its been a great long run at em. Takin it better than I thought I would, if in fact this is the end but maybe I'm just "there". Most years I would never have thought about boxin a meat fish in a tourney, late in the day or not. Last year we had a pile of fish and only four made their way to the dock. Each year they get dinkier and dinkier.
Its entirely possible that I have killed "enough". Could be a little guilt thing creeping in for all those that I did kill through the years... As for the tournies. I have placed or won, again I use the word "Enough". Really nothing left to prove.
Might be a good thing. Let me get excited about dialing in a different June game. Might turn up the heat for early canyon activity. Maybe talk the boss into doing something like Big Rock. Certainly it would be good for the makos to get off their back.
Not really sure how I feel about it... Could be the sucky fishing the lasst couple years has me "jaded" as compared to all those glory years... I'd imagine I'd be kicking and screaming though if we had finished off with a bang...

[Tunaman5]

"The fish are where you find them". Period. No shortages that I can see as far as Mako's go either. They are there...just not where I was this year. Funny how that happens. I haven't placed in either of these tourney since 2004. I hope this wasn't the last hoorah for Mako tourneys. I need to catch the one that got away. Don't give up yet Deep C. You ain't ready.

[Deep C]

Oh not giving up... Just facing what could well be and for some reason I'm taking it surprisingly well. That just aint Deep and I'm just thinking out loud why I'm not blowing a gasket...
I am fishing next week for mako in a few spots close to home I havn't tried in years... Not for any reason except to shake this snake bite bullcrap off me. The tourney might be over this year and competing agains other boats might be done but I'm not waving the white flag to catching just yet. I'm competitive at heart. Ok no fleet to beat but I gotta run myself into the ground to beat that fish that has eluded me...

A dozen of my hottest spots came up short. The fish drove around us. I zagged when I shoulda zigged. Cold water, hot water, dirty water... Bottom line is that I havn't scored FOR ME and I can't put the season to bed without a good one...

[zar2754]

just "put your hand on the nearest 50wide"

[Deep C]

I have and i do feel the power coursing through my veins. I have been summoned by the higher power to go forth to the holy waters of the promised land and indeed purge them of the demon mako. But to my embarassment this season I have so far failed in my appointed task...

[Big Jay]

I have no clue why they have mako tournaments to be quite honest. It's a dead fishery.

[Deep C]

The species is hurt for sure. Number wise they are down this year. Thats neither here or there. Lots of factors involved with that. Last year I saw more than I have in a very very long time. 26 in nine days not to mention others seen or lost is a smack down.
The issue is though that we are ranging further and further to find these fish... The other issue is that they are getting smaller and smaller every year. It used to be that we'd get a shot a one over 200 most every trip and at least a couple 300 or better fish a season. I havn't bowed up one over 200 in two years. Thats the next generation of not quite ready breeding stock thats really depleted.
Yeah there is a good count of rats out there but slowly they are getting picked down too. The missing class of soon to be breeders is the troublesome part. Breaks the chain. NMFS is correct in their assessment that the Mako is in trouble. Not sure what direction they are gonna go but I'm bracing for a possible shut down...

Run where the events usually run there is a skill involved with finding the hogs. This late season move by tournies though is taking that skill factor out. This time of year they're now moving and catching one is a matter of just being in front of it rather than isolating a given piece of turf that the early season fish will hold on...

[gradyfish265]

Deep we had fish behind the boat, just they kept teasing us and would not eat ANYTHING... we had it all in the water...had one mako nosing a butterflied bonita for a while, kept him behind that bait a long time...he was just staring at it like 20 ft from the boat...so fristrating. Had 2 other hits with nice teeth marks, but they ran so short we didn;t even have a chance in heck to hook up on them. Very frustrating, had plenty of bluedogs to keep us busy on day 2, but also had more of the right fish around as well. I've never seen such timid, docile makos in a slick in my life....
Only nice thing is we did not have to deal with hordes of bluefish hits all day...actyually didn't have a single one all trip.

You know things are bad when 10 fish are weighed in from 2 days of fishing and close to 300 boats in the tournament.

We saw the bluefin as well, dropped a jig in Sat on the way back in and put a 70-80lb class fish in the box. Atleast we had some nice steaks for the grill.