Mako Eating a sailfish

[SportFishStaff]

Ok the music sucks and the tape is grainy and not the best video work but it's still pretty cool watching how this shark works this sailfish.

[seapower]

The secret is practice, keep it up and you'll get really good at it! By the way it's every bit as good as the last video I posted!!! Frank

[Captain Fred Archer]

That vid does a good job of showing how and why so many chummed makos wind up getting wrapped in leader, with too many of these fish lost because they don't get hooked or don't get hooked properly. Their standard attack procedure is to make an initial hard and fast strike at the tail of their prey, lopping it off and rendering the target helpless. Then they usually cautiously circle their prey, watching it bleed to death before coming in to feed-from the tail forward. This circling is when they often pick up leader on their bodies and freak out...expecially if it's a cable leader, which emits a great deal of EMF.

We basically bait and switch all of our sharks, which eliminates any of those leader wraps, ensures that we bait each fish with the right size gear (especially important if the fish turns out to be a big thresher), allows us to mouth, instead of gut hooking small ones that we want to release unharmed, and allows us to make primo hook sets on any and all others. Of course, bait and switching also allows us to NOT catch nuisance fish like blues, rays, dog fish, bluefish (unless we need one for bait), so we can dedicate 100% of our time to the game sharks. That adds up to more good sharks and none, or danged few bad ones. For us, that's good shark fishing.

Believe me, if there are a lot of nuisance and junk sharks and other fish around, and especially if you're fishing in a tournament where makos and threshers are the only fish that count and those others are pure wastes of time, learning the in's and out's of power chumming, bait and switch fishing, and the right kind of trolling are, IMO, the very best ways to up your odds of winning.

Otherwise - if you have read the book - you're simply fishing WITH THE THREE BLIND MICE aboard "The Cheeser"!!

[tom s]

Fred,I wish we could post the seal vid that happened at Catalina last summer.Perfect example of the mako hitting it and then circle,waiting to come back and finish it off.Also,you coming to Fred Hall this year?Look me up if you do.Tom

[Bud Man]

Fred,I wish we could post the seal vid that happened at Catalina last summer.Perfect example of the mako hitting it and then circle,waiting to come back and finish it off.Also,you coming to Fred Hall this year?Look me up if you do.Tom

This one!!!!!!!! Tom

[tom s]

thats it,I saw the unedeted version,most people cant believe how close to shore that attack was!Actually felt sorry for the little bugger!His pal swimming around was also interesting.Tom

[Captain Fred Archer]

Tom,

I would love to come to the Long Beach tackle show this year, but my health has deteriorated to the extent that it is impossible. Of course, you know me and I will try, no matter what the Docs say...hell, they've been trying to bury me for at least five years now, but I've beaten them so far. Old friends in the business, including that tough guy El Thomas from Big Five who also happened to be that rarity, a real fisherman in that business that I have loved for so long is a very powerful force, sick or not. I'll try to shake your hand one last time and thank you for the lessons you taught me, my friend, I'll try.

And just so we never forget, I wish to the bottom of my old heart that our good friend Steve Perry could be there in the flesh with us, instead of just in spirit.

You have a good one, my old friend...and catch a few fish for me, please.

[tom s]

My best to you Fred.If you do make it over and for some reason im not in the booth,let Ron know where you will be.Also go to Shimano and introduce yourself to my son Pat.He is a rep for them.I will be around after 5 during the week and most of the day sat and sun.Tom

[Captain Fred Archer]

Tom,

Thanks. In the unlikely event that I make it, I'll find you for sure. It'll be deja vu seeing Ron again too.

How ironic! You son working for my old outfit...I sure hope I can get to meet him and give him an earful about Shimano's early days and the role his (hard assed) old man played in all of that. Man, we had our times, did we not? If he turns out to be as good a businessman as his dad is, he'll wind up running the joint in a few years. (No kissing butt here...I don't do that sort of thing - ever - and I don't sell Tom anything anymore. It's just admiration talkin', that's all.)