Matador Rudee to Diamond Shoals and Back

[SNAKE EYES SPORTFISHING]

JUST my opinion but aint no mako comin in the boat unless we're keepin him. and you can bet he's gonna get a load of buckshot in the gills before he gets the gaff or dart...sorry but a 200lb fish can do alot of damage in the cockpit if he get pissed off

[Phat Mann]

That pic was worth the effort.
That trip, this time of year, says a heck of a lot about the effort Capt Jake puts into a trip.

Well done

[Captain Fred Archer]

Mako sharks are great troll fish for sure. They are also dangerous as hell, both while simply fighting them and especially at the end game. Gaffing them in the head is begging for trouble from a fish that can and does jump like crazy, is very strong, and has the worst teeth on the water. I consider it unwise to gaff a fish like that in a place that actually points and pulls it toward the cockpit and crew.

Here is how we do it in what is called a HEED OR BLEED from Shark Chummer's Bible. The same thing is in New Shark Troller's Bible.

Also shown is how we kill the ones that we are going to take (we release the vast majority) with a .410 "Snake Charmer" - "X" marks the spot. We remove the head before we put an eater in the boat because one sliding around on the deck or that someone just slides a foot into the mouth of can get cut badly. If we want the head or a full fish shot back at the dock, we shove the head in a bucket and use a bungee to keep it there.

Be careful...they are bad news!

[bigfish4me]

The one that got away....1993, 25' blackfin in the south Jersey shark tourney......deep line gets bit, 20 minutes to get her boatside and she is as big as half the boat....after seeing her do a jump that would make shamu jelous we were a bit on edge to say the least.....mis gaff and to the bottom she went.......fishing at the misty blue for you Jersey fellas, 2 hours later she was wupped, had the chance and the gaff man screwed the pooch again and she sounded and the swivel gave up the ghost.......not really sure what would have happened if the hook really stuck........probably would not have made weigh in either way because we really had no chance to get that beast in the boat anyway........that was the one....haunts us every day because you dont see those caliber fish in jersey anymore.......the memory of that fish haunts us.

[bigfishhooker]

Kudos to you boys....wish I had the fuel tank and/or cash to float the mileage!

I'm digging the SPOT posts...I've not used my Tracker as I should and with a new video camera onboard, the track picture you reminded me of just might add that extra "WTF!!!" detail when my own crew pulls one of those long trips.

[Fish Dad]

I do have a heathly respect for makos (which was why I went to the bridge).

Here is a video from years ago at the mako end game. Just before gaffing, the Capt yells,

"No not that gaff, get the flyer!"

And this gave time for the mako to do what he did in this video. He tried to eat the boat. Teeth marks through the gell coat all the way into the fiberglass. So the lesson I learned here is if a mako will try to eat a 27 foot boat, he will surely try to eat you.

http://www.vimeo.com/8517583

[capt. jakeg]

Capt. Fred is right. That fish should have never attempted to have been gaffed with a tuna gaff and should have definitely been put on the flyer. Typically when sharks are an option I have a flyer at hand- my boat is probably one of the few around that area that has SEVERAL flyers and flyer handles aboard. I am armed for bear on sharks but at this time we were trolling for tuna. We never saw the fish until it was at the stern and I actually believed it to be an early season blue marlin from the bite- BIG hole bent pole. Surely a decent sized mako wouldnt stick on 60# flouro leaders. When that fish got to the back of the boat I hollered to stick it with the flyer but the flyer was not at hand and at that point it was too late. The mate was already locked in and I have no idea what he actually thought he was gonna do with a green 150ish mako on a tuna gaff, but I dont think Ben had ever caught a mako before and has no idea what they are capable of. I killed maybe a dozen sharks last year bigger than that one and those all went down without mishap, but that one there still has me thinking WTF?

[Captain Fred Archer]

Cappy J,

All understandable, now that you've explained the details. Not expecting a marlin to turn into a mako right at the end can be cause for all kinds of crazy stuff, that's for sure. I know that you have all of the experience you need to handle those fish safely, but (especially) a younger mate who hasn't been down the road much with makos and the pressure he feels on a slow day with a shot at a good fish can result in errors in judgement. The most important part is that nobody got hurt and secondly, I'm sure that a good lesson was learned.

All good. But I wanted to confirm that I surely understand that you know what you're doing and that this was an unwelcome surprise, especially to the guys "attached" to that critter!

I have always wondered how many mono leader bite-offs are attributed to wahoo, but that were, in fact, done by makos...they really are a GREAT troll fish!

Here's hoping that your next trip is a great one. You sure put in the work to have that happen!