Non-Fly Unlimited Tropical Gear Fishing Dirtbaggery Thread

Stoneflywelding said:
Hmmm yeah I’m gonna have to sort of disagree with you on this one. Sounds pretty fun to me. Too bad I am a huge wuss when it comes to being offshore and keeping food in my stomach. Thanks for all the inspiration lately, headed back to Kauai in a few weeks and really looking forward to being back at Anini beach.
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Fighting big sharks sounds fun in the abstract, and the first bit is thrilling the first time or two, but once you are actually into the fight it’s not at all fun. It’s pure physical punishment. Like the worst gym session you ever did, only you can’t stop. And once you get them to the boat, that’s when it gets worse.

I think Mingo probably hit the absolute sweet spot with that mako, get the hit, a ripping run, a couple of awesome jumps and then a nice break off.
 
Chucker said:
Fighting big sharks sounds fun in the abstract, and the first bit is thrilling the first time or two, but once you are actually into the fight it’s not at all fun. It’s pure physical punishment. Like the worst gym session you ever did, only you can’t stop. And once you get them to the boat, that’s when it gets worse.

I think Mingo probably hit the absolute sweet spot with that mako, get the hit, a ripping run, a couple of awesome jumps and then a nice break off.
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Never caught a shark, but did tangle with a 480# marlin once. 3 hours of brutality in the cabo sun, no thank you.
 
Chucker said:
Fighting big sharks sounds fun in the abstract, and the first bit is thrilling the first time or two, but once you are actually into the fight it’s not at all fun. It’s pure physical punishment. Like the worst gym session you ever did, only you can’t stop. And once you get them to the boat, that’s when it gets worse.

I think Mingo probably hit the absolute sweet spot with that mako, get the hit, a ripping run, a couple of awesome jumps and then a nice break off.
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Well, the more I’m told how much catching a Mako shark sucks, the more it makes me want the chance to try it😂. I cannot be the only person here who would love to do that some day. To those of you who have I am thoroughly jealous. I would gladly take a beating to have that experience.

What island are you on @Mingo ?
 
Stoneflywelding said:
Well, the more I’m told how much catching a Mako shark sucks, the more it makes me want the chance to try it😂. I cannot be the only person here who would love to do that some day. To those of you who have I am thoroughly jealous. I would gladly take a beating to have that experience.

What island are you on @Mingo ?
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I’m pretty sure he is FBI…From Big Island
 
Pink Nighty said:
Never caught a shark, but did tangle with a 480# marlin once. 3 hours of brutality in the cabo sun, no thank you.
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None of the handful of blue marlin I've ever caught were that big, but after the first one they became kind of a chore once we were past the initial hit/run/jump sequence. Luckily for me they were all on the clock. :cool:

The first one we ever hooked back in 2011. I was thrilled!


The local captains were shocked that we wanted to release any billfish we caught because they're worth big bucks in the fish co-op.
 
Stoneflywelding said:
Well, the more I’m told how much catching a Mako shark sucks, the more it makes me want the chance to try it😂. I cannot be the only person here who would love to do that some day. To those of you who have I am thoroughly jealous. I would gladly take a beating to have that experience.

What island are you on @Mingo ?
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It doesn't "Suck" per se...they are incredible creatures, ridiculously strong and the jumps defy gravity. It is hard to comprehend a fish that heavy getting that high above the surface. Alpinetrout landed a massive one ON FLY several years ago, he's got a great story to tell. I just don't like my boat tied up for long stretches of time on fish we aren't going to keep when there are so many better species to catch that fight well and are delicious on the table. Sharks are important to the ecosystem and I'd never kill one. But we've had some close encounters with tiger sharks right at the boat that were sorta freaky. We've had them bite fish in half and circle the boat, follow the boat, stalk the boat....it can get interesting.

I've had several encounters with sharks while wade fishing flats myself. Including a 10-11 foot tiger that came out of deeper water right at me while I was fishing in waist deep water. I backed up QUICK to get shallower STAT. By buddy Nate had a 14 footer come up no more than 25 feet away when we were fly fishing. My last encounter was a 6 foot blacktip reef shark that came right at me in knee deep water. I had to jab it in the head with the butt of my fly rod and it did a quick U turn and took off. Freaky. I needed a beer after that. Shit happens in the ocean. These are the things that make fishing interesting.....but you gotta be aware and don't do dumb things. Like sticking around when sharks are actively feeding.

I was snorkeling in the great Blue Hole in Belize ten years ago and that thing is FULL of sharks. Bulls, reef sharks, galapagos sharks etc. That is a very sobering, yet amazing, experience.
 
Chucker said:
Fighting big sharks sounds fun in the abstract, and the first bit is thrilling the first time or two, but once you are actually into the fight it’s not at all fun. It’s pure physical punishment. Like the worst gym session you ever did, only you can’t stop. And once you get them to the boat, that’s when it gets worse.

I think Mingo probably hit the absolute sweet spot with that mako, get the hit, a ripping run, a couple of awesome jumps and then a nice break off.
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You nailed it 100%.
 
Stoneflywelding said:
Hmmm yeah I’m gonna have to sort of disagree with you on this one. Sounds pretty fun to me. Too bad I am a huge wuss when it comes to being offshore and keeping food in my stomach. Thanks for all the inspiration lately, headed back to Kauai in a few weeks and really looking forward to being back at Anini beach.
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Have a great trip. And yeah, the first ten minutes are fun. After that....I just want them off my line so I can chase the gamefish I'm after. You can tell immediately when you hook a shark. The fight is very different. It's like being hooked to a stubborn mule.
 
Mingo said:
It doesn't "Suck" per se...they are incredible creatures, ridiculously strong and the jumps defy gravity. It is hard to comprehend a fish that heavy getting that high above the surface. Alpinetrout landed a massive one ON FLY several years ago, he's got a great story to tell. I just don't like my boat tied up for long stretches of time on fish we aren't going to keep when there are so many better species to catch that fight well and are delicious on the table. Sharks are important to the ecosystem and I'd never kill one. But we've had some close encounters with tiger sharks right at the boat that were sorta freaky. We've had them bite fish in half and circle the boat, follow the boat, stalk the boat....it can get interesting.

I've had several encounters with sharks while wade fishing flats myself. Including a 10-11 foot tiger that came out of deeper water right at me while I was fishing in waist deep water. I backed up QUICK to get shallower STAT. By buddy Nate had a 14 footer come up no more than 25 feet away when we were fly fishing. My last encounter was a 6 foot blacktip reef shark that came right at me in knee deep water. I had to jab it in the head with the butt of my fly rod and it did a quick U turn and took off. Freaky. I needed a beer after that. Shit happens in the ocean. These are the things that make fishing interesting.....but you gotta be aware and don't do dumb things. Like sticking around when sharks are actively feeding.

I was snorkeling in the great Blue Hole in Belize ten years ago and that thing is FULL of sharks. Bulls, reef sharks, galapagos sharks etc. That is a very sobering, yet amazing, experience.
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I was in chest deep water pulling awa from a net on the south west side of Molokai when a 16’ tiger swam up the float line…I jumped into the 8’ square end dingy and watched it swim by…they look much bigger in shallow water.

I have also dived the Blue Hole on scuba…it is a long boat ride from St Georges Caye…and there wasn’t a single shark in it at that time…when you go down past 100’, the hole widens significantly and you can swim around the massive stalactites. We dove Turneffe reef on the way back, this was before there were a single fishing lodge on the island
 
there were hammer heads in the blue hole when I dove it in n the 90s
I had a gnarly E. coli and couldn’t eat but I was on a three day boat tour
I was pretty spun by the end
 
Brute said:
I was in chest deep water pulling awa from a net on the south west side of Molokai when a 16’ tiger swam up the float line…I jumped into the 8’ square end dingy and watched it swim by…they look much bigger in shallow water.

I have also dived the Blue Hole on scuba…it is a long boat ride from St Georges Caye…and there wasn’t a single shark in it at that time…when you go down past 100’, the hole widens significantly and you can swim around the massive stalactites. We dove Turneffe reef on the way back, this was before there were a single fishing lodge on the island
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I have a video of one coming right at me repeatedly when I was standing on a ledge at the entrance to the harbor in Kona. They are smart. I hand fed a 12 footer live fish before in the entrance cut to the harbor. The speed they can turn on while chasing a live fish is scary. I can't dive due to a punctured eardrum, so I have to stay shallow. my brother in law and another buddy dove deep in the Blue Hole that day, and I watched them surface through a maelstrom of sharks. That was a freaky sight. I wish I had that on video.
 
rotato said:
View attachment 98109View attachment 98110I’m on the board!
First time gear fishing in Hawaii
Lots of fun and ease of deployment
Didn’t get much and I so wanted a bite on the popper
Cheers
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Cornetfish... the first one is super cool, the 2nd is a mildly annoying surprise trying to remove the hook from that alien snout. After that is just pliers and cursing.
 
Mingo said:
NOOOO LOL! the last thing we want to deal with is a massive pissed of mako anywhere near our boat. They have been known to jump IN boats when hooked. NOT GOOD! Luckily it bit through the 50 lb bottom fish leader rather quickly.

Fighting any shark over 50 pounds on light tackle, which is all we use, is NOT fun at all. The good end is when they quickly chop through the leader and the torture is over quickly. But some are hooked outside their tooth line and take forever to land. They are a giant pain in the ass.
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That would explain why our guide in SD looked like he was about to throw up, or pass out after releasing this one, estimated 700+:

SD Mako
 
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