Return to Mexico (Day Two)

Three days later and I was back aboard the same boat, same skipper. Again we were chasing sharks and this time we would stick to our guns.

It took a while but finally we managed  to hook into one, and a good one at that. I have landed several big species in various countries but never have I been hooked up to such a determined hard fighting fish as this one. If it didn't want to move I could not shift it.

Half an hour in and my arms burnt from the lactic acid in my muscles, my fingers cramped up so much that I couldn't straighten my hand, stinging blisters appeared on my fingers and the sweat flowed from my pores. I would be lying if I said that I didn't contemplate throwing in the towel but I grit my teeth, dug deep into the last of my reserves of strength and determination and finally after what seemed like forever I won. The tail was lassoed and the shark hauled aboard.

At 72 inches, approx. 120lb it wasn't the biggest ever landed but it was mine. I emptied a bottle of iced water over my head and posed in the searing heat with my prize- job done.

I informed the skipper that I didn't want another but could we fish for other stuff, jokingly I said Wahoo but within minutes I was hooked up to a Wahoo! 

Blue sharks are quick but nothing like the 'Usain Bolt' of the sea. This thing stripped line off at such a rate I thought the reel might run out but thankfully the ensuing fight was not as gruesome as the shark. I got a grip and was able to deal with it more easily. Another first and another species ticked off the list.

Half an hour bottom fishing resulted in two more new species, a Red Hind and a Porgy and on the way back we spotted a cruising barracuda which was obviously hungry.

Two awesome days fishing, seven new species landed, three off the bucket list and a personal best shark. Paraiso!!

Back in Mexico (Day One)

Cancun

At the end of September our business celebrated its first birthday. The hard graft is paying off and we definitely deserved a well earned break so the whole family jetted off to Mexico for twelve days. 

Frigate bird

Like last year I scoured the internet for suitable boats for a couple of days big game fishing. Always a shot in the dark but I dare not leave it until arrival in case they were fully booked. 

October is possibly the worst month for fishing in Mexico, all the bill fish species are notorious by their absence however there are still plenty of bait fish and tuna about and because of that the sharks stick about also. So shark fishing it was then, with a chance of a few other species besides.

To increase our chance of action we would fish several methods at once, feathers for the Bonita, Tuna and Mackerel (all great shark baits), teasers in case a Mahi Mahi turned up and whole fish baits for Barracuda and Wahoo. 

The shark baits are loaded on a down-rigger and trolled at depth but it was a surface bait that took off first and within minutes I landed a personal best barracuda.

Removed a tooth for my son!

Bonito and tuna followed but the sharks remained elusive. Several hours of inactivity forced us to ring the changes. We fashioned up some tuna steaks and bottom fished over rough ground for only a few minutes. In that short period of time I landed two stunning trigger fish and my very first Amberjack.

Great Dentistry

Back trolling we managed one shark bite which resulted in a bitten through leader and a 'merde' from the captain-didn't need a translator for that snippet of Spanish!

However we did catch one more fish, the highlight of the day for me, another first and a fish that has been on my bucket list for years but I have ignored in favour of bigger fish. Shame on me as there can be no fish more stunning.

Whitby Shark Adventure

Being a Yorkshireman I have been to Whitby countless times, endured wind and rain, sheltered in amusements and eaten soggy fish and chips that still tasted better than anywhere else in the world. When my old primary school friend got in touch for the first time in nearly thirty years I accepted his invitation for a Porbeagle Shark fishing trip without hesitation. Matt introduced me to fishing when we were 9 years old and we used to wander down the old brickyard pond at 4am to plunder its stock of countless stunted Rudd and battle the monster Tench if we were lucky.

Matt and I with a Brickyard Tench 1984

We met the skipper Rich Ward aboard his boat Shy-Torque3 at 6.30am surrounded by blue skies and not a cloud to be seen, this was a different Whitby to the one I remember! We had a thirty mile, two hour journey ahead of us so we quickly steamed out of the harbour past the famous Abbey ruins on the east cliff and the whalebone arch on the west, following in the footsteps of Captain Cook(the only Captain to tour Australia and not lose a Test!)

 Dolphins greeted us as we anchored up in the fishing grounds, probably attracted by the chum bag which by now was over the side leaking its pungent contents out into the water to attract the sharks. A mixture of crushed Mackerel, oil and bran. They played around us for a good ten minutes treating us to quite a show.

With the sun beating down and millpond like conditions we could have been in Florida, I can still feel the pain of my sunburnt neck as I write this! We messed about trying to catch fresh Mackerel whilst waiting for the Sharks to arrive landing only a couple plus the odd small Cod and Pouting.
By early afternoon we were fearing the worst when Matt noticed line trundling off his Shark rod. The skipper picked up the rod but there was no pressure from the other end. He reeled in, struck, still nothing. He did the same again, still nothing. As he brought the bottle float near the boat he grabbed the line and it nearly sliced through his hand, the fish was still on! It had swam straight towards us!
Matt took over and the battle ensued but what a strange battle it was. He gained line to the leader and it would waddle around under the boat before getting bored and taking some line back. After ten minutes we tried to boat the fish but it was clearly not ready and set off on a fifty yard run, the longest run of the fight. 

Eventually it began to tire and after what seemed like an eternity the three of us hauled it up the ramp and through the trap door. It still had a fair amount of energy left thrashing about the back of the boat trying to take a chunk out of anyone's leg in the vicinity. A towel over it's eyes was the only way to keep it calm long enough to get a picture.
We measured it at six foot two inches long equating to approximately 235lb!
What a fish!
















We had about forty minutes left to try for another but sadly all I could muster was a small Ling.

A bit pathetic in comparison!!

We motored our way back into Whitby pleased with the result. The Sharking is definitely not prolific round these parts. In 2012 they only landed two fish in the whole year! It would have been nice if we had both had one but I was still pleased for my old mate and it was great to have witnessed such an amazing beast.