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.

Blue Shark Heaven

On the first Friday in September every year we head south down the M5 towards Plymouth for our annual shark trip. It has become an integral part of the fishing calendar and is a weekend we look forward to with great anticipation. Action is virtually guaranteed, only once have we blanked and that day I caught my first ever Bass so wasn't really that bothered.

We always use the same skipper, Malcolm Jones aboard his forty year old former lifeboat 'Sea Angler Two'. He works hard for us, is good company, always has a story or two and makes loads of 'cuppas' which are essential.

Tactics are the same each year, big circle hooks tied to wire traces, 200lb leaders and polystyrene floats. Mackerel flappers are used for bait set at various depths in an oily slick full of bits of mashed-up fish, bran and special secret fish oil.

If sharks can smell a drop of blood from so many miles away why do we need so much rubby dubby? I'll ask him next time.
Three rods are deployed at various depths and as I lost the toss Nathan would have two and I would fish the third. I got to choose which rod was mine though and selected the deepest one, it is usually the first to register a bite and on this occasion I was not wrong.

Half an hour later the ratchet started clicking away and I was into a fish, seconds later one of the other rods hooped over and we had a double hook up.

The first of the day a pup of about thirty five pounds.

And that was how the action continued for the rest of the day, nine Sharks landed in only four and a bit hours fishing. The biggest weighing something close to 100lb, caught by Nathan but sadly it rolled round the trace when we got it close to the boat and bit through the leader.

The biggest I managed was a seventy five pounder that we did manage to boat for a photo opportunity.

A feisty bugger that seemed determined to try and get its own back on us.

Hard fighting fish both in the water and out. Despite the aching arms and shoulders we still managed to lift a few pints and celebrated a successful trip long into the night.
Cannot wait for next year!

Love a Bit of Blue!

The sun had just risen over the horizon as we stealthily made our way out of Plymouth harbour. Our mission was to do battle with the Blue sharks off the Devon coastline, an annual trip I have made several times with our kid but this time we dragged along a sharking 'virgin', Martin.

Although we didn't quite have the whole ocean to ourselves we were the only anglers venturing out that day. A force four/five breeze meant that anchoring up over wrecks was not possible but as we would be drifting it was safe to fish but not easy to retain your breakfast as both Martin and Nathan proved! It meant that there was more sausage rolls and pork pie for my lunch though!!

Mackerel Penis-Unfortunate!!

First job as always is to gather bait which means Mackerel feathering, a fun prelude to the real thing. Thankfully they were plentiful and in no time at all we had enough for both the sharks and the rubby-dubby.

From the Mackerel grounds we then steamed out the rest of the 22 miles to our drift which would take us another five miles over several wrecks.
The tackle used was 30 pound class boat rods multiplier reels loaded with 50 pound mono, 200 pound mono leader, wire trace and large circle hooks. Poly ball floats were clipped to the line allowing us to adjust the depths of the Mackerel flapper baits.

The Mackerel was mashed and deposited over the side in an onion sack to allow the scent, oils and bits of fish to create an attractive slick for the sharks to follow. As sharks can smell a drop of blood from miles away I'm not sure the whole fish carnage is necessary but it has been done this way for years so I never question the skipper's methods.
A rotation system is in place for the three rods with everyone starting with one each(after a draw has been made) and when an angler has landed a fish he relinquishes his rod until all the others have caught.

Nathan's rod was the first to register but in the time it took him to get to it the fish had dropped the bait. It was obviously hungry though and immediately picked up mine instead. A strange fight ensued where it came straight at the boat and then didn't really cause me any problems until it was close in. Not a monster but at least it was a start.
Occasionally sharks spit their stomachs out in an attempt to eject something they don't want inside them-like a hook. It does them no harm and they swallow them back down and live perfectly fine. It makes for a gross photo mind you so I have heavily cropped the image below for those of a weak constitution, don't want Martin and Nathan to be sick again!

Then there followed a lengthy period of inactivity but finally the deepest rod signalled a take and Martin landed his first ever 'Blue' and he seemed so pleased that he gave it a 'Rex Hunt' style kiss.

The slick was obviously working extremely well now and before long Nathan landed his own bit of Blue.

There was one slight problem we had in that the Sharks were not the only creatures attracted to the fishy trail, a couple of hungry Gannets joined us and they were a nightmare when trying to get the baits out to the right area. These huge 'Pterodactyls' as the skipper calls them have amazing eyesight and the ability to dive really deep, enough to attack the bait. Several times they descended into the depths to retrieve what they thought was a free meal only to find a big hook buried in it.

Amusing at first and magnificent to see these huge birds in action but it was a relief when they buggered off. Thankfully we didn't hook any of them!

Also in the slick were plenty of Garfish which are great fun to play on light tackle. I cannot resist catching a few and my Avon rod and eight pound line could only just cope. To be honest when I hooked a 2lb 4oz specimen it really beat me up but thankfully the size eight hook held firm and I landed a new pb.

We did manage a couple more Sharks between us, a small one for me that was spared a photo session and the biggest of the day to Martin, a 5foot 11inch specimen weighing approximately 45lb.

Ignore the 'Pussy Pouch' and lipstick!

All in all another thoroughly enjoyable trip aboard Sea Angler II and we celebrated our success long into the night in the bars of Plymouth.

Plymouth Blues

The Devon coastline is not as renowned for it's shark fishing as it's neighbour Cornwall and more recently the Welsh shore but it is my favourite place to wet a salty line. We have been fishing with Malcolm Jones aboard the 'Sea Angler 2' for several years now, in fact this was my seventh trip with him, my fourth chasing sharks but my companions this time were both shark virgins, 'little bro' Nathan and Cheggars. Malcolm charters out of Plymouth and the nightlife there is the second best reason to visit the city, after the fishing obviously. Having travelled down the night before and endured a shocking full English breakfast in our cheap B&B (you get what you pay for!) we arrived in dock at about 7.30am.

The sharks round here live a good distance from shore so we have no choice but to steam out for about 16 miles and then set about the first task to gather bait, Mackerel.

We needed flappers for the hook and the rest goes in the 'rubby dubby' which mixed with oil and bran and hung over the side in an onion sack.

This is the ocean version of ground bait and gives me an idea for Pike! By lunchtime we were eventually sharking.
The set up is a fairly simple float rig, only on a bigger scale.

Big circle hooks are attached to a six foot hook link of wire trace for obvious reasons. This is then clipped to several feet of 200 pound mono leader which is needed if the shark rolls, which they often do. If they were to roll straight onto the main line then their sandpaper-like skin would part the line like cotton but the 200lb mono gives extra insurance against a lost fish. The float is attached free running but has a genius clip that grips the line just enough to hold the bait at the desired depth but the line releases when a fish is hooked and running.

There is nothing more exciting than watching a float sink out of view knowing that a big shark is the culprit.
Three rods were put out, all baited with Mackerel, the spines removed to make the flappers and all three are set at different depths. One rod each to begin with but if someone catches then they would take a step back and the remaining anglers would have all the rods. The first run came on Cheggar's rod and the reel screamed, obviously a good fish attached.

Gradually he started to get the line back on the reel until finally we saw colour. As we got it alongside the boat it rolled up the trace right to the mono and managed to take a bite, not all the way through but enough for it to snap as we tried to lift it aboard. The skipper estimated it at 80lb but I thought that was a little generous, we'll never know. The touched leader/did it count debate continued light heartedly all afternoon and evening.
The next run came to my rod and a one-sided battle ended with me landing a thirty pounder.

The action then became fast and furious with Nathan landing his first ever Blue, a twenty pounder and Cheggar's had his second fish, a fifteen pound puppy.
Next up was me again this time having a much better battle from a fifty pounder that I ended up winning.

Nathan landed one more fish and that was the end of the shark action. A great result, six sharks in four hours.
Even though we were 20 miles out to sea there are other species to fish for whilst waiting for a shark to turn up. Bass, though not easy are possible but I love playing around with the Garfish that are attracted to the rubby-dubby slick. They fight like stink on an avon rod even tail walking and leaping about like a baby Marlin! I landed my biggest ever on the trip and what a fight!

We had drifted so far that it took over two hours to get back to the harbour but it was worth it.
If anyone fancies a great day's fishing with a top skipper who works hard, especially with the kettle, then give Malcolm a call, you won't regret it.