Sharkin and table fare...

Just wanted to share a couple great trips from last week where the mission was to pull on something that pulled back.  David and his sons Jay, Morgan & Matthew had a great day sharking with a mix of bonnetheads, blacktips, atlantic sharpnose and a true 6 ft. monster.  At first I thought the big shark was a bull, but under closer inspection local shark expert Capt. Brooks Good deemed it to be a sandbar shark.  This beast pulled us down the beach for close to a mile, and when we pulled the 7/0 7766D Mustad hook out it looked more like a dart than a hook.  We planned to flounder fish at the end of the trip, but the shark had other plans.  We still managed 15 minutes flattie fishing and the fellas stuck some good ones for dinner.

When Jason and his son Henry showed up at the dock for another shark trip, I knew I was in trouble.  Henry pretty much told me he was the man and was a mission.  This little dude was a fishing machine.  Henry kept score on every fish caught.  I think at the end of the day, it was Henry- 14, Dad- 8 and Capt. Tim-0.  My new name, from Henry, was Mr. Doughnut, as I couldn’t catch “doodely”.  Henry was crowned grand champion, and got to captain the boat home. 

I would also like to mention that we were sharking for table fare.  I know a lot of folks scoff at the idea of eating shark, but the spinners, blacktips and sharpnose in the 2-3 ft range make for some really fine eating.  The key is to gut the sharks immediately and get them on ice.  While many folks steak them out, I prefer to filet them.  The filets are firm, white and have very little if any red in them.  They are delicious grilled or fried.  Thanks gang for a couple awesome days of getting our strings stretched!