Finishing '14 (8' Aussie Bull)

[Deadweight]

Hey guys, sorry I haven't posted much since I registered my account. Been pretty busy over Christmas and New Years. Thought you might like to see my latest catch!


With 2014 coming to a close and no big plans for New Year's Eve, we decided it was time to get one last trip in. A night on one of the many Southern Moreton Bay Islands was the plan and we put the boat in at Paradise Point around 8:30am.

We motored through the northern parts of the Gold Coast Broadwater, reading the water and the land in order to find a spot that would be suitable for both camping and shark fishing. Being New Year's eve there was a huge amount of boat traffic- everything from over-enthusiastic jet skiers to 30m long 'ship shops'- and we knew this would pose a problem. An appropriate spot was soon discovered though and by 11:00am we had the camp set up.



After a game of beach cricket and a lunch of sausage sandwiches, the sun was slowly beginning to set and the boat traffic was decreasing which lead to one thing: time to put a bait out. Out came the 6/0 Senator and I rigged up a large piece of pike eel on a 20/0 Mustad Circle. This was deployed via tinny about 70m from shore into the main channel.


Penn Senator 6/0 and Pike Eel Bait

Three hours had passed, and just as we started to throw some steaks on the grill, my rod tip began to bounce. It's lucky that I had my eye on it at the time as the clicker had somehow become disengaged. The shark made short erratic runs for about 20m before fully committing to the bait and running steadily. I put the reel into gear and set the hook.


Fish On!

After 20 seconds of deadweight the shark took off, stripping 100m of line under 30lb of drag with ease. She soon outed herself as a bull shark by doing what we call 'dogging': sitting with her head in the current without taking an inch of line, but not letting you gain any back either. Every now and again she'd make a short run of 20-30m, after which I'd be able to get some line back.

After 20 minutes of fighting the shark surfaced 100m out, showing us her size before powering off back into the main channel. The mood of the team turned from excitement to nervousness, as up until now we've never dealt with a shark this size. From here on in the runs she made were short and stroppy, and I could feel that she was beginning to tire. In the final stages of the fight I took a seat in the sand and threw on a back harness in order to pull the shark over the waist deep sand flats.


'Refreshments' Helped Too!

After 40 minutes of being hooked up, it was an awesome sight seeing that dorsal rise from the darkness. However, fishing over seagrass banks can bring quite a few problems and the roller tip on my rod had become completely clogged with what is unfavourably known as 'snot-weed'. The shark was only 25m out at this stage, and from here I made the decision to handline and leader it into the bank. Dragging an 8' shark through knee deep water by hand was certainly a team effort and I was glad I'd chosen a 100lb top shot instead of 80 or 50.


Dorsal in the Dark

Once in the shallows she was extremely well-behaved and only offered the very odd tail kick of disapproval. The photos don't show it well but the girth of this shark was incredible. I'd say that she was most likely pregnant and because of this we decided it was best not to pull her up onto the sand. When applying the NSW Department of Fisheries tag she bled more than usual, but it was certainly nothing to be worried about- bull sharks are well-renowned for their hardiness!


The Sizeable Tail is the Root of the Shark's Power

We estimated her at between 2.4m and 2.6m to the tip of the tail (right around the 8' mark).


8' of Solid Broadwater Bull Shark

After a quick team picture with her, Brad and I faced her back out towards the channel and she swam off under her own power straight away.


Team Deadweight 2014: 8' Broadwater Bull Shark

With our mission complete we decided to relax for the rest of the night. Of course there is no glory without suffering and in the early hours of the morning a large storm front rolled in. Gale force winds literally tore the tarp down and the entire camp was saturated. A memorable trip for sure, and a great end to a great year.

[Shark Hunter]

Good Job Men!

[Dominick]

Living large...Good work.  Dominick

[Deadweight]

Thanks guys! Sorry about the size of the photos, not sure how to make them smaller

[alantani]

well done!

We estimated her at between 2.4m and 2.6m to the tip of the tail (right around the 8' mark).


8' of Solid Broadwater Bull Shark

[Shark Hunter]

Not trying to grab the spotlight or take away anything from that Nice Bull. My Buddy John reeled in this Beast a few short months ago. I just wish that was me. 11'7" Great Hammerhead. Epic Catch!
My Kayak and My son took the bait out. I helped wrangle it. and I took the picture. That is a Catch of a Lifetime. Right place, right time, right bait. I was glad to be a part of it!

[Deadweight]

Not trying to grab the spotlight or take away anything from that Nice Bull. My Buddy John reeled in this Beast a few short months ago. I just wish that was me. 11'7" Great Hammerhead. Epic Catch!

Awesome hammer! A hammer over 10' is one of my main goals. Congrats to your friend John!

[CapeFish]

Awsome Zambi, well done, any chance you measured the precaudal length in order to get an estimate of the weight?

[Deadweight]

Awsome Zambi, well done, any chance you measured the precaudal length in order to get an estimate of the weight?

Unfortunately not- I'd completely forgotten to bring the tape measure. I'd give a rough estimate of 2.1m but I couldn't be certain.

[CapeFish]

thats a nice fish - around 150 kg, I see you tagged it as well

[CapeFish]

Not trying to grab the spotlight or take away anything from that Nice Bull. My Buddy John reeled in this Beast a few short months ago. I just wish that was me. 11'7" Great Hammerhead. Epic Catch!
My Kayak and My son took the bait out. I helped wrangle it. and I took the picture. That is a Catch of a Lifetime. Right place, right time, right bait. I was glad to be a part of it!

Phew thats a beast, how long did it take to get it out?

[Shark Hunter]

Roughly an Hour fight. It started right at sunset. A 200 yard drop with a frozen Bonita, about a 3 pounder. My guess is he was coming in to feed. Senator 12/0, Bone stock with a power handle and 100lb test. Penn International rod 100-130.
When he got to the bar, I think he got tangled in the leader, or he would have made another run.

[ChileRelleno]

        Daron is having a Senior Moment remembering this fish tale.  
       Allow me to set the story straight & in detail.


       Mike (Daron's son) dropped a freshly caught Bluefish (3# +/-) for me out past the second bar, approx 350-400 yards.
       Awhile later my reel's clicker starts screaming, gave him a few to eat and it was fish on.
       I stopped the initial run, then he realized he was hooked and took off again.
       Daron got me harnessed in & I was able to really put pressure on him.
       I cranked as much drag as I could handle and stopped him again, then began a long give & take tug-a-war.
       This fish damned near took me off my feet a couple of times, very strong, rod & line literally humming under the pressure.
       Absolutely incredible the strength of this fish... I knew it was going to be a BIG fish.

       At one point I had another angler's line around mine after he went down the beach, thankfully no braid & my much larger mono held up.
       We were also afraid for some swimmers that we'd seen in the water, what with an angry shark on the line coming into shore.
       Mike went down the beach to let them know, he found the other fisherman who was fouled on my line.

       Forty five minutes to an hour later we finally see a dorsal in the surf, no mistaking the species, it was a Greater Hammerhead.
       And he was a whopper... 137", yes that is eleven feet five inches (11' 5") of pissed off shark.
       He went crazy in the surf, repeatedly almost jerking me off my feet.
       He was still green and fighting in the shore break, dangerously flopping around, I was afraid of someone getting a leg broken.
       It took all of us trying to leader and tail rope him, it was very exciting.
       Tried to get some pics, verified sex, got a FL/TL measurements, cut the leader and had to forego tagging due to a minor cluster----.

       This is where the story goes bad.

       We finally get this monster back in the surf for release and were unable to revive him enough to swim off.
       Efforts were made for quite some time, thought he was going to make it.
       But this species is well known for fighting till exhaustion & death, add in an extra minute or two of handling and it beating itself half to death in the shore break... Well it happens.
       We were not happy about this, not only is this a protected species in Florida, but our goal is Tag & Release.
       I was exhausted from the fight & had to retreat to shore.
       Mike & Daron spent a lot of time trying to revive this shark to no avail, kudos to them for the extra effort.
       
       Putting a beast of shark on the beach is a team effort, no one person can do this alone.
       From catching bait, to kayaking, harnessing u & fighting, leadering/tailing & landing, taking stats/tagging & release.
       Team effort...  This shark is not just mine, it belongs to Daron & Mike too, I wish the pic had them in it.


       I've made a decision, henceforth with big Hammers after long fight.
       I will never do anything but immediately cut the leader/hook and release the fish.
       If a pic is possible, great, but they go straight back now.

       Hooked In
       Reel: Penn Senator 116L 12/0, spooled with 1000 yards of 100# Sufix Superior.
       Only reel mods were a SS handle from Adam (ThreeSevens) and a 5/0 Kolekar handle from Alan.
       Rod: Penn International V TS/TF Stand Up, VS5010TS60, 50-100#

[ChileRelleno]

Deadweight, that is a beast of a Bull, nice catch, be proud of that one!
I'd love to get one that big, my personal best Bull is only about 5' so far.

[Deadweight]

Deadweight, that is a beast of a Bull, nice catch, be proud of that one!
I'd love to get one that big, my personal best Bull is only about 5' so far.

Thanks Chile! My personal best before this was right on 6', so I was stoked.

Nice write up on your hammer too. It sucks that it died, but you summed it up with perfectly "well... it happens". Don't beat yourself up over it, experiences like that are sad, but vital in making us all better fisherman.