Team Deadweight Takes a Prize in the Big Shark Shootout!

[Deadweight]

Since the 8' bull shark we tagged and released back in December, we haven't managed to put another shark on the sand- and not from a lack of trying. Over seventy hours spent on the beach using the same techniques and same baits at the same spots that have always produced for us over the years resulted in only two small runs and a lot of disappointment.

With the end of the season steadily approaching, we decided to enter the inaugural Big Shark Shootout. This is a local competition organised by TBD Shark Fishing and has two prize categories: largest shark caught and most sharks under 1.5m caught. We were, of course, hoping to take out the 'largest shark' category, and decided to fish the same area that produced the 8' bull shark back on New Year's Eve.

Brad and I were the only members of Team Deadweight fishing the competition, and we loaded up the boat at 4pm Friday afternoon and took off into Southern Moreton Bay, arriving at our destination less than half an hour later.


Brad's tinny loaded and ready to go

After the camp was set up, we began rigging baits and looked up to see that a large cruiser had anchored up about 150m off the beach right in from of camp. We quickly motored out there to explain our situation and politely ask them to move North along the beach a little, and they were happy to oblige. Their large game reels and balloons rigged on the lines indicated that they were chasing sharks too.


Our baits for the first night: Freshwater eel and estuary stingray, both rigged up on 20/0 Mustad Circles

Baits were dropped right at 6pm, and we sat back and relaxed with a dinner of steak and sausages while listening to the footy on the radio. There was no action at all on the rods over the course of the night, and, after too much coffee, we finally got to sleep around 2:30am.

The mosquitoes were unbearable throughout the night, and I woke with the sunrise at around 5:45am. About half an hour later I saw my rod tip bounce and the glowstick, still attached to the line from the night before, went shooting towards to the water. It was lucky that I saw it, as the loose clicker on my 6/0 Senator had become disengaged. The short run resulted in my large eel bait having a chunk taken out of it by a shark in the 5' range.


Eel bait destroyed by a small shark

The second day was fairly uneventful. The humidity was surprisingly high and even in the shade it was hot. At around 14:30 some seemingly blind (or perhaps just ignorant) rowers headed straight for our lines, so we decided to bring them in before disaster struck. We decided to change our baits out and, for the first time in years, I decided to add some zipties to the mix. I was quite happy with how the bait looked and had a good feeling about it.


Two halves of a freshwater eel zip tied together, rigged with a Mustad 20/0

Before we knew it night had fallen and we were sitting back in our chairs trying to stay awake when my reel began to roll. The shark steadily took about 15m of line before dropping the bait. I took up the slack and sure enough about five minutes later the bait was picked up again- this time the shark was committed.

I set the hook and was met with a definite weight on the other end, but not much pull. The shark felt fairly small and it made a few angry headshakes and took a couple of metres of line, but we had it landed in a few minutes. She taped out at just under 1.5m, and we were both pretty disappointed with such a small shark. A tag went in and she was soon back in the water. It was a cool site to see bait fishing jumping all around her as she swam off.


The only shark Team Deadweight landed in the competition: A small bull just under 1.5m

With no more action, we packed up the next morning and were home by 8am. After a shower, some breakfast and a quick nap I was debating whether or not to send in the photos of the shark. I knew there was no way it would take out the largest shark prize, but I figured I might as well send it anyway- there was nothing to lose...

...so I'm sure you can imagine my surprise when I checked Facebook later that night to see that I'd won a prize! It turned out that each angler with sharks eligible in the 'most sharks under 1.5m' category had only caught one shark each, so the prize was then subjudged to the largest shark under 1.5, which just happened to be my fish! The disappointment I'd originally felt about landing such a small shark soon vanished and I was stoked to receive a trophy, Daiwa Grandwave 20-60lb boat rod, Zero Zero Outdoors t-shirt, Fuze trace holder and three traces from TMMFA Terminal Tackle.


Prize won by Team Deadweight in the 2015 Big Shark Shootout!

Lastly, I'd like to give a huge thank you to TBD Shark Fishing for organising this competition, as well as the sponsors Doug Burt's Tackle World, TMMFA Terminal Tackle, Assassin Rods, Zero Zero Outdoor Clothing and Complete Camper Hire. All of us here at Team Deadweight are looking forward to entering the Big Shark Shootout next year!

[Shark Hunter]

Congratulations! At least you caught something. better than getting Skunked.

[Deadweight]

Congratulations! At least you caught something. better than getting Skunked.

Aint that the truth! 

[FatTuna]

Is that an American eel? Did you catch that?

[Deadweight]

Is that an American eel? Did you catch that?

It's a longfin eel (Anguilla reinhardtii) that I caught here in Queensland, Australia. The American eel (Anguilla rostrata) is very similar, although I don't think they grow quite as big. Super easy to catch (an unweighted piece of meat in just about any freshwater river, creek or dam will get them without fail) and they're an awesome shark bait.

[FatTuna]

It looks exactly like the American eel. I use them live for striped bass fishing. That is one monster eel.

[alantani]

well done!!!!

[ChileRelleno]

Congrats, a little perseverance paid off.

[Deadweight]

Thanks guys!