Sorry to post this report so late but my work schedule has been nuts the past two weeks.
I had all day saturday to fish andI was determined this trip to break the 5 ft barrier and catch a respectable shark instead of the 2 and 3 foot sharpnoses that have plagued previous trips.
My wife and I got to the point a little late on Sat. morning around 8:00, but right about low tide so it worked out ok timewise. I keep forgetting how long it takes to drag all my crap to the beach including a loaded down cart and a kayak. I immediately go to work rigging up my 4/0 (I know it’s too small:wink:) with an abrasion leader and a double drop bite leader with 12/0 J-hooks. I had an extra special bait for just such an occasion that my wife had caught for me the last time we were down at Edisto. It was a nice bite-sized stingray about the size of a dinnerplate. Using a rigging needle I ran the two leaders through the ray and secured the hooks so that they would sit upright for better exposure.
Here’s the bait all rigged up and ready to go for a ride in the yak.
I hand the rod to my lovely assistant with the clicker on and attach the bait to the kayak. I then paddle about 200 yds into the deeper water and drop the bait. As soon as I turn around and start to head back to shore my heart sinks. About half way between me and shore comes somebody’s boat hauling tail right over my line. I see a panicked look on my wife’s face as line screams off the reel. I get back to shore and discover that my line got cut off and that I had lost my entire 200 yd top-shot of mono. I was PISSED!
Not only did I lose line and two very expensive hooks, but also the only good shark bait I had with me. I decided to stick it out and not let it ruin my weekend. I spooled on another top-shot and rigged up another bait. This one was a whole whiting about 10" on a 16/0 circle hook. This time I looked up and down the beach for boats before I got in the yak. T
