The morning started off promising, no wind or bad weather in the forecast until late afternoon…
I arrived at the designated rendesvous point at 0530, to find Shaun there yak loaded and waiting to go… We waited around for 30 minutes, for the others we expected to participate. to arrive…
NO ONE SHOWED UP! Talk about being disappointed…
Deciding that we were it for the day, or that others might already be at the launch site, we drove on to Parris Island and to Elliot’s Beach landing. A glassy smooth Broad River awaited, with only a couple of power boats already targetting Cobia at the rip in sight, but no other anglers… Now I am very disappointed…
Not desiring to waste a BEAUTIFUL day, we unload our kayaks, and head out to the reef, to sabiki up some bait… In no time, we add some whiting, croakers, calico bass and small bonnethead sharks to our days catch.
We then headed in towards the jetty. On the way in, I dropped a whiting on my hook about 200 yards out. When I got to the jetty, I dropped my cajun anchor and waited… My other rods cast out with fresh shrimp in the flats, in an effort to catch anything that would bite…
About 20 minutes later, the rod with the whiting suddenly bends hard and the line starts peeling off… I reach and grab the rod from the rod holder and start to apply pressure (Using circle hooks, so no need to set the hook)… In the distance a HUGE Fish jumps 3 or 4 feet out of the water, and shakes its head… My first thought, which I yelled out to Shaun, is TARPON… But this is WAY TOO Early for such a fish in this area…
The ensuing fight, had this fish leap an additional three times, and it is not until it is about 5 feet from the kayak, that I realize it is an over 4’ long Spinner Shark. After tiring it out, I am able to secure its business end with my lip gripper and pull it out of the water for Shaun to take a photo. It was 40 inches from the tip of the nose to the fork in the tail, and over 50 inches total length. To date,
