Let’s here the story of recent great white tagging from the man himself.
I appreciate the interest.
Last shark trip we hooked a giant first thing, but after a 400 yard run she spit the hook and never returned. We almost called it a day and went home, but we stuck it out and ended up tagging a 9.5 foot white shark, much smaller than the “one that got away”. It was a parting gift after losing a giant, but it was better than nothing.
With monster great whites dancing in my head all Christmas, I couldn’t wait to get back out. Finally saw a good weather day on New Years Even and went for it. Got a late start that day, but after a few moves and settling in, we finally saw what we wanted that afternoon. At first glance I knew she was big, because all i could see was the dorsal fin and tail sticking up and it looked about 12-13 feet apart. As soon as I saw her width, we knew we were in for a battle.
She took the bait and pulled the boat like a sled for miles. We had the drag locked at one point, and we were nearly leaving a wake. Ive hooked some good ones in the past, but this one wouldn’t slow up. The goal was to get a tag in her, and take a DNA sample, but she went wherever she wanted. 5 different times we grabbed the leader to gain control, and 2 grown men with gloves on couldn’t slow her up…she just walked away with all of our force. She never panicked, just swam where she wanted. Eventually we got into a good rhythm/system of getting her close, so we loaded up the tag and applied it perfectly. It was pitch black at that point and raining, we were exhausted and undermanned…so we passed on getting the DNA and 2nd tag applied, but we were able to get a few shots of her. Unfortunately, none of her head. GoPro’s don’t work great in the dark.
She’s got a tag on her that will transmit her signal for up to 7 years. She was big, a 16 footer, 2800-3200 pounds, but not as big as the one we lost a few weeks earlier.
Its been an amazing experience, an amazing find. Pictures and video are on my Outcast Sport Fishing Facebook page. They aren’t the best, but i promise t
Awesome stuff Captain, keep up the good work!
Wadmalaw native
16’ Bentz-Craft Flats Boat
WOW, thanks for the post, looks like we have a good population of them certain times of the year. What do you think they are feeding on?, bull reds, calving whales passing through? porpoise? swordfish off the ledge(Mary Lee)? What kind of equipment do you use? manual? electric? Buoy gear? Braid/mono? Would love to just see one. I mainly fish for swords offshore, long lined in my youth for 5 years, if you ever need help, I’m available. Thanks and keep up the research, fascinating fish.
outcast, when you tag them does OCEARCH, do the tracking:question:
Rose Ellyn,
Yeah, solid population. They aren’t as thick as blacktips, but in much better numbers than i originally thought when i started. Feeding on? Nothing specific, anything large worth eating thats not rotten. A dying dolphin, dying whale, wounded bird, etc. I don’t think they’re targeting calves or healthy whales, we’d have none left. I think they instinctively know that going after a live whale isn’t safe. They’re very smart. Tackle? Braid, heavy set up. Rod/reel. They’d rip a jug or bouy line to shreds unless you use a massive chain and hook the size of your arm…which would put a hole in the jaw big enough to throw a cat through.
Easy,
Negative, no longer have a working relationship with ocearch. Im tagging through the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy and Dr Skomal, based out of Massachusetts. Good guys up there and have an honest concern for the white sharks. Unfortunately, the tracking info isn’t publicized yet. Working on it, though.
Leadenwahboy,
Thanks man, greatly appreciate it!
Congrats on your success. Ive read about the sharks you catch just about everywhere.
Good to see you’re not working with ocearch, and i hope you haven’t shared this information with them? Hoping to never see that ship off Charleston.