Great to be back on the blue water!
We left the dock at 11am, Capt Jay, classmate Brian, Hot hands Jimmy, and cameo by the Capt with two names, Justin Scott and yours truly. We headed to the parking lot to fill the freezer with bottom fish.
Seas were not so flat, and the wind was larger than expected. Setting no speed records, we made our way to our first spot. 56 degree water temp, 85 feet deep, the fish were HUNGRY!
Black sea bass, at the new limit of 7 per person, were coming up two at a time. We had to weed through a good many to find our keepers, and find we did. The usually culprits accompanied the fish, B-liners, grunts of all colors and sizes, trigger fish, and the pesky Atlantic sharpnose. We threw back three Genuines, and three groupers. Shame.
Jimmy always catches the largest fish, without exception. Last few times they were AmberJacks. It came as no surprise when he hooked up with something large. This one was really large. We put him on the bow and chased down his fish. It was a fast swimmer. After about thirty minutes, he gave up the rod and Capt Jay took over. I recorded the last three minutes of the fight.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAj8dhUckko&feature=youtu.be
We never got a look at the front of the shark. Black tip versus Juvenile Great White?
The state record Black Tip, shy of 164 lbs, off of Hilton Head in 2009. The photo on the SC DNR website, the shark appears to be smaller than the man standing next to it, and they are in shorts (fishing in the warmer months, warmer water)?
http://dnr.sc.gov/fish/saltrecs/blacktipshark.html
We were in 56 degree water, and the shark was HUGE. I would guess 8 feet long and 250 lbs. It had a white underside, and black tips on the fins.
The Great White identification website - a solid black tip on underside of Pectoral fin, abrupt change in color between dark dorsal surface and white ventral surface.
We had an encounter with a Great White in November 2010, while also fishing for Black Sea Bass.
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