Somebody Caught a REALLY Big Fish this Weekend!

I'll let Larry and Wendell tell ya all about it.

Looks like a "Tintorera" a.k.a. Blue Shark... nice fish...

Blue sharks do not have a semi-detached dorsal fin, and they are really slim with long pectoral fins

I can't see the eye clearly enough, but with the coloration, 5 gill slits, semi-detached dorsal fin and notched tail, my guess is Grey Reef shark (and a damn big one at that)

We've been debating the actually species. In the water, it looked exactly like a black-tip reef shark on steroids. Very tan colored (dusky). Black-tips are not known to get that large. Closest to it is a grey reef shark. Several locals referred to it as a white shark, but it was DEFINITELY not a great white or mako. The color in the pictures is nothing like it was alive in the water and it was blunt snout, small teeth, nothing like great white or mako. We got some video of it alive and when I get it from Tom, I'll post it.

All I can say is -- what a battle and we were VERY lucky to have actually landed this brute.

Eyes -- just like a black tip. Not like a mako or great white.

Incredible! How long was it? I'm dying to hear the story...

Small teeth, and those Gold coin eyes....

My Grey Reef Shark opinion grows stronger:

From Wikipedia on the Grey Reef Shark:

"Most individuals are less than 1.9 m (6.2 ft) long" - this makes yours a monster (unless Stuart is shrinking in his old age :) )

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grey_reef_shark

Great job Stuart, that is a large fish, good job

nice catch. but we all want to know did your wife catch that and out fish the guys again?

Hahaha! No. Unfortunately, Connie couldn't make this trip. I took Wendell and Larry from the forum and Larry's friend Tom. Tom got some nice video of the shark in the water. I'll try to post it when I get a copy.

Stuart,
I plan to get the video posted on You Tube by this Sunday, October 23. I am dealing with limited bandwidth and a day job until then.
Key search words will be: "Puerto Penasco reef shark." It will probably go up unedited and in six segments, including shots of the deck and my shoes.

It may be a week or so until we hear from Larry. He had to get to Missouri quickly after learning his mother was critically ill.

For everyone's background, you will see in the video that we would not have landed this shark without Stuart's leadership.

Great catch...just hate to see mammoths like this taken from the sea! Catch and release for all; please consider!

Where did you pick up that big boy? (the shark I mean)

Caught just 10 yards offshore -- right by the condos at Sandy Beach. Anybody wanna go swimming?


(Couldn't resist!) Caught near the Witches Hat, about 43 miles out.

reportjones said:

Great catch...just hate to see mammoths like this taken from the sea! Catch and release for all; please consider!

Not something we catch on an everyday basis. In fact, this is the ONLY shark of this size I've taken in over 30 years of fishing the Sea of Cortez. Also, Mr. Jones, just like hunting, you are better off taking the top of the herd, ones that have had a full life and bred many times. Release the younger ones that have a full life of breeding in front of them. They are the ones that will sustain the population.

I'm a sport fisherman, I understand exactly where you're coming from. The decision to take this creature was not made in haste. We were lucky to even catch it, let alone subdue it.

So really, where was it caught? The 51 I hope

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCL5n0c-lW8

Above is the You Tube link to the videos. There are seven scenes. I did not mess with merging them into one or even editing them.

Tom

Thanks Tom! Sorry to hear about Larry's mom. Hope all works out okay.

Had a great time this weekend going on The About Time to Bird Island. I took my entire family from my 2 year old grandson to my 87 year old father in-law, there was 12 of us total. I had a hard time getting everyone in the water to snorkel over to the sea lions. I had to assure them that there was nothing in the water that would harm them. My 12 year old granddaughter said don’t sharks eat sea lions? I said don’t worry there are no sharks. So they all got in the water and snorkeled with the sea lions. When we got back we were carrying our stuff up to the truck and my granddaughter ran over to me and said “Papa you got some explaining to do ….” Here is a picture we took of my granddaughter and niece and yes I had a lot of explaining to do.

Dan....a few years back my daughter (with her friend) and I rode the jetskiis out to Bird Island. They also swam around for a while...with me telling them not worry about sharks. The following trip down, we stopped at the old dive shop on the way to the Malecon, and found out that some fishermen had caught a great white (just a baby...about 6ft???) at Bird Island that same weekend....Oops!!!

But in your case...that shark was caught a ways outs!

Its just a matter of time before the Whites realize there is a ton of FOOD out at bird island...... if they havent already!

az-dan said:

Had a great time this weekend going on The About Time to Bird Island. I took my entire family from my 2 year old grandson to my 87 year old father in-law, there was 12 of us total. I had a hard time getting everyone in the water to snorkel over to the sea lions. I had to assure them that there was nothing in the water that would harm them. My 12 year old granddaughter said don’t sharks eat sea lions? I said don’t worry there are no sharks. So they all got in the water and snorkeled with the sea lions. When we got back we were carrying our stuff up to the truck and my granddaughter ran over to me and said “Papa you got some explaining to do ….” Here is a picture we took of my granddaughter and niece and yes I had a lot of explaining to do.

I took a picture of them, too. I hope they gave you hell! Hahhahahah! :puff:

Thanks Stuart I thought we were going fishing some time.. LOL

Stuart said:

Not something we catch on an everyday basis. In fact, this is the ONLY shark of this size I've taken in over 30 years of fishing the Sea of Cortez. Also, Mr. Jones, just like hunting, you are better off taking the top of the herd, ones that have had a full life and bred many times. Release the younger ones that have a full life of breeding in front of them. They are the ones that will sustain the population.

I'm a sport fisherman, I understand exactly where you're coming from. The decision to take this creature was not made in haste. We were lucky to even catch it, let alone subdue it.

Now this story will just make you sick: http://content.usatoday.com/communities/ondeadline/post/2011/10/2000-sharks-slaughtered-off-colombia-for-their-fins/1

.

Screw China...they , aided by American corporations have wrecked the American middle class and are destroying the earth.In Bowie Arizona the pecan farmers are booming because they now sell a third of their nuts to China (because the consumers over there believe our crops are safer);the Bowie workers are now making 15 bucks an hour thanks to the crackdown on illegal labor.Getting out of the way an letting business do what they want has wrecked America,sent our jobs to slave countries and forced us into wars around the world to protect our corporate overloads.

rplarry said:

Now this story will just make you sick: http://content.usatoday.com/communities/ondeadline/post/2011/10/2000-sharks-slaughtered-off-colombia-for-their-fins/1

.

Tell us how you really feel, Jerry.
The shark finning thing really sux. Taking one shark sport fishing doesn't wipe out the species. Finning thousands of them does.

Stuart said:

Tell us how you really feel, Jerry.

As Chari would say....Snicker....

Stuart said:

Taking one shark sport fishing doesn't wipe out the species. Finning thousands of them does.

Agreed. It's just so stupid that they waste the remainder of the animal - Shark meat is edible (some species like Mako and Thresher are even quite tasty)...

Over harvesting any living stock is bad enough (the farmer's Mosaic rule- don't eat the seed corn); but when you also under-utilize what you've taken... well, I can only shake my head and call it retarded, if not criminal.

jerry said:

the Bowie workers are now making 15 bucks an hour thanks to the crackdown on illegal labor.Getting out of the way an letting business do what they want has wrecked America,sent our jobs to slave countries and forced us into wars around the world to protect our corporate overloads.

Looks like something is working Jerry legal citizens are making money and not on welfare. You are upset about this? This is how a free market works employers need employees, employees work, employers pay employees. then employees go to coffe shop buy breakfeast leave tip, now another employee gets to go spend that money how they want. Now I agree that we have the technology to manufacture anything we want here in the good old USA but I wasn't the one seeking large profits by sending products overseas to be manufactured and I dont own the store who tells manufactures what they will be paid for the product. There are still enough companies in the us that sale only American made products that I can still find what I need.

The Farmers around Bowie were forced by the government to obey environmental laws (EPA) and bitched ll the way to the bank) the healthier wage climate is a result of the crackdown and more importantly big players from Green valley and out of state entering the county that historically pay more. The higher wages have been good for everyone in the area with papers.Now most of the "new" workers are still Mexicans with better papers but they now make a good enough wage to live a ok life and the employers mechanize many of the harder jobs.My main point was this "get big government out of the way and everything will work out because of the invisible hand of the market" just doesn't work in a world where China can cut undercut everyone.

AZ ROB said:

Looks like something is working Jerry legal citizens are making money and not on welfare. You are upset about this? This is how a free market works employers need employees, employees work, employers pay employees. then employees go to coffe shop buy breakfeast leave tip, now another employee gets to go spend that money how they want. Now I agree that we have the technology to manufacture anything we want here in the good old USA but I wasn't the one seeking large profits by sending products overseas to be manufactured and I dont own the store who tells manufactures what they will be paid for the product. There are still enough companies in the us that sale only American made products that I can still find what I need.

Paul Krugman makes the case for the "haters" http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/21/opinion/party-of-pollution.html?_r=1&src=tp&smid=fb-share

jerry said:

The Farmers around Bowie were forced by the government to obey environmental laws (EPA) and bitched ll the way to the bank) the healthier wage climate is a result of the crackdown and more importantly big players from Green valley and out of state entering the county that historically pay more. The higher wages have been good for everyone in the area with papers.Now most of the "new" workers are still Mexicans with better papers but they now make a good enough wage to live a ok life and the employers mechanize many of the harder jobs.My main point was this "get big government out of the way and everything will work out because of the invisible hand of the market" just doesn't work in a world where China can cut undercut everyone.

{Thread Hijack alert}

jerry said:

Paul Krugman makes the case for the "haters" http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/21/opinion/party-of-pollution.html?_r=1&src=tp&smid=fb-share

Paul Krugman.... really?

Here's Krugman talking about how awesome war is for stimulating faltering economies:
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/08/15/oh-what-a-lovely-war/

So who's the hater? Could it be the guy who equates death and destruction with economic improvement? Maybe war is more palatable to Krugman than environmental concerns, I don't know; but reducing the EPA does not mean that pollution MUST increase by default (that is invalid Modus Tollens logic)


and here's Krugman (on video) talking about how aliens would easily take care of pulling us out of our economic malaise:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/15/paul-krugman-fake-alien-invasion_n_926995.html


That's right- an alien invasion from outer space would save our economy.

Paul Krugman may have a PhD in Economics, but as far as I'm concerned, he is clearly a nut.

If you'd like to discuss this one some more Jerry- Let's swing over to the Politics forum.


{/Thread Hijack Alert}


Nice video Tom!


What bait did the shark eat?

Just watched the video of the shark. Note to the guys in the red flowered shirt. The 80's just called and want their shirt back!

The shark ate a small piece of squid on a deep-drop 12/0 circle hook rig. We were fishing for goldspots, not shark, near the Witches Hat. I thought we had a black seabass at first, but it never decompressed on the way up and, as you can see, was still plenty lively at the boat. The reel (Daiwa 450H Sealine with 80 lb. PowerPro) was NOT bringing it up. Even with the drag locked down, the shark was still pulling line whenever it wanted. I eventually put on my gloves and gently hand-lined the shark to the surface. That took the better part of an hour, because sharks like it near the bottom and this one insisted on heading back that way quite regularly. After several failed attempts at tail-roping it, I was sure it was going to break off. That's usually the way this story ends and I've heard it from many that have hooked up large makos, Ric included. I don't have a flying gaff or tail roper on board -- I never actually fish for shark. So, dock line in hand, and after numerous attempts, we managed to actually get the rope around the tail and cinch it down. Poor Wendell got tail slapped in the face twice during this process -- I commend him for his vigilance! At that same moment we actually roped it, the shark threw its head and broke the fishing line. Having a plan helped, but lady luck definitely had a say in catching this fish! If it would have broken off, oh well, Shark 1, Stuart 0. For a change, the home team actually won this battle! This was more than deep-sea fishing. It was a heck of an adventure! After the shark died, it took all four of us to pull it up between the motors and get it on deck -- with the business end facing out the back of the boat just in case it wasn't as dead as I thought it was. Larry tape measured it at over 9 ft. tip of nose to tip of tail and we estimated weight to be at least 285 lbs., probably over 300.

Sorry for being late to the thread, but I had family issues requiring travel.

Here's a group picture with the shark, which is appropriate because the entire group was needed to land this beast. We could not have landed one much bigger under the circumstances.

I was sitting on the beach today in front of Las Palomas when I saw a Carnival cruise ship go by. I'd swear I saw the boat crash into a large school of Great White Sharks. There were a lot of Asians on the ship. Maybe they were Chinese?

I feel compelled to say this again. The 80's are calling and want that red flowered shirt back!

OK, Reportjones, I'm finally gonna take the bait on your red flowered shirt jabs.

Apparently you're either too young or too old to remember the 80s correctly. Gaudy red shirts with huge flowers had not yet arrived in the 80s and would not arrive at least until the late 90s. I confirmed this with my adult children who pay more attention to such matters than I do. Nevertheless, I appreciate your clothes counseling since my own sartorial interests seldom go beyond making sure I'm at least wearing shirts, pants, shoes, etc. in places where such attire is expected. I don't pay much attention to what other guys are wearing and only notice things have gone out of style when the stores quit stocking them. Thus your not-so-subtle hint is greatly appreciated. Next time I drop by J.C. Penneys to grab 3 shirts in 3 minutes I'll stock up on solid polos, which never go out of style. Happy now?

You mean I should't be wearing my nehru jacket anymore?? Wow. Times change fast!

Personally- I like the shirt.

Red camouflages the fish blood stains, and in Hawaii, flowers are supposed to bring good luck on a fishing boat (unlike Bananas, about which I was properly educated by Doug and Ric last December...:duh: )

Stuart said:

You mean I should't be wearing my nehru jacket anymore?? Wow. Times change fast!

No, you should only be wearing your "Members Only" jacket.... Like me.

http://th71.photobucket.com/albums/i154/pallen56/th_roger1.jpg

Gee, I dunno', if it's good enough for Roger Clyne, it's good enough for me!

I've seen him wear many similar to this one over the years, and there's a video he made for a recent Circus Mexicus promo, wearing one as he walked around the empty lot by Chango's. But this is the best shot I could find right away...

I like Audsley! Great sense of humor. I am giving you a "pass" on the shirt. Have a nice day (a quote from the 70's)!

audsley said:

OK, Reportjones, I'm finally gonna take the bait on your red flowered shirt jabs.

Apparently you're either too young or too old to remember the 80s correctly. Gaudy red shirts with huge flowers had not yet arrived in the 80s and would not arrive at least until the late 90s. I confirmed this with my adult children who pay more attention to such matters than I do. Nevertheless, I appreciate your clothes counseling since my own sartorial interests seldom go beyond making sure I'm at least wearing shirts, pants, shoes, etc. in places where such attire is expected. I don't pay much attention to what other guys are wearing and only notice things have gone out of style when the stores quit stocking them. Thus your not-so-subtle hint is greatly appreciated. Next time I drop by J.C. Penneys to grab 3 shirts in 3 minutes I'll stock up on solid polos, which never go out of style. Happy now?

Stuart said:

The shark ate a small piece of squid on a deep-drop 12/0 circle hook rig. We were fishing for goldspots, not shark, near the Witches Hat. I thought we had a black seabass at first, but it never decompressed on the way up and, as you can see, was still plenty lively at the boat. The reel (Daiwa 450H Sealine with 80 lb. PowerPro) was NOT bringing it up. Even with the drag locked down, the shark was still pulling line whenever it wanted. I eventually put on my gloves and gently hand-lined the shark to the surface. That took the better part of an hour, because sharks like it near the bottom and this one insisted on heading back that way quite regularly. After several failed attempts at tail-roping it, I was sure it was going to break off. That's usually the way this story ends and I've heard it from many that have hooked up large makos, Ric included. I don't have a flying gaff or tail roper on board -- I never actually fish for shark. So, dock line in hand, and after numerous attempts, we managed to actually get the rope around the tail and cinch it down. Poor Wendell got tail slapped in the face twice during this process -- I commend him for his vigilance! At that same moment we actually roped it, the shark threw its head and broke the fishing line. Having a plan helped, but lady luck definitely had a say in catching this fish! If it would have broken off, oh well, Shark 1, Stuart 0. For a change, the home team actually won this battle! This was more than deep-sea fishing. It was a heck of an adventure! After the shark died, it took all four of us to pull it up between the motors and get it on deck -- with the business end facing out the back of the boat just in case it wasn't as dead as I thought it was. Larry tape measured it at over 9 ft. tip of nose to tip of tail and we estimated weight to be at least 285 lbs., probably over 300.

Hey bud I hope you made steaks out of that beast? Your freezer should be full for a while.

reportjones said:

I like Audsley! Great sense of humor. I am giving you a "pass" on the shirt. Have a nice day (a quote from the 70's)!

I have a simalur shirt which I love to wear and I bought it in Maui. Also is still in style. FYI I have a black with white flowers too. If your hip you would know this.

In the 50's when the rayon Hawaiian shirts came out they were very popular and common in Phoenix. One of the main reasons they were so popular is because rayon is so lightweight, and comfortable in hot weather. When I moved back to Cali to start high school in 63 my white Levis were very cool they said, but my Hawaiian shirts were made fun of, so I wore them often until every Tom Dick and Harry started wearing them. I have a very old, 50's, and faded one I break out for special occasions, but when they became commonplace, and then a whole bunch of men started tucking them in with Bermuda shorts they weren't cool anymore, just mainstream.
Roberto, Like I've told you, don't you tuck that Hawaiian shirt in, it's not cool!

Listen to Kenny. He knows what cool is. Kenny is strong and knows karate. He will kick your ass!

Am I the only one finding that Cyclops Shark attractive?

i guess you have never been on stu's boat. he has a lucky fishing attire closet down below. this man felt the urge to get lucky.....so he went down............in stu's locker and picked this shirt........sorry stu...........the secret is out

After a bit of research, I've concluded that the shark we caught was a blacktip shark, not to be confused with a blacktip reef shark, which doesn't get that big and apparently isn't found in the Sea of Cortez. I checked multiple sources, and while there's no way of knowing which sources might have simply copied from others, I'm reasonably certain I've got this one nailed. My principal source is http://www.mexfish.com/fish/btshark/btshark.htm

This source and others say the blacktip can reach nine feet, although most are smaller. Ours exceeded nine feet by an inch and probably could have picked up at least a couple more inches if we had taken the trouble to stretch it out straight. The gray smoothhound shark, which also inhabits the Sea of Cortez, does not have the concave tail edge that our shark clearly had, and the regular gray shark does not inhabit the Sea of Cortez. And neither of the gray sharks are supposed to get that big.

The only non-conforming trait I found in Mexfish's description of blacktips is where they hang out. Apparently Stuart's teasing comment that we caught it right off Sandy Beach portrays a more plausible location than where we actually did catch it. Whereas most blacktips are found inshore at depths of 100 feet or less, ours was down 300 feet and several miles from the shoreline. Blacktips are supposed to be coastline cruisers and like to go into estuaries, which I'm sure the kayak and shore fishermen must be happy to hear. But they're said not to be aggressive toward humans except where competition for food is concerned, and only one of the 28 recorded blacktip attacks on humans was fatal. Should that make us relax?

The day we fished there was another boat nearby with a smaller shark tail-roped to the side, and on another thread I read that shark hook-ups have been increasing lately. I wonder if all this is actually a good sign. I wouldn't think shark catches would be on the increase if the prey fish weren't increasing also.

" Without sharks, some prey -- for example, stingrays favored by hammerheads -- would boom. In Australia, ecologists believe that increased shark fishing may have caused the spiny lobster industry in some areas to collapse since small octopi, whose numbers are no longer kept down by sharks, prey on the lobsters.(4) Sharks also serve to remove the sick, diseased, weak or injured animals from the ocean." Maybe that's why the lobsters we used to eat in the early 70s in rp are now gone?

Damn..you guys should have let that thing go...maybe next time?.. http://www1.american.edu/ted/SHARK.HTM