Here are the pictures of the mako.
Well now that the pictures have been posted let me give you a little more detailed accounting of the day. Lou, Pete and I departed MDR around 12 p.m. for an afternoon of shark fishing. The conditions were right, as the water was right around 67-68 in the area that we had set our sites on. On board we had two buckets of New Fish All Chum (thanks Kent for a great product) and about 25 salmon carcasses that Lou had obtained from his friend Eric.
We ran out to the grounds in not so nice conditions with about a 15-kt wind that would be perfectfor the drift. That was a lot of joking on the way out and we were all talking about what may be outthere on any given day. At no point could any of us have imagined what would be waiting for us in just about an hour.
We were about 4 miles for the intended location when I asked Lou to stop the boat so we could have a closer look at the conditions. The water was pretty off in color but it had improved form the few days before and the visibility was around 40 feet or so. The water was off a little but still looked better than it had so far this season. I talked Lou into staying in this area and after a bit of coaxing he agreed.
We set up a drift with a bucket of New Fish All and a bucket of salmon carcasses all mashed up. I tell you those carcasses really put out a nice oil slick. That the same time as were doing this we put out on 30 International with 65lb spectra/300lb mono and 275 lb single strand wire. I then cut a piece of the salmon and placed it on a VERY sharp 9/0 J-hook. This bait was let out about 20-30 feet and then a balloon was tied to the line and let back about 50 yards or so. I know, I know you should never attach a balloon when sharking but I still prefer what works for me (well at least according to Fred Archer). The second rig I believe was a 30 SW also with a 300 lb. leader / 275 or heavier wire and a 9/0 j-hook. This rig had a weight attached to it and it was sent down about 60 feet or so, we then attached a balloon and set it about 40 yards off the boat.
We all continued to shoot this breeze while I continued to cut up small pieces of the salmon carcasses and add them to our slick. During on of my breaks I was sitting on the rail talking with Lou and Pete when the reel above my head made a few slow clicks. I picked up the rod and took a look at the balloon just off the port side. Shortly thereafter Lou got up and started to reel in the other outfit so they would no get tangled. At this same time he said to me not to set up the fish until he got the other rig out of the way. Well that didn't happen as the fish really started to run and I could already feel the head shakes of the tell tale sign of a mako.
I set the fish up and it REALLY took off some line, I would bet about 200-300 yards or so at this point. I yelled at Lou to start the boat or we were going to get spooled. This would not have happened just yet but I was really shocked at the speed at which this fish took the line off the reel. Then Just as Lou stared up the boat this BIG fish jumped and came down with a very large splash. Lou and Pete missed the jump but they both caught the fish just before the splash and what a splash it was. As Lou said "I looked like a missile had hit the water. I saw the fish and I yelled out to Lou and Pete that this fish was definitely over 100 lbs., Lou said are you crazy that fish is over 500lbs. Now keep in mind that although I have seen a mako this big dead at the dock I have NEVER seen one this big alive. We discussed just how big this fish was all during the fight going back and forth between 500 and 600 lbs.
The fish starts to settle in and so do I. For the first 30-45 minutes I fought the fish in the corner with this bare gimble digging into my side. The boys finally convinced me to use a harness and this made things much less painful. About an hour into the fight the fish was not too far from the mono leader when it made a very long and powerful run. This run started with about a 50-yard sprint, 3 full flips in the air and then another long run of about 200 yards. It was at this point that we all realized how big this fish was as the jumps were within 75 yards of the boat and about 20 feet in the air. We all shouted out loud when the fish made these flips and could not believe the size of the fish. We all also realized that we were going to be on this fish for a while as it had all the energy as when it was hooked over an hour ago.
Depression set in after this run as the fish was now back out 300 yards or so and still taking line at a slow pace. Lou at this point had done everything correctly in driving the boat with this big fish making all the correct decisions. He would slowly back the boat up, I would make a little line and then a wave would screw everything up and the fish would take more line. I was now soaking wet from backing up on this fish and this fish was not even tired.
Over the next hour the fish would run deep and start to sulk. Here Lou would gun the boat and try to get the fish to come back up to the surface. After what seemed like a long time the fish finally started to come back up. At one point in this part of the fight for some reason the line went completely slack. There was even spectra laying flat on the water. I freaked out, hammered the drag and reeled as fast as I could. Lou yelled from the bridge "is that fish gone?" Just as he finished hissentence I came back tight on the fish. We all showed signs of relief and started laughing at the mishap.
We started the procedure of backing down on the fish again and during the next hour we would have the mono leader on the reel at least 20 times only to have the fish take it and some spectra back. I was now very spent on this fish and I use the assistance of "Rodney Holder" several times to hold the rod so I could reel when Lou backed the boat up. However, this never lasted very long as each time it looked promising that we would get the fish, so I would pick the rod up and wind like crazy to get the fish to the boat. I was now very tired, Lou had done a great job driving the boat and Pete had done a great job keeping me hydrated with Coors Light during the fight. We had all worked veryhard up to this point and well all wanted a close up of this magnificent fish.
After several more runs each one getting shorter and shorter we really started to put the line on the reel. Several time now we had seen the huge color spot just off the stern and Lou went crazy over the size each time she got close. The flying gaff was out the 357 was loaded and we were ready to take this fish. Lou and I have had many discussions about taking a big fish during many of our mako trips and we had always said we would let the big fish go but for some reason after all the hard work and time trying to catch a FISH OF A LIFETIME, our plans started to change.
We finally get the fish close enough to really see her and take a bunch of pictures. Unfortunately weonly had about 10 shots left on the film. Lou takes the last shot of the fish just off the stern and out of all the pictures its my favorite and will be blown up to add to my Wall of Fame in my garage. It really shows the absolute girth of that fish.
We bring her along side the boat and Lou says to me "well are we going to take that fish or let it go?" Although we had gone back and forth during the fight in the decision to take the fish or let it go it was now time to make that choice. I looked up at Lou and I said you and I have always discussed that if we ever got a fish this big we would let it go. Lou agreed and came down from the bridge to do the release. Lou grabbed the cutters and stepped up for the last view of the fish. She was now right along side the boat and very tired. Lou cut the wire and she slowly turned up swell and started to swim off. She was very tired but also very healthy.
I have no doubt in my mind that fish is alive and ready to fight another day. The hook was right in the corner of her mouth and she showed no signs of bleeding. This was truly a FISH OF A LIFETIME and I have the pictures for my wall of fame. I will treasure this catch for the rest of my life and I am sure Lou, Pete and I will talk about this day for a long time to come. I have had some very exceptional days on the water but this would have to be the topper.
We then re-set up on our spot so Lou and Pete could pull on a fish but no fish ever showed up, not even a blue. We then called it a day about 8pm and pointed the Pez Loco for the Marina Del Rey
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