Fishing Reports

Last updated 9-10-07

September 2^nd 2007

At 5:30am David Cardona aka “Animal”, Chris Romo and Ricardo Contreras made the short drive to Port Aransas to meet up with our club advisor, Dr. Heenan along with his wife and Andy to fish aboard his boat GOIN DEEP. After loading up gear and fueling up the crew headed out and took a short ride to a spot near shore to try for some Red Snapper. After about 15 minutes and with nobody even getting a nibble we decided to bring up all the lines and move to the Liberty wreck to try for some more bottom fishing. On the way to the wreck we dropped down 2 Russel lures in the prop wash along with a bonito dropped farther behind the boat and trolled for a couple miles for some Kingfish. We managed to bring up 2 kingfish while passing some rigs and also hooked up to what we think was a huge shark on the bonito which ripped off about 200 yards of line with heavy drag from a Penn International 80 like it was a Zebco 33 and wrapped itself around the rig and popped the 100lb line. After all the excitement we reeled up the lures and drove full speed to the wreck. Once we arrived we located the ship and dropped down some lines to try to entice some red snapper once again. Unfortunately for the crew the red snapper were just not cooperating today and only managed to hook 2 small snapper that were not legal length yet. With the snapper not biting the crew decided to bring all the bottom fishing gear up and prepare to do some trolling. They quickly rigged up all the rods and reels with various trolling skirts, Russel lures, and ballyhoo and dropped down the outriggers. With their trolling spread set and ready we headed out to catch some more hungry pescados. Once we began our troll it didn’t take long to start getting into some action, the Spanish mackerel seemed to love the Russel lures and kept us busy and excited as we waited for some bigger fish. Soon one of the reels starts to scream and we hook up to a small kingfish and as we are dealing with the fish one of the Penn 80’s starts singing and Animal grabs the rod and is soon hooked up and in the fighting chair reeling in a mystery fish which hit a Pink Jet skirt with a ballyhoo on it. After a 4-5minute fight on the Penn International 80 the crew sees a big Wahoo surface and Rick and Andy quickly gaff it and bring it onto the boat.

After the crew celebrated with high fives we set out all the gear again and continued to troll and pick up a few more Spanish mackerel before calling it a day and heading in.

PINS 8-13-15-07

(posted by Joey O'Neal)

For the past couple of months, Dwight and I have been planning on staying at the beach for a week to fish for monster sharks. Well, the time finally came and the plan was for Jeff and I to had down and Dwight to follow. Finally Monday afternoon, Jeff and I are at the beach with beautiful conditions and absolutely no waves. We waste no time in rigging the bad boys and yakking them out. This time of year is somewhat slow for regular blacktips and medium sharks so we didn't waste our time putting out anything small. Dwight called and said he was going to be coming down in the morning with more food, water, and ice. Jeff and I start the pit up once it gets dark and eat some awesome hamburgers while waiting for a run. We stay up late with no action, and then finally go to sleep while trying to fight off the swarms of bugs and mosquitoes. We were later woken by the flashes of lighting and roll of thunder of an approaching storm. Just as the sun rises, a nice little rain storm comes and drenches us with rain. Once the storm passes we call Dwight and he says that the park rangers would not let him on the beach because they are going to close it due to the approaching tropical storm. We laugh at him and tell him it is nice and sunny were we are. The day goes on with little action on the bait rods and no action on the big rods. Later in the day a park ranger drives down and lets us know a storm is coming and that we should leave the beach. Since we had one more night’s worth of food and ice we decided to give the baits as much time as we could. We were sitting around after eating some chicken fajitas and my 12/0 slacks up. I run to the rod hoping it is not cut off and once the rod is in my hands it takes off. It is now around midnight and I yell to Jeff to bring me the GameFace Gear fighting belt so he can strap me in. I fight the big fish that I think is a tiger for a while as he pulls slow and shakes his head.

During the fight I feel like my line had hung up on something because the shark is not moving and I cannot pull line at all. I finally get the full use out of the fighting belt and just force the shark to move. There is no wind whatsoever causing me to sweat like crazy while bugs constantly harass me. After a long tug a war we finally see the leader float just part the second bar. At 2:00a.m. we finally see the monster bull shark on the beach in front of us.

I run and get the tools to remove the hook that is right in the corner of his mouth. We then measure and take some pictures of the beast before sending her out into the sea again. The shark was 8'4'' and close to 400lbs, it was wider than our kayak. We are extremely luck to have caught and released two very nice sharks in little over a week. It is not easy to get a large shark to swim away after a long fight but luckily we have been able to release this one and all the other big ones before this. After spending many hot mosquito filled nights on the beach it is one of the most awesome feelings to see a big shark tail swimming off into the clear night surf after an awesome battle.

Till next time,

~Joey~

PINS 8-2-4-07

(posted by Andrew Mason)

With the stress of summer classes approaching dangerous levels, Jeff Lopez, Joey O'Neal, and I headed for the beach. The driving was excellent and the water was very nice. We all sent out big baits Thursday night with no takers. On Friday morning I noticed some action in the wade gut and decided to throw my Gotcha Plug. After catching numerous pesky skipjack I hooked up with and landed a nice 20in deformed speckled trout.

The day pressed on with no action while the stingrays just sat out in the gulf waiting for that big tiger shark to come along. Just before sunset a nice school of reds came through tearing up some finger mullet. Jeff took advantage of the opportunity to pick one up with a spoon.

Later that night we sat in front of a nice redfish and trout dinner when Jeff's reel starts the infamous slow click. We head over there and strap Jeff in for the ride. He picks up the rod and all action comes to a halt. This happened two more times before the shark left it alone for the rest of the night, leaving the line facing straight north. We woke in the morning to calm surf and very light winds. Upon examining the condition of the rods and reels we couldn't help but notice that Jeff's reel was facing straight south. We knew right away that there had to be something on. Sure enough, 30 minutes later there in front of us was an 8'8" male Tiger Shark.

Because the shark ran into us before it made it to Bob Hall Pier, it will live to see another day and grow to give others the opportunity to experience their awesome beauty and the rush of a Tiger Shark at the end of their line. That's what the TAMUK Anglers are all about, conserving our resources for future generations!

Till' next time, tight lines and screaming reels!

~Andrew Mason~

PINS 6-14-07

(posted by Joey O'Neal)

Headed down the beach Thursday afternoon and was welcomed by some of the nicest conditions in a while. The driving was nice at low tide and much of the seaweed had cleared off the beach. Drove down for a while but the water became dirtier the farther south I went so I turned around and stopped in the twenties were the water was clean and clear. The plan was to run big baits so I rigged up a jack and a cownose ray then sent them out before it got dark. I managed to up out a nice sized skipjack also for medium sized sharks. Thirty minutes later the skipjack get nailed and a blacktip goes airborne several times before managing to spit the hook, oh well. The big baits go without being touched all night long and in the morning one gets cut off. I paddle out the retrieve my leader to find literally hundreds of baby eels about one inch long eating away at the twenty pound jack. Before noon I sent out a whiting and a skipjack but they were shortly destroyed by the baby eels. With such nice conditions I refused to be beaten by the piranha eels so I continued to run baits in hopes that a shark would find one first. Around noon a skippy gets nailed and after a short fight I finally land a 5'5'' blacktip shark.

Lately there have been plenty of these guys so I was hoping for something a little different. Shortly thereafter I would get my chance at something much better. Around 2pm one of my rods gets a screaming run and I lace into something I know is not an ordinary blacktip. The hundred pound test line under 31lbs of drag is humming off my reel creating a whistle as the wind blows against it. After a good 300 yards the fish finally stops and I manage to gain some line but the fish soon realizes that he is being reeled in and takes off again. This would continue for some time as the shark refused to come over the third bar. Almost half an hour later the shark is still full of fight and my back is starting to have a sharp pain along with my arms starting to go numb. Somewhere during the fight I remember the nice fighting belt Jeff had and begin wishing I had it now as the gimble on the bottom of my rod was digging into my hip. I finally get the shark into the second gut and see its dorsal and tail for the first time and immediately know it’s a hammerhead. After about forty five minutes I finally land the nice male scalloped hammerhead shark.

I rushed to measure, de-hook, and take pictures of the shark in hopes of a quick release. The shark measured out to 8'8''. I cut the leader and removed the hook then take the shark out to the deep water of the second gut where I walk him for a few minutes before he kicks off on his own. I was totally worn out after the fight but glad that the shark swam off. Hammerheads are known to fight so hard that they die due to heart attacks, the shark was fine but I was the one that almost had a heart attack. After that I relaxed for a while then headed home to rest in the air condition.

Take it easy.

~Joey~

South Port Mansfield Jetties 6-15-07

After reports of tough driving we decided to run down to South Padre and come back up north to get to the South Mansfield Jetty. We (David Cadena, Jeff, Phillip, Poncho, and myself) were greeted by great water conditions and little wind. The driving was not the greatest, but we made it up in about 1 hr 15 minutes. Bait was hard to come by but eventually Jeff was able to come up with a few horse mullet. I threw a chunk of it out off the north end and soon hooked into a nice 30.5" redfish (tagged).

Not long after Jeff catches a nice 27.5" redfish that is quickly slipped into the cooler. Just minutes later, Jeff hooks into a hog of a fish on his Abu Garcia Black Max. We all thought it was another redfish, but after a rather lengthy fight up comes a 34" black drum. Not too shabby for an Abu Garcia rigged with cut mullet!

The fishing slowed down for a while, so we decided to try to get some shark rigs out. As I start to get my 6/0 rigged up, my squidder begins to SING! I jet for the reel, look out into the water and up goes a BEAUTIFUL tarpon! Just as quick as it took my bait, it spit my hook and it was all over. Too bad.

After deploying some shark baits, we were finally able to sit down and relax. It wasn't until about 3:00 when our next fish got hungry and that was a 30" black drum caught by David.

We ended the day with a few more lost fish, but overall the trip was great. The driving during low tide was excellent and Whataburger right afterwards was great! Till' next time, tight lines and sore arms!

~Andrew Mason~

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