Big threshers?
 

so our "local" fishery usually produces alot of 40-90lb models with some up to 150lbs. i seen some pics of a touney out of DP and they haul in 300lb models like its cool.

from what i've gathered and seen, in the fall, if you head south out of NPH to a canyon you can hook into some 150lb+ models if your there at the right time. But.. this is the only place i know.

so questions... what other places get bigger threshers and can you catch them all year? i was thinking La Jolla would be a good bet, especially since its so deep and all the activity, also carlsbad canyon, also alot of activity in the summer and its also super deep with shallow shelves on each side.

any suggestions? I figure since i dont have much time left in cali, I'm going to give it my all to get the biggest fish of each species i can. fishing just to fish is fun, but i want a 4 hour fight :reel: :D

I think bigger threshers are know to stay outside of 150 fathoms, find places where water is pushing 1000 feet deep closest to shore.

Malibu ...mlpa...seen them in the sewer when it is warm

that deep? are they the big eye or palagic threshers?

btw, wheres a good site for maps? if any.

http://www.saltwatersportsman.com/sp...resher-madness

My bad I think most work the 100 fathom contour.

If you really want to fish for adult Ts you should read Fred Archers books on them. I've posted some things over the years but he's got a good general book on how to do it, that explains the special gear etc.. you need to target Bigger T sharks.

Basically there are two behavior groups juveniles and adults and they behave in different ways. Adult T's are much tougher then pups under 150 pounds they fight harder and longer then anything you can imagine. It's something you can't really get until you tie into a really big one. People say swords are tougher but I'm not sure they are right one that one. Archer claims the only thing that compares is Giant blue fin but I've never caught one so I wouldn't know.

A big T will really bust your ass and often fight itself to death. My largest was just over fourteen and a half feet long. That fish sounded 400 yards straight down when I hooked it and stayed down there 1200 feet down for almost a hour traveling five miles in a straight line, before it decided to come up and start jumping. Imagine being hooked to a airplane 1200 feet in the sky moving slowly north while you follow it on the ground. That's kind of what it was like. I couldn't even budge it, I couldn't of pulled it up, I just followed along putting as much pressure as I could waiting. Finally it just came up on it's own, so fast it created a huge bow in my line, so much so that my line was still pointing down when it start jumping thirty feet out of the water a hundred yards ahead of me. They make Marlin look like pussies. Eventually we ended up getting close enough to gaff it, but I only got it because we were able to follow it in the relative comfort and safety in a boat and wait it out.

I only keep adult Ts when they die on the line. I could probably kill a dozen or so a year if I wanted to. I quit posting about them because too many people started fishing for them, as a direct result of what me and a few others posted on BD and elsewhere. It was my first big lesson about fishing in the internet. Used to be I'd be the only one out there or maybe one of my buddies would be targeting them as well. Then due to the internet it went to hundreds of boats killing hundreds of sharks a day, after a while it made me kind of sick.

Now it seems to have calmed down a bit. Most people think there are so many more small ones then large ones, but that's because they do not understand their migration or how to target them, which honestly suits me just fine.

I will say that juvenile Ts stay tight to the coast for a longer period of the year then large ones. Big ones migrate through each spring, and they do come in close enough to target with a kayak, but I'd say you are highly unlikely to land one over 200 pounds.

When I first got into kayaking I got an idea that Id' like to take a big one over 200 pounds from the Yak. First day I tried I hooked a good one off Dana point. My take at the time was that with the same gear that I'd use in my skiff I could land one the same size. So I was fishing with an international, rollers, 80 pound. I had that shark on for longer then it took to land my 14+ T, never got it closer then a hundred feet down, when I was maybe five miles offshore I started thinking there even if I got it there was no way I could paddle it back to shore. I was dead tired, just couldn't get enough lift on it, and there was no way i could of towed it back anyway. At that point started thinking about trying to get it off. I gave it slack, pumped the rod trying to get it to spit the hook, but there was no way I was going to unhook it, and with 80 pound I could not break it off. I felt like a total idiot.

Finally after a few more miles I gave up and just cut it off. I figured better leave it towing a bunch of line then having it die on the line and then not be able to do anything with it.

If you want to target bigger ones I'd suggest finding someone with a skiff to fish them. If you want a long fight on kayak trying beating a 100 to 150 class T on ten pound. My buddy Steve does that all the time and it's a real blast.

I mean how big do you really need? Most people way overestimate their weight anyway.

This female is around 178:
http://www.bdoutdoors.com/gallery/fi...3/0/Tshark.JPG

This Male is around the same size.
http://www.bdoutdoors.com/gallery/fi.../0/tshark4.JPG

http://www.bdoutdoors.com/gallery/fi.../0/tshark6.JPG

Shark looks a lot bigger then me, but I'm 6'1" and 185 pounds.

Both those fish were taped and weighed on certified scales, and their about as big a T I'd say I could be land off a unassisted kayak, and that's pushing it. The first was five miles out of Newport, the second only a mile or so off Dana Point. Both of those I caught within thirty minutes of putting a bait in the water, if you know how to target them they are not hard to catch. Unfortunately both were tailhooked and died on the line which lead to two very short seasons for me.

In contrast a real T like this one is in my opinion right out of the question for a kayak.
http://www.bdoutdoors.com/gallery/fi.../BGthresh3.jpg

I couldn't even find a scale big enough to weigh that one up here in LA, and there is no way I could of brought it in to the dock alone on a kayak.

Just my take though. Good luck. I just think if you target adult T sharks from a kayak you may end up with a lot more then you bargained for.

Jim

Ha Ha Ha.... Guys using my light line leader style, Archer would be pissed.

Depth is not that important, upwellings and bait concentrations associated with depth structure are more important.

I don't know the author personally but check this quote out.

"....California Thresher Sharks

Rods: 5 1/2-foot stand-up tuna trolling rod for teaser outfit; 7-foot live-bait-action rod rated for 30- to 50-pound-test for skipbait.

Reels: Accurate ATD 30 for teaser outfit; Shimano TLD 15/20 or equivalent for bait outfit....."

You got to laugh. That's common So. Cal. Marlin gear not Adult Thresher gear. Obviously this guy has little experience T shark fishing or has only fished pups.

Big Threshers will completely demolish TLDs. I love TLDs for most gamefish but, I've got a broken TLD25 right here that was destroyed by an adult TShark. For anything over 200lbs you want an aluminum framed 2 speed that holds at least 400yards of eighty, and that is minimum. Anything less is going to get you in trouble unless your only targeting pups tight to shore. It's a no brainier. Even using cut mackerel (as the author does) your still going to tailhook some fish, say you hook a 200 to 400 pound thresher in the tail and it dies on the line several hundred yards straight down. How are you going to winch it up with a TLD15?

Small hooks "4/0", light leaders, 30 to 50 pound test, small T's in his pics and Marlin gear. It's obvious that most his experience is fishing smaller T sharks.

Jim

Jim thank you for the awesome read and insight. My rule on the t's is one for the freezer per season, the rest cpr'd. So far all of mine have been of the smaller variety 70ish with a few a bit larger. Looking to up my sizes a bit this year too.

Jim,

Dave E has seen and done more in Socal fishing than you will have ever done in 100 lifetimes, so don't make stupid comments like that when you don't know what you are talking about. :cheers1:

caught my 70# thresher with this setup.. 40# spectra. 7'8" 15-30# inshore rod. took an hour and a half outside of NPH.

http://i1007.photobucket.com/albums/...e/IMG_0232.jpg

i heard the best chances for threshers up in the OC are NPH, near the long beach breakwall, and in front of Seal Beach Peir. i ear the canyons of NPH hold larger ones. outside of NPH, the breakwall and seal beach hold smaller teenage T's

LMAO!!!

Actually I do know what I'm talking about, that's how I know that 30 to 50 pound test on a TLD15 is the wrong gear for baiting adult threshers.

Pretty much all the true T shark experts I know would say that anyone who disagrees with me on that point doesn't know what they are talking about.

Yes you can bait Striped Marlin on that gear, but it is definitely not the proper gear for fishing adult Threshers over 200 pounds. A TLD15 is a great real for smaller fish and even acceptable for local striped marlin with 30lb test, but it's no match for Giant Bluefin, Swordfish, Adult threshers, or even Cow Yellowfin Tuna. Adult Ts outfight Cows, try taking a TLD15 on a long range trip to fish for Cows.

So maybe you think I'm somehow insulting Dave by saying Ron Ballanti the guy who wrote the article doesn't know the kind of gear that is needed to land big threshers. I'd say that's a stretch. I know of Dave. Tackle guy, works for Aftco. I'm not sure about his shark experience but just for you I'll make some calls, because I know people who know him well. I seriously doubt he's fished sharks as much as I have but then again I'm a shark nut and I've been fishing them for forty years.

Gear wise with his experience you'd think he'd know better then to recommended graphite bodied TLDs for Adult T Sharks, so I kind of think he never said it.

I have no idea who Ron is. From what I can tell from his past articles it seems his biggest thing is writing articles essentially press releases about United Anglers. Seems he interviewed Dave. Which is not that surprising considering that Dave is connected to United Anglers. From the read I'd say that Ron probably doesn't know jack about big threshers. The article is full of half truths and misinterpretations, so I gather he came up with on his own gear ideas or just misinterpreted Dave when it came to gear. Just the mark of poor writing. You tell people one thing and they interpret it into something else.

Let me give you an example:

"The bigger fish usually work deeper feeding zones, where you are more likely to encounter a typical 100- to 150-pound thresher — with a shot at the occasional 250-pound monster...."

Now Dave probably said there are bigger sharks offshore in deeper water, due to their migration pattern, which is true, but I highly doubt he referred to a 250 pound thresher is a "monster". A 250lbs T is not a monster it's a young adult, barely mature enough to breed, and at times you can find whole groups of hundreds of them moving up the coast in packs or in groups working bait balls offshore.

Anyone with any real experience fishing them knows that, so I can't really see Dave saying it.

Jim

Man I just had a good laugh about this post on the phone, and my friend a true big game and thresher expert made a suggestion I just have to pass on to you.

Why don't you go over to SCMO
Southern California Marlin Online "ask the experts board"http://www.marlinnut.com/forums/f12/

...and simply post a question if a TLD15/20 with 50 pound test is appropriate for baiting large adult thresher sharks off Southern California.

Then go over to Bloody Decks
http://www.bdoutdoors.com/forums/

...and once again simply post a question if a TLD15/20 with 50 pound test is appropriate for baiting large adult thresher sharks off Southern California.

Just put up the posts then link us to them here so we can read the responses. I'd do it myself but everyone would know I was full of shit.

Look at it this way. If those tackle recommendations are correct everyone is going to tell you it's great gear and to go fish them, and then you can come back and tell me once again that I don't know what I'm talking about.

This is not about politics. No fair mentioning the article, Me or Drew. It's not popularity contest, it's not about whether people support Dave or United anglers, make it strictly about tackle.

I'd say you better have a thick skin because a lot of people are going to give you a hard time for even suggesting you could take adult threshers one that gear.

Jim

yeah right!
 

Sounds like someone wants to 'shoot an elephant with a squirrel gun!' :eek: :D:elefant:

Thanks man. You know it's weird how you always are drawn to respond to the negative crap before the cool posts, but thanks for your reply. The Big Ones are coming soon, they move up the coast faster then you think. You hit the migration right you can't miss them. The key is getting a bait in front of them when they come by.

There is nothing quite like watching a quality T screaming drag of an Tiagra or International, it always sends chills up my spine.

I may skiff fish them this year, as I have some friends who have never caught a big one. I might be willing to try for them from a kayak again just to see if I could do it but I'd want a support boat or take my skiff as a backup.

Jim

I am looking to try and catch a 70-100 pound T-Shark this year. I got a baby last year and hooked/lost several others to outfits too small to handle them. I wasn't fishing for them at the time and was not even close to prepared. Hooked one on my ultra light (Sedona 500, 15lb braid) after letting an anchovie drag the surface while fixing my other setup. 30 seconds of absolute amazing gymnastics.

Don't want to keep all that I catch either, one would be fine.

Dude, you don't even have to explain about responding to negativity......i know to well. When I say "bigger" im hoping to keep it in the 150-175 range. Im using a.....wait for it.....tld15-20 strummed up with 50# braid. Im down to push my gear to its limits but I honestly don't have enough freezer room and neighbors that I care to share with to keep a bigger t.

Based on what?

So what, you went out in a WFO t-shark bite in Apr/May '07 off Laguna Canyon and caught a few just like every one else.

Anybody thats anybody in fishing knows your a legend in your own mind. :notworthy:

I'm a nobody and prefer it that way but I do know a few "legends in their own minds" and it ain't fun!

So I decided to come back and tone this down. I'm not mad I actually find the whole thing pretty comical.

First off.... I honestly don't think I fished T sharks at all in 2007. If I remember it right I still had thresher meat in the freezer when they came through. That might of been the year I took Rick's 56 Ocean Sportfisher down from MDR, and put him on a Thresher, but if so we got that fish south off an upwelling down by Dana, with no other boats around. I did fish them in 97, but that's a whole other story and like quality seabass they were a lot harder to catch back then.

I don't fish bites or crowds when it comes to T sharks. I can't think of a single quality T that I've caught when I was within a mile of another boat. You hunt down big Ts like marlin, and you don't fish the crowds like with seabass. Small inshore Ts group up and make bites. Big Ts are always on the move, here to today ten miles up the coast tomorrow. Even when you find them in groups they are usually spaced out maybe fifty to a hundred feet apart, big single fish down on the thermocline always on the move.

The only reason people think they stay in one place is they run into multiple waves of the same migration as the fish move up the coast.

You're obviously not a Big Game fisherman, you think a TLD15 is adequate for them, and for some weird reason you want to tell me I don't know my shit. Fair enough, but I can honestly tell you that anyone with big game fishing experience is going to know you're wrong.

I mean honestly how many Ts have you caught over 200 pounds? How many hours have you followed and trolled for them offshore? How many years have you tracked their migrations up the coast? Where do you get off telling me I don't know what I'm talking about when from what you are saying it's obvious you have no experience with them.

I can post about these larger sharks because I'm actually experienced with them, fished them for decades, and know their behavior.

I mean really..LMAO... a single speed TLD15 or TLD20 is not a big game reel. Everyone and anyone who fishes Big game knows this. Shimano knows this. They would never even recommend these reels for this application. It's just kinda ridiculous. :D

Speaking of real stuff versus web smack... This is what happens when you fish graphite framed TLD's for Adult T sharks:
http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/3281/reel48.jpg

I just took this pic a few minutes ago, and that reel in the middle upside down is my TLD25 with a cracked frame that was broken when a friend of mine hook an adult T with it then tried to stop a adult fish with it. It stripped three quarters of the line off the reel and he over tightened the drag and the frame popped. Happens all the time I can give you multiple examples off various boards.

Here's a a closer view:
http://img841.imageshack.us/img841/9446/detail48.jpg


See how the frame is cracked on the left. Now we in the larger fishing community call that first hand observable experience. :D

The stress from the harness, at the reel seat it was just to much for the composite and it snapped the foot. I know this happens because not only have a seen it happen to others but it happened to my own stupid reel, and I'm the one who's to drive over to shimano and get a new free frame. That damage is exactly why no-one with any real TLD reel experience fishes Adult Ts with graphite framed Shimanos. I love the reels, I own over a dozen of them but they are not built strong enough to fish for Adult Ts.

Now the reel next to it on the left is a different story. That is a TLD30 a 2speed version of the TLD 25 that has been upgraded with a superior drag, aluminum handle, and a aluminum frame.

One sweet reel and theoretically capable for T's up to around maybe 250 pounds. I still do not consider it an adult T reel, and don't use it for them. I like it for bait and hundred pound YFT, and it's alright for smaller Ts, but if I'm going with a reel that size for bigger fish I prefer a Daiwa SLD30-II (there's one in the back somewhere, I own four) because it has smoother gearing at low speed when the drag setting is over 18 pounds, and is better for cranking up from straight down.

That said I prefer Tiagra or International two speeds for most adult T fishing and if there are big fish over 300 pounds around I only fish 50 two speeds with 150 pound spectra for reasons that you'd find boring or pretentious.

So I'm now a legend in my own mind....hmmmm...... Well you know what they say: "In the land of the blind the one eyed man is king."

Hey how are those threads going at Marlin Nut and BD???? SCMO may be our local big game site but it has big game fishing talent posting from all over the world, and they will give you the straight dope. They will tell you straight up, that a TLD15 or TLD20 is not a big game reel (they were originally deigned for 15 and 20 pound) and that adult Ts are big game, trust me I know.

Jim

well this was fun.

i have a few set ups and a couple days on the books. i think ill see what i can pull off.

LOL...believe it or not I know the feeling.

There are different kinds of legends. It's the online form, those that constantly hang out on boards sniping at others that are most irritating.

The True fishing legends I know don't hardly post anymore. I mean I love to fish and have put in a lot of time on the water but there are people who know a lot more then I. The Brackmans, Leevy, Mrass, Larry, Chugey, they all know more about T sharks then I do. I could name a whole other set for tuna.

They don't even post online for the most part because they don't want to deal with all the we nuts stalking them and trying to put them down.

Nothing as savage as some jealous idiot with a computer.

In hindsight I should of just let this thread go by and never said a damn thing.

Jim

PAT IS THE MAN!

case closed.


(lock it up Adi)

Indeed... I'm just glad he didn't say the world was flat, or the universe revolves around us.

Yep the TLD15 is the ultimate Big Game tool, can kill anything in the ocean and all those guys with Gold Reels and God forbid two speeds are just throwing good money away for nothing. :notworthy:

That old Archerism is so true :luxhello:

I was able to read between the lines and pull alot of useful info from this thread.i can see getting tired of defending your comments after putting in years of time hunting these threshers, but guys with alot less experience are reading and appreciate the insite.

I too read through the lines and gleaned some really good information. I'm pretty sure a lot of people got the same.

Just remember guys this is a kayak fishing forum not a skiff fishing forum and fighting a fish from a kayak is way different than the much higher weight of a skiff. You can land pretty much as big a fish as you want in a kayak with a TLD15 LD. Are there better and stronger reels that may give you a shorter fight, hell yes, will the TLD 15 do the job, I would say for anything you actually want to catch in your kayak, hell yes.
I say this no to brag in any fashion only to qualify my statement. I have caught dozens of Threshers from my kayak with my biggest T off my kayak weighed on a certified scale, so no made up weight, and it was 172.4 pounds. Landed on a TLD 15 LD with 20 pound test and a 100lb flouro leader. The fight lasted 2 1/2 hours and was caught over the LJ canyon. This fish, because I was in a kayak, never got more than half way into the spool of line. Same with my first Marlin from the kayak, which took much faster runs, which was estimated at 150-180. That one was on a Charter Special which I guess is closer in size to a TLD 10, this time 20lb test with no leader. Again this fish never got even close to halfway into the spool, it did though drag me 8 miles out. I was with my friend Howard when he hooked and fought a 300lb plus Blue Marlin on a Trindad 14 and the fight lasted 4 1/2 hours and covered close to 17 miles and again the fish never got more than 1/2 way into the spool. I only say these things again as a reminder that we are fighting fish from a moving platform so generally speaking you just don't need that big heavier gear that Jim is talking about. Not saying you wouldn't mind having it during those long fights and have the ability to drop into low gear and just grind.

On aside, threads like this are why this community has gone down hill and many of the guys that have been around for a long time no longer post. There is rarely the sharing of info, if you do share you get attacked, if you don't share you get attacked, or in the sharing you are attacking someone else, or the posts are just a.... look at me...... a I am better than the rest of you..... look at me... just condescending with no actual helpful information. It honestly really depresses me to think of how close this community used to be and to where it has now come.
The people that give others crap for sharing information are generally the same ones who were all over this site sucking up information when they got started. I just don't get it :hmmmm:

:iagree::grouphug:, "Now back to your regular scheduled program already in progress"

I could not agree more with you Jim Sammons.

Great stuff Jim. I agree with you. Most people only know one thing or one way to fish. The deal is Offshore inshore, boats kayaks etc.. all have their unique tackle demands, one size really doesn't fit all :D
.
I'd add something you may not have considered to that. Personally I'd say that the largest tackle issue you face with really large threshers is when they die on the line.

I had a good friend that got a 400+ fish a while back that was tail hooked and died. Initially as it sank he thought it was still alive and just taking drag, but eventually he realized it was dead and that they'd have to lift it's 400+ pounds back to the surface with his eighty pound gear. With him working the rod and another guy at the rail lifting hand over hand it took them several grueling hours to get it up to the boat. Then they had to tie it off, take it in and clean the thing.

He told me if he had to do it over again he would of stayed home.

I don't think there would be any way to get a fish like that back to the surface without heavy gear that could actually winch them up, and I don't see how you could utilize such gear effectively from a kayak. Perhaps towing a kayak she might of never sounded and died, who knows.

If a fish is hooked in the mouth, and stays up top I think you'd have a good chance even thirty pound, but if a huge one sounds and dies on lighter gear it's a waste of flesh because you just can't lift them back up.

My take is if I kill it I have to utilize it. so I now use the heavy gear from my skiff now precisely because it can lift a dead one back to the surface. I fish alone, I don't have a deckhand to hand line a dead fish for me. To me it's just part of the game. I need to have a reel that gears down low enough, with strong enough line to dead lift a huge fish. It's just a given.

I did not always see it that way. I fished Makos first and with them you can fish much lighter gear. I did not say it earlier but my largest T was caught on a TLD25 filled with straight forty mono, my standard Mako gear back in the day. I was actually fishing for Makos when I hooked it, and I managed to get it, but that fish was mouth hooked, and came back up to the top, so it was really only luck and great boat handling from my buddy, that allowed me to get her.

Now I know enough to leave that gear at home when the bigger T's are around. After fishing them enough and seeing the various things that can go wrong, and the number of them that fight themselves to death, I now feel fishing with that light of gear is irresponsible. I kill I keep it's the bottom line.

That's actually kinda the problem I have with the article linked to in the thread. Ron's not talking about fishing them in kayaks, he's talking about fishing them in boats, and unfortunately he's generalizing that gear used to fish small inshore Ts will actually work for offshore fish. Inshore you can utilize lighter tackle because they can't sound deep. It's just not the case for bigger fish offshore.

At any rate thanks for your well reasoned response and perspective. Great stuff as always. Hey and if you ever want to go for some real monster Ts maybe we can rig up a support boat and chase some down for you.

Jim

Well you will notice in my post I said.
"You can land pretty much as big a fish as you want in a kayak with a TLD15 LD"

I don't know that I "Want" a 400 lb Thresher from my kayak. :eek:

Ah who am I kidding, of course I do. Not bringing it on board though!!


Oh and forgot to mention.
PAT is the Man
A nicer more chill guy you will never meet! And I am not saying this because he is bigger than a house.

Personally, between all the bickering, I've managed to pick up a lot of useful information. I think it is a shame that to get the info you have to sift through everyone's ego. I just don't understand that aspect of it.

Thank you JimD and JimS for the info you guys posted, I am going to put it to use soon. Not on any 400lber's though.

Thank You
 

Well, as for my self, being fairly new to the whole concept of fishing from Tupperware, I do get a lot of information from this forum. I have learned basic concepts on how to best rig a yak for fishing big fish, & really big fish, how to get said fish to the yak, & what to do with it when you get it there... even how to make bait from a yak.
Their are readers here that don't, & may never fish SoCal, so specifics on how to catch YT, WSB, or big T's may not help us so much, but its still nice to learn different ways of doing things, (first hand accounts are always best).
This is the most active Kayak fishing forum I have found, & have seen people from all over the US on here, & even post from Australia & GB.
I grew up here in the Puget sound, and growing up, my experience was bottom fishing, even at that, the way some of you rig for Halibut is different than what I learned, & will have to try it next time I go to an area where I am allowed to target them, with a few hook changes to comply with local regs.
I saw an Orca once, less than 5 ft from to boat as my dad was sending some herring down for a Ling, & his line commenced to screaming, he just cut the line... I knew a guy who swore he snagged a sub, witch is totally possible, in that area, & I have seen rods break on a fast drift and a hard snag, sending part, if not the whole, broken, rod & reel to the bottom.
I don't have a lot of money these days & cant afford the best, or to loose what I have. I hate having gear broken & hate cutting line, so If I have to loose something, including a fish (or Marine mammal) I cant manage, I prefer to be able to break it off within 10ft of the hook.
All that said, You guys are the reason I have gotten into kayak fishing. you guys seem to have such a good time & seem to be a pretty close knit group of guys. that and Its a whole lot cheaper than all the cost associated with a boat, & a whole lot more fun than throwin, lures, or bait from the shore.

How will this reel hold up against a medium to larger sized thresher?
I have 350yrds of 65# Jerry brown and and 150yrds of 40# spectra backing.


Single piece alloy, 27lbs of drag, 4.3:1 carbon matrix drag system....

http://www.purefishing.com.au/assets...hamar/main.jpg

Remove the levelwind and it will be good to go..


Its not the quality of the gear that catches fish but the quality of the fisherman!

Just curious why people are so against the level wind? I haven't had an issue with it =/

I have battled a few threshers over the years. I even speared an 95 lb one once. I dont know Jim at all but my experiences with Threshers are in line with his. It would be foolish to attempt to land one of those monsters off a kayak. I have tried...

I was playing around online and came across Fred Archer's "Shark Troller's Bible" Online at Google.

http://books.google.com/books?id=Cb3...epage&q&f=true

Doesn't look like the whole book is there but there is something like a third of it, something like forty pages. Though you can't copy it, it can be read online.

For those who don't know Fred used to be considered one of the best known authors if not authorities on Big Game Shark fishing in So.Cal. He's written numerous books about it, and flat out his books changed the way people fished for Sharks off So. Cal.

Might be an interesting read for some.

Jim

where did the BOTD section go? oh wait sorry wrong website.... :rolleyes:
thanks to Jim and Jim for the insight.

btw, good luck finding these guys on the yak. i went out several times in "prime" locations at the "right time" and got nothing... might have needed to fish my baits more towards the bottom than the mid and upper water column though. but 280ft seems kinda deep for a mackerel. lol