A nice specimen and a scare - Kayak Fishing Adventures on Big Water’s Edge

Regor · 07-09-2011, 05:13 AM

First off is the bass. Wasn't really shooting for her, but a nice catch anyway. And, surprising what a fight she gave, even on my heavy gear. Took a full 8" live Mac.

.

.

Second was the interesting part of the day. This day had some of the biggest and widespread porpoise feeding frenzies that I had ever seen. From south of the shores to the north, they were everywhere.

So I'm passing by an area that had just seen the activity about 20 minutes prior. The birds were dumb and fat sitting on the surface relaxing. To my right about 50 feet away was a large splash. I figured it was a leftover porpoise coming out of the water chasing bait. As I watch, I see this object underwater, coming toward my yak, and I'm thinking, odd that it doesn't take off and dive or go away. As the object is getting clearer and clearer I realize that's no porpoise, it's a good sized shark.

Using the yak as a reference, I'd put it at 10' long, and the width was as wide as my yak - 28". It was big. And the circumference was no skinny lean mammal of the ocean. The one fin was centered, and when he came to the surface and it was out of the water, it was a good two feet in height, and pure light gray.

It was now parallel to me, coming off my back-side, and about 10' off my rear. It really felt like some of the movie from Jaws. All I could think of was grab my gaff and hit the water as hard as I could, and sure enough it went around the back of me, and continued to coast near the surface and off into the distance.

At first I was thinking GW, then others thought Mako. Looking at pictures this morning it had characteristics of a Basking. So now I'm not sure what it was. Basking are filter feeders. Whatever I saw came out of the water and I'm guessing got himself a bird. Got any guesses from my description?

The only video I got was after it had come and gone .... needless to say I had other things on my mind at that moment

jorluivil · 07-09-2011, 05:34 AM

A shark is a shark is a shark......that's my guess.

bus kid · 07-09-2011, 06:04 AM

x2

bigbarrels · 07-09-2011, 08:13 AM

big mako? Nice experience to come away unscathed from.....

the dude · 07-09-2011, 04:02 PM

Quote:

Looking at pictures this morning it had characteristics of a Basking.

let's see da pichers...

Aaron&Julie · 07-09-2011, 04:26 PM

A nice calico biting your line is better than a shark biting your ass.

flydigital · 07-09-2011, 04:33 PM

Great experience, glad it turned out well!

From the behavior I would say Mako. 2' tall dorsal is pretty big for a Mako, but I had a 10'-ish long mako say hi to me and a buddy in the middle of the night last month out there (and acted very similar to how you described), with maybe I'd say a 1.5' dorsal, pretty big. I am calling it a Mako instead of GWS because of his speed, splashing and quick turns that I haven't observed of GWS. Who knows though for sure, it was dark and my headlamp sucks. Either species has the same pucker factor, maybe even more with Mako.

Would be cool to see the pics if you have any.

Regor · 07-09-2011, 07:36 PM

No pictures taken by me until it was already out of range. First I had to wait for my heartbeat to slow down a bit

All I can add, is that I did mark it as a waypoint and just brought up the distance. It was appx 3.25 miles from the shores.

sharonkayak · 07-09-2011, 08:55 PM

I was out there on thursday and there were big schools of maks eating on krill.

i'm okay with not seeing sharks out there!

lowprofile · 07-10-2011, 12:40 AM

hammerhead.

we do got 'em

Whizz Bang · 07-10-2011, 07:26 AM

Regor,

You should of mentioned how you tied BOTH of the fly lines you were running up around your rudder when you started hauling a$$ out of the area, this could have been written incredibly humorous. How you then came up to a fellow yakker and WCW competitor and asked for a hand with the lines around the rudder who in turn vocalized his inner turmoil over whether or not to help out because he was also in the WCW...and who after clearing your lines heartily wished you a goose egg on the day and all the by-catch you could handle...

Like we said on the water, definitely Mako. Glad you got that by-catch.

dos ballenas · 07-10-2011, 07:40 AM

That would be a very small basking shark. Many species are commonly mistaken for basking sharks. In most cases they are usually white sharks... but I would go with mako. Sounds like an exciting day to me! You almost got taxed!

Regor · 07-10-2011, 09:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Whizz Bang

Regor,

You should of mentioned how you tied BOTH of the fly lines you were running up around your rudder when you started hauling a$$ out of the area, this could have been written incredibly humorous. How you then came up to a fellow yakker and WCW competitor and asked for a hand with the lines around the rudder who in turn vocalized his inner turmoil over whether or not to help out because he was also in the WCW...and who after clearing your lines heartily wished you a goose egg on the day and all the by-catch you could handle...

Like we said on the water, definitely Mako. Glad you got that by-catch.

Thx Whizz

It was selective writing, and that was the part I left out.

Love my Hobie, but that darn rudder is a magnet for the lines hanging out the back. I've even had a big lively Greenback come full turn around the back end of the Yak (while trolling) and get the line caught on the rudder. I also need to make an adjustment, since the rudder doesn't always pull all the way up, allowing me to untangle. And at that very moment while in the middle of nowhere with the tax man around, just didn't feel like turning around and hanging the feet in the water to address the lines

You got your wish, nothing was caught that could be entered in the WCW that day

carbonbass · 07-11-2011, 07:50 AM

will mako's take a bite?

07-09-2011, 05:13 AM	#1
Regor Greg Join Date: May 2010 Location: Chula Vista, ca Posts: 509	A nice specimen and a scare First off is the bass. Wasn't really shooting for her, but a nice catch anyway. And, surprising what a fight she gave, even on my heavy gear. Took a full 8" live Mac. . . Second was the interesting part of the day. This day had some of the biggest and widespread porpoise feeding frenzies that I had ever seen. From south of the shores to the north, they were everywhere. So I'm passing by an area that had just seen the activity about 20 minutes prior. The birds were dumb and fat sitting on the surface relaxing. To my right about 50 feet away was a large splash. I figured it was a leftover porpoise coming out of the water chasing bait. As I watch, I see this object underwater, coming toward my yak, and I'm thinking, odd that it doesn't take off and dive or go away. As the object is getting clearer and clearer I realize that's no porpoise, it's a good sized shark. Using the yak as a reference, I'd put it at 10' long, and the width was as wide as my yak - 28". It was big. And the circumference was no skinny lean mammal of the ocean. The one fin was centered, and when he came to the surface and it was out of the water, it was a good two feet in height, and pure light gray. It was now parallel to me, coming off my back-side, and about 10' off my rear. It really felt like some of the movie from Jaws. All I could think of was grab my gaff and hit the water as hard as I could, and sure enough it went around the back of me, and continued to coast near the surface and off into the distance. At first I was thinking GW, then others thought Mako. Looking at pictures this morning it had characteristics of a Basking. So now I'm not sure what it was. Basking are filter feeders. Whatever I saw came out of the water and I'm guessing got himself a bird. Got any guesses from my description? The only video I got was after it had come and gone .... needless to say I had other things on my mind at that moment

07-09-2011, 05:34 AM	#2
jorluivil Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Posts: 6,855	A shark is a shark is a shark......that's my guess. __________________ www.facebook.com/Teamsewer

07-09-2011, 06:04 AM	#3
bus kid Team Keine Zugehörigkeit Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Way out there Posts: 2,854	x2 __________________ Não alimente os trolls------------Don't feed the trolls---------------インタネット荒らしを無視しろ

07-09-2011, 08:13 AM	#4
bigbarrels Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Vista Posts: 1,111	big mako? Nice experience to come away unscathed from..... __________________ The shorter you are, the bigger your fish appear

07-09-2011, 04:26 PM	#6
Aaron&Julie Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Spring Valley Posts: 1,400	A nice calico biting your line is better than a shark biting your ass. __________________ "Never say die"

07-09-2011, 04:33 PM	#7
flydigital Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 192	Great experience, glad it turned out well! From the behavior I would say Mako. 2' tall dorsal is pretty big for a Mako, but I had a 10'-ish long mako say hi to me and a buddy in the middle of the night last month out there (and acted very similar to how you described), with maybe I'd say a 1.5' dorsal, pretty big. I am calling it a Mako instead of GWS because of his speed, splashing and quick turns that I haven't observed of GWS. Who knows though for sure, it was dark and my headlamp sucks. Either species has the same pucker factor, maybe even more with Mako. Would be cool to see the pics if you have any.

07-09-2011, 07:36 PM	#8
Regor Greg Join Date: May 2010 Location: Chula Vista, ca Posts: 509	No pictures taken by me until it was already out of range. First I had to wait for my heartbeat to slow down a bit All I can add, is that I did mark it as a waypoint and just brought up the distance. It was appx 3.25 miles from the shores.

07-09-2011, 08:55 PM	#9
sharonkayak Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: San Diego Posts: 217	I was out there on thursday and there were big schools of maks eating on krill. i'm okay with not seeing sharks out there!

07-10-2011, 12:40 AM	#10
lowprofile #1 on fishstick's hitlist Join Date: May 2011 Location: Sea level Posts: 1,476	hammerhead. we do got 'em

07-10-2011, 07:26 AM	#11
Whizz Bang Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 396	Regor, You should of mentioned how you tied BOTH of the fly lines you were running up around your rudder when you started hauling a$$ out of the area, this could have been written incredibly humorous. How you then came up to a fellow yakker and WCW competitor and asked for a hand with the lines around the rudder who in turn vocalized his inner turmoil over whether or not to help out because he was also in the WCW...and who after clearing your lines heartily wished you a goose egg on the day and all the by-catch you could handle... Like we said on the water, definitely Mako. Glad you got that by-catch.

07-10-2011, 07:40 AM	#12
dos ballenas Vampyroteuthis infernalis Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 585	That would be a very small basking shark. Many species are commonly mistaken for basking sharks. In most cases they are usually white sharks... but I would go with mako. Sounds like an exciting day to me! You almost got taxed! __________________ ____________________________________________

07-11-2011, 07:50 AM	#14
carbonbass Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 367	will mako's take a bite?