My First Mako Shark

[smoothaz]

IT ALL STARTED ON A SATURDAY MORNING(19/4/08) AT AROUND 6AM WHEN I BOARDED A CHARTER BOAT IN VIC AND HEADED OUT FOR A DAY ON THE BIG STUFF WITH A FEW GUYS I HAD RECENTLY MET.OUT ABOUT 15KLMS INTO BASS STRAIGHT OFF BARWON HEADS(SURFY TOWN) AND STARTED UP THE BERLEY TRAIL INSTANTLY.NO ACTION WAS SEEN FOR AN HOUR OR SO AND THEN A DARK BLUE SHADOW WAS SEEN SLIGHTLY OFF THE REAR OF THE BOAT SHINING LIKE AN EVIL BLUE DIAMOND.IT WAS A MAKO AND HE WAS LESS THAN IMPRESSED WITH THE GULLS ON TOP OF THE WATER AND AN ALBATROS NEARLY BECAME A SNACK.I PUT IN A WHOLE SQUID BAIT OF AROUND 30CM ON A PENN MARINER 15KG WITH 15KG LINE,A WIRE TRACE OF ROUGHLY 150KG AND A PENN INTERNATIONAL 30 I THINK AS IT WAS FAIRLY USED AND SCRATCHED UP FROM ALL THE PREVIOUS BATTLES I GUESS.SO THE SQUID MADE ITS WAY DOWN THE TRAIL OF FISH GUTS AND BITS FROM THE BUCKET WHEN ALL OF A SUDDEN THE SHARK HIT LIKE A ROCKET RUNNING OUT OVER 120MTRS OF LINE IN A SINGLE SPRINT.THE SOUND OF THE REEL SCREAMING AND KNOWING THIS WAS SOMETHING BIGGER THAN NORMAL FOR ME WAS A WELCOME SOUND AND SIGHT.THE SHARK TOOK LINE AND THEN I WOULD TAKE IT BACK AND EVENTUALLY HE HAD 3 GOOD RUNS AND 45 MINS LATER AFTER 2 MASSIVE 2MTR PLUS LEAPS FROM THE WATER HE WAS UP NEXT TO US AND IN THE BOAT.IT WAS MY FIRST SHARK AND MADE ME LEARN THE HARD WAY THAT THESE CREATURES ARE HARDCORE AND AN AWSOME SIGHT IN THE WATER.ALL UP HE WEIGHED 52.15KG AND WENT AROUND 6FT LONG.ALL I COULD THINK WAS HOW GOOD IT FEELS TO FIGHT ONE OF THESE BAD BOYS AND HOW GOOD HE WAS GOING TO TASTE.WHEN I RETURNED HOME I HAD OVER 40KGS OF FILLETS AND SLABS WHICH I GAVE HALF OF TO A LOCAL HALF WAY HOUSE AS THE KIDS THAT LIVED THERE HAD NEVER TASTED MAKO BEFORE.MY KIDS WERE STOKED WITH THE PICS OF THE SHARK AND I WAS AS WELL.THE MRS ASKED ME WHY IT IS THAT THE ONLY TIME I SMILE IS IN FISHING PHOTOS.........FUNNY THAT!CHEERS GUYS AND THANKS FOR LISTENING,SMOOTHAZ.

[Bawley]

IT ALL STARTED ON A SATURDAY MORNING(19/4/08) AT AROUND 6AM WHEN I BOARDED A CHARTER BOAT IN VIC AND HEADED OUT FOR A DAY ON THE BIG STUFF WITH A FEW GUYS I HAD RECENTLY MET.OUT ABOUT 15KLMS INTO BASS STRAIGHT OFF BARWON HEADS(SURFY TOWN) AND STARTED UP THE BERLEY TRAIL INSTANTLY.NO ACTION WAS SEEN FOR AN HOUR OR SO AND THEN A DARK BLUE SHADOW WAS SEEN SLIGHTLY OFF THE REAR OF THE BOAT SHINING LIKE AN EVIL BLUE DIAMOND.IT WAS A MAKO AND HE WAS LESS THAN IMPRESSED WITH THE GULLS ON TOP OF THE WATER AND AN ALBATROS NEARLY BECAME A SNACK.I PUT IN A WHOLE SQUID BAIT OF AROUND 30CM ON A PENN MARINER 15KG WITH 15KG LINE,A WIRE TRACE OF ROUGHLY 150KG AND A PENN INTERNATIONAL 30 I THINK AS IT WAS FAIRLY USED AND SCRATCHED UP FROM ALL THE PREVIOUS BATTLES I GUESS.SO THE SQUID MADE ITS WAY DOWN THE TRAIL OF FISH GUTS AND BITS FROM THE BUCKET WHEN ALL OF A SUDDEN THE SHARK HIT LIKE A ROCKET RUNNING OUT OVER 120MTRS OF LINE IN A SINGLE SPRINT.THE SOUND OF THE REEL SCREAMING AND KNOWING THIS WAS SOMETHING BIGGER THAN NORMAL FOR ME WAS A WELCOME SOUND AND SIGHT.THE SHARK TOOK LINE AND THEN I WOULD TAKE IT BACK AND EVENTUALLY HE HAD 3 GOOD RUNS AND 45 MINS LATER AFTER 2 MASSIVE 2MTR PLUS LEAPS FROM THE WATER HE WAS UP NEXT TO US AND IN THE BOAT.IT WAS MY FIRST SHARK AND MADE ME LEARN THE HARD WAY THAT THESE CREATURES ARE HARDCORE AND AN AWSOME SIGHT IN THE WATER.ALL UP HE WEIGHED 52.15KG AND WENT AROUND 6FT LONG.ALL I COULD THINK WAS HOW GOOD IT FEELS TO FIGHT ONE OF THESE BAD BOYS AND HOW GOOD HE WAS GOING TO TASTE.WHEN I RETURNED HOME I HAD OVER 40KGS OF FILLETS AND SLABS WHICH I GAVE HALF OF TO A LOCAL HALF WAY HOUSE AS THE KIDS THAT LIVED THERE HAD NEVER TASTED MAKO BEFORE.MY KIDS WERE STOKED WITH THE PICS OF THE SHARK AND I WAS AS WELL.THE MRS ASKED ME WHY IT IS THAT THE ONLY TIME I SMILE IS IN FISHING PHOTOS.........FUNNY THAT!CHEERS GUYS AND THANKS FOR LISTENING,SMOOTHAZ.

***GREAT CATCH THERE MATE WELL DONE.... IVE HEARD AN OLD WIVES TAIL THAT WITH MAKOS ITS BEST TO FREEZE THE FILLETS SO IT LESSENS THE IODINE/AMMONIA TASTE??? EITHER WAY IVE HEARD THERE GOOD EATING....ARE THEY GOOD TUCKER.. IVE PLAYED AND LOST A MAKO OFF BOTANY HEADS..

[smoothaz]

***GREAT CATCH THERE MATE WELL DONE.... IVE HEARD AN OLD WIVES TAIL THAT WITH MAKOS ITS BEST TO FREEZE THE FILLETS SO IT LESSENS THE IODINE/AMMONIA TASTE??? EITHER WAY IVE HEARD THERE GOOD EATING....ARE THEY GOOD TUCKER.. IVE PLAYED AND LOST A MAKO OFF BOTANY HEADS..

THE NEXT DAY THEY ARE FANTASTIC AFTER BEING FROZEN OVERNIGHT AND THEN THAWED OUT.I HAVE HAD THEM BOTH WAYS AND THEY TASTE A LITTLE TINNY FRESH BUT AFTER A NIGHT IN THE FREEZER THEY ARE ONE OF THE MOST TASTY AND JUICY FISH YOU CAN EAT.THEY MAKE YOU EARN THE PLEASURE THOUGH THATS FOR SURE.THE POWER OF THE RUNS IS AWSOME AND YOU CAN ALMOST HEAR THE REEL SCREAMING FOR MERCY.CHEERS AND TIGHT LINES SMOOTHAZ(TIM)--------<*((><

[vipernut]

Great Catch Smoothaz

Im glad im not the one who has to clean up all that blood on deck.

Stephen

P.s WHY IS EVERYONE SHOUTING!!!!!

[Penguin]

Awesome Mako, and well done on providing a feed for the neighbourhood kids

penguin

[smoothaz]

Awesome Mako, and well done on providing a feed for the neighbourhood kids

penguin

AND THE GREENIES RECKON WE ARE ALL MONGRELS US FISHER PEOPLE. I ALWAYS GIVE WHAT I CAN BACK TO THE COMMUNITY AND ONLY TAKE WHAT I NEED. THANKS GUYS/GIRLS AND IT WAS BEAST COMPARED TO WHAT I USUALLY GET.

[gambit]

Congratulations with your first mako. I still remember mine - and it was my first trophy winner too! 70lb on 12lb way back in 1974, taken from a moored boat at The Peak off Sydney. There were only 2 of us on board that day, so in between doing laps around the boat I was politely trying to wake the owner up to come and gaff the fish...

I am not sure of the site rules on this (and apologise in advance if it breaches protocol), but you might like to look at the "El Bandito Fishing" website. There is an excellent short clip, of a mako of very similar size to yours, taken with an underwater camera off our boat last year at the Port Hacking 100 comp. That mako went 58kg on 6kg, and took an hour for my 13yo son to fight. [unfortunately our minimum weight for tournaments up here is 60kg....bugger!] It also did taste good.

What was very interesting with that shark is that it stayed around the boat for ages before even trying to eat a bait, but every time we had the camera in the water it seemed to sense the electrical pulse (or whatever), and tried to eat it! Time and time again the camera had to be lifted quickly out of the water before it became a TV dinner for the shark!

Good luck with your next one.

Cheers,

Bob.

[smoothaz]

Congratulations with your first mako. I still remember mine - and it was my first trophy winner too! 70lb on 12lb way back in 1974, taken from a moored boat at The Peak off Sydney. There were only 2 of us on board that day, so in between doing laps around the boat I was politely trying to wake the owner up to come and gaff the fish...

I am not sure of the site rules on this (and apologise in advance if it breaches protocol), but you might like to look at the "El Bandito Fishing" website. There is an excellent short clip, of a mako of very similar size to yours, taken with an underwater camera off our boat last year at the Port Hacking 100 comp. That mako went 58kg on 6kg, and took an hour for my 13yo son to fight. [unfortunately our minimum weight for tournaments up here is 60kg....bugger!] It also did taste good.

What was very interesting with that shark is that it stayed around the boat for ages before even trying to eat a bait, but every time we had the camera in the water it seemed to sense the electrical pulse (or whatever), and tried to eat it! Time and time again the camera had to be lifted quickly out of the water before it became a TV dinner for the shark!

Good luck with your next one.

Cheers,

Bob.

Thanks mate and i will have a look at the video but as a loyal fishraider i will only do it until i am told not to,cheers and tight lines,Tim.

[Bawley]

THE NEXT DAY THEY ARE FANTASTIC AFTER BEING FROZEN OVERNIGHT AND THEN THAWED OUT.I HAVE HAD THEM BOTH WAYS AND THEY TASTE A LITTLE TINNY FRESH BUT AFTER A NIGHT IN THE FREEZER THEY ARE ONE OF THE MOST TASTY AND JUICY FISH YOU CAN EAT.THEY MAKE YOU EARN THE PLEASURE THOUGH THATS FOR SURE.THE POWER OF THE RUNS IS AWSOME AND YOU CAN ALMOST HEAR THE REEL SCREAMING FOR MERCY.CHEERS AND TIGHT LINES SMOOTHAZ(TIM)--------<*((><

thanks for the tip re freezing and thawing. Just one last question... do they freeze up ok for later on say 2 months down the track for a feed... or are they best eaten straight away