SMn Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 G'day, 1st time posting a fishing report, hope it's not to boring! I know some people feel strongly about catching and keeping sharks, but this is my first one landed, it's well over legal size for NSW and not a part of it will be wasted by my family and friends. So the tale begins... Very long week at work, I had been counting the seconds from about Tuesday on... Got home Friday arvo kitted up, had the idea of targeting a shark after a huge run and bust off the weekend earlier. So I set about rigging, ended up tying 4 rigs, 100lb leader with 2 snelled 8/0 hooks. 1 a gama octopus circle the stinger a Black Magic circle, looped onto a 100lb swivel, looped onto a no.5 bomb style sinker to another swivel. Over kill I realise now, but none the less... Hit up the local seafood joint and got 2 fresh mullet about 30cm which I butterflied one and filleted the other. Gave the old Alvey 651C deep spool a service... Beaut reel I bought second hand about 1 month ago... Then headed down the beach loaded up... About 7.30pm I had the first bait out, soaked for about 10 minutes while I set the second rod up with the trusty 650A... Saw the butterworth bend over and went to investigate! At first I thought I'd hooked a piece of weed one of my particular skills. When bang something kicked the drag into action and made a run straight across the gutter! My next thought was s#%t another stingray, but what the hell! I started to give it a bit of grief and tightened the drag a bit something I am not used to fishing with... A bit disconcerting to see the spool move one way while I am winding the other but got the hang of it as the battle continued. 10mins later we saw (my mate turning up just in time!) the sleek profile of the most amazing sea creature I have caught so far on my rookie journey. I dead set almost kacked myself when I first glimpsed it! 5 minutes later had it on the beach primed for a piccy... Measured up at 105cm, deep cut to the tail so she bled out and done and dusted. Species: School shark: roughly 5kgs after gutting... Stoked! Targeted a speices, learnt a whole heap of new skills and my mate thinks I am a fishing legend (little does he know)! Sorry for the lengthy post just really really happy!!! Hahaha... Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scratchie Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 Well done. I'm sure it would have been a pretty good fight. Have caught a few of them but never ate them! How did u cook them??? Scratchie! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tw9635 Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 Great catch and excellent report Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockfisherman Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 Great report and pic mate, it would inspire anyone wanting to get out there and have a go. Fishingphase Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SMn Posted November 9, 2012 Author Share Posted November 9, 2012 Well done. I'm sure it would have been a pretty good fight. Have caught a few of them but never ate them! How did u cook them??? Scratchie! Gday Scratchie my 1st time so I'm not sure, though I've heard that around that size is good eating. Theres plenty of meat on it so I'll try a few different things. 1st cab off the rank will be old school fish and chips, nothing fancy just a light beer batter and bung it in the deep fryer till golden and a wedge of lemon. 2nd time round I think a Thai green curry and the 3rd might try it marinated some way and cooked on the BBQ... Open to suggestions as well... I'll let you know what it's like! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SMn Posted November 9, 2012 Author Share Posted November 9, 2012 Great report and pic mate, it would inspire anyone wanting to get out there and have a go. Fishingphase Cheers mate! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SMn Posted November 9, 2012 Author Share Posted November 9, 2012 Great catch and excellent report Thanks for the feedback! Was a little apprehensive posting at first but glad I did! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lostproperty Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 Thanks for the feedback! Was a little apprehensive posting at first but glad I did! Mate great catch and awesome report ! No need to worry about posting it up it's perfectly legal. As a surfer I couldn't live with the karma of killing and eating a shark myself but each to their own. I have heard that cutting off the fins as soon as you kill it helps with the taste of the fish as they contain large amounts of ammonia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SMn Posted November 9, 2012 Author Share Posted November 9, 2012 Mate great catch and awesome report ! No need to worry about posting it up it's perfectly legal. As a surfer I couldn't live with the karma of killing and eating a shark myself but each to their own. I have heard that cutting off the fins as soon as you kill it helps with the taste of the fish as they contain large amounts of ammonia. Yeh mate I completely agree, I've never been troubled by them in the surf and they are amazing creatures, the decision to keep this one wasn't made lightly. If I ever tangle with another it will be catch and release. Something I'm quite good at as most fish I catch aren't big enough to keep! Hahaha! Thanks for the feedback. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bharris Posted November 10, 2012 Share Posted November 10, 2012 Nothing wronge keeping a school shark mate as long its not wasted sharks are nice to eat.ill feel more bad keepn a bream. Sent from my GT-I9100T using Tapatalk 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erroll Posted November 10, 2012 Share Posted November 10, 2012 Welcome mate. Great post, keep up the good work. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SMn Posted November 10, 2012 Author Share Posted November 10, 2012 Nothing wronge keeping a school shark mate as long its not wasted sharks are nice to eat.ill feel more bad keepn a bream. Sent from my GT-I9100T using Tapatalk 2 Thanks for the reply Kingfisher84, I was suprised by the mild taste. My kids loved it as fish and chips they really got stuck in! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SMn Posted November 10, 2012 Author Share Posted November 10, 2012 Welcome mate. Great post, keep up the good work. Cheers Hahaha cheers Erroll! Hopefully I catch something decent once in a while to post! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
night_rider Posted November 13, 2012 Share Posted November 13, 2012 I Think I'll be buying a beach rod and go in search... I am over Flatties around 50-60cm and table sized brim, as a land based fisho, the fights these fish offer, are no where near a 5-10minute battle of flying drag! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheap charlie Posted November 13, 2012 Share Posted November 13, 2012 Nothing wronge keeping a school shark mate as long its not wasted sharks are nice to eat.ill feel more bad keepn a bream. Sent from my GT-I9100T using Tapatalk 2 I must admit I feel the same way. On a average a 35cm yellow fin bream is 10 years old Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SMn Posted November 13, 2012 Author Share Posted November 13, 2012 I Think I'll be buying a beach rod and go in search... I am over Flatties around 50-60cm and table sized brim, as a land based fisho, the fights these fish offer, are no where near a 5-10minute battle of flying drag! Mate this shark put up a great fight when compared with flatties especially... A real adrenalin boost when you see a bl00dy shark on your line as well! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SMn Posted November 13, 2012 Author Share Posted November 13, 2012 I must admit I feel the same way. On a average a 35cm yellow fin bream is 10 years old Different way of looking at it Cheap Charlie, thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SMn Posted November 13, 2012 Author Share Posted November 13, 2012 Well done. I'm sure it would have been a pretty good fight. Have caught a few of them but never ate them! How did u cook them??? Scratchie! Gday Scratchie, 2 meals from the shark so far and absolutely loving it. Has a very mild flavour, the flesh is firm and turns pure white when cooked. I'd only keep another one if I hadn't caught any keepers of other spieces and I was really after a feed. I reckon my family of 4 will get close to 5 meals from it and it freezes well. But will continue to target them for the epic sport they provide, will be catch and release most of the time. Bleeding and gutting asap is vital for taste as well as the fish not being to big. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pdelux Posted November 14, 2012 Share Posted November 14, 2012 Gday Scratchie, 2 meals from the shark so far and absolutely loving it. Has a very mild flavour, the flesh is firm and turns pure white when cooked. I'd only keep another one if I hadn't caught any keepers of other spieces and I was really after a feed. I reckon my family of 4 will get close to 5 meals from it and it freezes well. But will continue to target them for the epic sport they provide, will be catch and release most of the time. Bleeding and gutting asap is vital for taste as well as the fish not being to big. Nice one mate. I say keeep whatever is legal that you will eat. There's nothing wrong with that, plus theres plenty of sharks around! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy351 Posted November 14, 2012 Share Posted November 14, 2012 nothing wrong with keeping the odd shark, great eating and safe for the kids to eat(no bones) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EdCain Posted November 14, 2012 Share Posted November 14, 2012 Hey Guys.. Did this school shark have any teeth at all? Looks like a small bronzed whaler to me? Ed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SMn Posted November 14, 2012 Author Share Posted November 14, 2012 Strange experience carving with no bones, beautiful fillets though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SMn Posted November 14, 2012 Author Share Posted November 14, 2012 Hey Guys.. Did this school shark have any teeth at all? Looks like a small bronzed whaler to me? Ed. Yep it had a number of rows both upper and lower, from first impression they were triangular in shape and looked to be serrated. By the time I had filleted and could have a good look the gums and mouth had covered up the teeth so you could only see the tips. Theres a good chance that it is a Bronzie as I have heard numerous reports of this spieces being caught off the beaches around where I was fishing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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