Dredog Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 (edited) Riley was hooked up to a five foot hammer head shark, his little hands were grasped nervously aroung my brand new Stella and Terez rod. I was very nervous, but more about losing my new outfit. The gimbal was tied around his waist, much too big for him, but with a little improvisation around his lifejacket, we made it hold. the reel screamed as it took line and Riley nervously asked " Dad , would you class this a normal day, when you and Sam go fishing?" It all started getting up at the crack of dawn. Try getting two children up at 4.30 am! We picked up Sam from Watsons Bay and headed out to the Artifical reef to gather bait. the kids loved catching slimies and the rod buckled with chains of two and three fat slimies coming on board. It wasnt long before the tank was full and we were ready to chase some kings. Riley was in the hot seat after devouring most things from the esky. Hope the fish are as hungry as him. My other son Brady was taking a back seat today, as he got amongst the action the other day, aboslutely nailing the big sambo's around the harbour. His little arms were still in pain from the day before. We got 5 in total, but no kings. They were toying with us, the rats would literally hold on to the yakkas and spit them out, by the side of the boat. Very satisfied with his catch, he was willing to let Riley take the hot seat. It didnt take long as the line came out of the clip of the downrigger and Riley was on for his first king fish. It took line and we kept its head up by drivng out to some deeper water. It put up a good fight, but no match and it wasnt long before he was in the net and quick photo, before he was realeased. He was just under size, by two cm. " Dont worry son, theres plently more out there, by the look of the sounder. We rebaited but managed to snag the bottom and I ended up rerigging the stella outfit, right from the leader. I have recently learnt the FG knot and I meticulously tied it and finished it with a little super glue. in preparation for a PB king. Sam was driving at the time and pointed to the ominous fin, close to the boat. The kids were a little freaked out and Brady at the time was keen for a wee. But he refused to go over the side. One of the slimies was bridle rigged and Sam flicked the bait at the shark. The rod loaded up and we were on, but the fight was short lived and we were sure the line had been cut by the razor sharp teeth, but to our surprize the bait was still there! A little mangled, but still there. I repositioned the boat and we stealthily approached the shark again. Sam cast towards it. This time the shark attacked the bait. Sam calmly passed the rod to Riley and watched his face as he came to grips with the task of pulling in a fish as tall as him. The shark took alot of line off the reel and we chased it with the boat. I was very impressed with my son, he managed to control the shark as well as gather back alot of the line lost. It wasnt until the hammerhead came along side the boat, that the kids were amazed. Mind you so were Sam and I. With no wire traces, we were sure we would lose it. We agreed to get the hammerhead inside the boat for a quick "SNAP" Not an easy task with a net, far too small, but with the head in the net , I grabbed the tail. The kids feeaked out a little, but we had them at the back of the boat for safety. The shark was subdued with a small wrestle and it calmly posed for a few pics, before its release. It was hooked just on the corner of its mouth and the hook came out very easily. Riley was proud as punch. This was definitley the biggest fish he had ever caught. Making his 43cm blackfish , pail into insignificance. The with the boys at the back again, I grabbed the shark by the head, one last photo . He calmly sat on the edge of the boat and quickly snapped before being released. Wow what an experence to hook kids on fishing! Edited January 17, 2015 by Dredog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Welster Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 Great report, well written and entertaining. The boys will be talking about that for long time. Well done Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsswordfisherman Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 Fantastic post, very descriptive Dredog. The photos are fantastic too - the smiles on the boys faces say it all and what a good Dad you are! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fiveflies Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 What a fantastic morning and well done for getting those boys up and onto some great fish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thefisherman6784 Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 Awesome report Every word has you on the edge of your seat Love the start Leaves mystery throughout the report Well done mate sounds like an awesome outing Cheers thefisherman6784 Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yowie Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 A bit of fun pulling a shark on board, they like to wrestle with you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nbdshroom Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 Top report. Thoroughly enjoyed that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ojay Samson Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 Great read & excellent photos, well done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chewie Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 Haha! What a great day! I loved it when Riley said" your not going to catch that are you." As I handed him the rod. Best fight ever! I'm sure we will have a few more deckhands every time we go out! Great little fishos! Naturals! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SgtBundy Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 (edited) Good job - I am still getting used to dealing with carpet shaks, not to sure I would handle a hammer head for a release yet Good job landing and getting photos with it, certainly would be memorable for the lads. Edited January 17, 2015 by SgtBundy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Welster Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 I'd love to see some footage of the wrestle!! I caught one about 90cm on a gang pillie in the bay a few years ago. Bringing it into the boat never entered my mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bessell1955 Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 Great report and I am sure the young bloke will remember this for many years to come. It is even better to see that the young bloke will forever embrace catch and release. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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