1,000 pound mako shark caught

[lightsoutcalls]

Scout24,
   The one time I got to go on a charter boat in the gulf, we heard very similar stories of someone hooking into a nice tuna only to reel it in to be nothing but a head and chewed remains.  That would HAVE to be very frustrating. 
   Cool to read your story.  That is definitely outside of my realm of experience.

[Scout24]

I think I got it this time.

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[Scout24]

Wendell,
      Couple other mako stories. Last year a well charter Captain took a family out for tuna. As they were fighting the tuna, a 600+pd mako chomped the back half off essentially killing it from blood loss. The big shark circled the boat and a sharp mate quickly rigged a shark rod, promptly fed it a fillet of fresh tuna and caught the largest male mako on record. Those giants are all females. You can read about this and others at newenglandsharks.com.
       The last story was about a commercial handliner that was pulling a giant (4-500 pd or so) bluefin into the cockpit when a monstrous mako appeared from under the boat and chomped off the back third of the fish. These fish, undamaged, frequently sell for $5,000-$12,000 on the Japanese market depending on fat content, so the fisherman was understandably pissed. When the shark returned and clamped down again, he met several loads of 00 buck at mere feet. I vividly remember the dramatic photo, shot from above of both giant fish lying in his cockpit. All these stories,and my catch, come from the same 50-75 miles of Atlantic that the world record mako of 1,200 pds was caught from. Bigger makos have been harpooned but  obviously don't count in the record books. One interesting fact about harpooning. Harpooners stick a giant tuna and give it a powerful electrical jolt that usually kills it instantly. When you give the juice to a stuck mako, it just aggravates him and he goes beserk, requiring multiple harpoon shots.
     On an unrelated topic, Wendell, do you make an all weather striker. I love your dymondwood on fair days but it rained alot this year and it go me looking.

[lightsoutcalls]

I sit back amazed reading about such big fish.  My biggest catch was a red snapper about 6-8 pounds.  I did get the privelege of seeing a tuna about 5 feet long when we got back to shore.

As for the strikers... dymondwood is as close as I make to an all weather striker at present.  I guess my brain goes to suggesting mouth calls when it gets that wet.  Sorry.

[Basser69]

Scout, have you thought about an ivory tipped striker as a waterproof model? I am not sure if it would work buy it was have to be better than wood.

Wendell, funny you should mention red snapper. I was doing about 6-8 bottom fishing trips a year until the big housing crash a couple of years back and I have caught 3 red snappers over 20 pounds with the biggest being just over 24 pounds.

I had about a 5 pounder coming off the bottom a few years back and a 8 1/2' bull shark decided that he wanted him worse than I did. 45 minutes and a snapped rod, (broke at the reel seat) he was boat side. That one fish just goes to show how well circle hooks and no wire leader will work.

[savduck]

Next time any of yall Go to Hilton Head....remind me to remind you about the big 10 to 12 foot tiger sharks my fishing boat captain buddy catches just a few hundred yards of the beach