LJ 6/8 report and need advice

[taggermike]

I don't fish for sharks, but of course hook a few each year. Like Murray said, cut the line as close as you can while feeling safe. Which is like 1' for a big leopard. But 10' for a little mako. Some times you can grab the line and break them off with a hard yank.

There have been lots of soup fins (tope) around lately. They're not aggressive but they are strong with a big enough mouth n teeth to do some harm. Stay on the side of safety cause a fish hook doesn't last long in a shark. Mike

[kpasadr]

Appreciate the detailed feedback. I feel strongly about not wasting anything I pull out of the ocean so I want to know all about it and make sure I have enough mouths to feed before keeping it. Of course seeing the thrashing mouth full of teeth up close makes the decision to cut the line pretty easy for sake of safety.

They did put up a fun fight and I hooked all of them pretty much in the same spot in about 80 ft of water, at the bottom, just east of the condos so must have been schooling there.

So if one finds themselves landing a shark, it seems like controlling that head would be paramount, would a gaff shot under the jaw work or would that just piss them off? I think it would be wise to have another set of hands to assist and a camera rolling to capture the comedy of severed fingers, should that play out.

Finally, is shark meat freezable or does that just bring out the urea/ammonia taste?

Thanks again!