DP Thresher - Kayak Fishing Adventures on Big Water’s Edge

Vikingj · 07-19-2013, 08:40 PM

After a slow 2 hrs at the pipe Mihiel, Yani, and I decided to troll from the barber poles to the headlands to see if the Threshers wanted to play. When I neared the red buoy there was a SMACK! and the line began to sing that most lovely tune -zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz . I have fought and CR’ed T-sharks on several occasions and think they are the most beautiful and graceful creatures. Their erratic runs out, back, and downward keeps you busy and their aerial acrobatics are spectacular. Right away this run didn’t feel right and I wasn’t sure it was a T until I brought it to color after 25 min. and saw it was tail hooked on my rapala. I decided to take this girl home but could see it would take some help. Yani jumped in to take my other rod and cleared the tangled line from my loaded rod holding the shark. Mihiel played “kayak cowboy” and lassoed the tail, wrestled the shark and removed the lure while I secured my rod, cleared the deck, and tried to get control of my adrenalin charged “sewing machine” leg. After watching my buddies do all the hard work, I cut under the base of the tail to reach the vein & artery that lay on the inside of the backbone. Mihiel, the veterinarian, made his diagnosis and confirmed that the wound was fatal. The fish was too big and heavy to get inside the yak and I couldn’t reach the head so I started dragging it home backwards. It took me almost 2hrs to get back where Ms. T measured 8ft 2in and had an estimated weight of 80+lbs. This is the first and the last T-shark I intend to take and now I can check it off on my bucket list.
I’ve learned an important lesson from almost every fishing trip. The lesson I learned here is that catching a T shark takes team work and I was lucky enough to have a great team working for me! Thanks Mihiel & Yani.
PS- Boy, I really slept good last night!
Wayne

StinkyMatt · 07-19-2013, 10:19 PM

Great read and an awesome photo.

Congrats!

jorluivil · 07-20-2013, 04:50 AM

Nice fish.

mrJB · 07-20-2013, 05:06 AM

Wayne -

Another job well done! You've managed to turn some slow DP fishing into an unforgetable day! Check another one off the "list".

TJones · 07-20-2013, 06:12 AM

congrats .

. guess it was meant to be on the grill .

WahooUSMA · 07-20-2013, 06:20 AM

Very cool.

telewka · 07-20-2013, 06:25 AM

Nice catch the size is awasome ,

lucky had some friends to help.Thanks again for the peice of steak was good tasting.

jimmyjones · 07-20-2013, 06:52 AM

Cold killa!!!!!

Southman · 07-20-2013, 07:11 AM

Congrats Wayne. You've inspired me to get out there and work on my bucket list. Great catch.

DanaPT · 07-20-2013, 07:32 AM

Welcome back Wayne, nice way to get back into the groove. Ain't nothing wrong with that.

T-steaks are good.

Great tips about T-hunting. You must have been a sight to see peddling back into the harbor with a shark following your yak. Probably a few concerned SUPers!

Montesdad · 07-20-2013, 07:37 AM

GreaT job Wayne,

I shoulda gone fishing with you guys

FishNinjaY · 07-20-2013, 09:00 PM

were you at all concerned about dragging (trolling?) a gigantic bleeding bait behind your yak? I guess you'd have to be a very ballsy sea lion to come up and take a bite of T-shark.. but I'd be worried about bigger things out there!

Congrats on an epic day and catch!

I got slammed in that same area, a week ago, right by the red buoy. My mystery fish went on about 6 or 7 drag-peeling runs, but I never got color. I couldn't get the fish off the bottom, and water was only around 35-40ft. I suspect it was a bat ray, but a few people at the ramp thought it could have been a T-shark or mako. I'll have to head out there again... with a rope and some friends!

Hondatom · 07-21-2013, 05:28 PM

Great job, congratulations on a job well done.

DannyN · 07-21-2013, 06:52 PM

Nice fish !. Congats Wayne

07-22-2013, 09:34 AM

Wayne,

What a great day. Thanks for sharing some fresh T Shark meat.
It's by far the most tender fish out there.

Miheil and I are so stoked for you!!

SorryCharlie · 07-22-2013, 02:13 PM

Congrats Wayne!

Way to go on the team work. I've heard those tails can do some damage, and I sure wouldn't want to mess with one.

Enjoy the steaks.

bellcon · 07-22-2013, 02:43 PM

Cool story and nice team work
did Yani offer to butcher it on the water?

Vikingj · 07-22-2013, 09:48 PM

Thanks for the comments, guys. In re: to some of your questions:

Share the spoils? You betcha! I filled 1 1/3 five-gallon buckets w/ steaks. 1-2 lbs each went to 5 employees at Dana Jetski/kayak, 3 fishing buddies, and 2 family members. I still have 20lbs in my freezer.

Yani the butcher? We don't let Yani within 10 ft of a knife when he goes fishing with us!

Drag fish through sealions in harbor? I was a little concerned about the dogs so I finally gill clipped the head to make a speedy passage. The T looked like it was swimming alongside w/ its long tail and dorsal fin breaking the surface - this obviously caught the attention of several people in/along side the harbor. I told two young ladies on SUP's that I had trained the shark to follow me on a leash and I left them with an amazed look on their face. When I pulled into the kayak rental dock and hoisted the fish up on the deck there was a group of tourist renting yaks that I sure were considering canceling their kayak adventure.

Tender steaks? Amazingly so! The 1st night I grilled steaks on a skewer w/ lemon, olive oil, and pepper -very good. Tonight I marinated the chunks in teriyaki sauce before grilling. OMG! I thought I'd died and gone to heaven - it was outstanding!

Wayne

07-19-2013, 08:40 PM	#1
Vikingj Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Dana Point area Posts: 438	DP Thresher After a slow 2 hrs at the pipe Mihiel, Yani, and I decided to troll from the barber poles to the headlands to see if the Threshers wanted to play. When I neared the red buoy there was a SMACK! and the line began to sing that most lovely tune -zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz . I have fought and CR’ed T-sharks on several occasions and think they are the most beautiful and graceful creatures. Their erratic runs out, back, and downward keeps you busy and their aerial acrobatics are spectacular. Right away this run didn’t feel right and I wasn’t sure it was a T until I brought it to color after 25 min. and saw it was tail hooked on my rapala. I decided to take this girl home but could see it would take some help. Yani jumped in to take my other rod and cleared the tangled line from my loaded rod holding the shark. Mihiel played “kayak cowboy” and lassoed the tail, wrestled the shark and removed the lure while I secured my rod, cleared the deck, and tried to get control of my adrenalin charged “sewing machine” leg. After watching my buddies do all the hard work, I cut under the base of the tail to reach the vein & artery that lay on the inside of the backbone. Mihiel, the veterinarian, made his diagnosis and confirmed that the wound was fatal. The fish was too big and heavy to get inside the yak and I couldn’t reach the head so I started dragging it home backwards. It took me almost 2hrs to get back where Ms. T measured 8ft 2in and had an estimated weight of 80+lbs. This is the first and the last T-shark I intend to take and now I can check it off on my bucket list. I’ve learned an important lesson from almost every fishing trip. The lesson I learned here is that catching a T shark takes team work and I was lucky enough to have a great team working for me! Thanks Mihiel & Yani. PS- Boy, I really slept good last night! Wayne Attached Images

07-20-2013, 04:50 AM	#3
jorluivil Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Posts: 6,856	Nice fish. __________________ www.facebook.com/Teamsewer

07-20-2013, 05:06 AM	#4
mrJB Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: O.C. Posts: 352	Wayne - Another job well done! You've managed to turn some slow DP fishing into an unforgetable day! Check another one off the "list". __________________ "I Brake for Halibut"

07-20-2013, 06:12 AM	#5
TJones Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Posts: 2,526	did you share some of the spoils ? congrats . . guess it was meant to be on the grill .

07-20-2013, 06:20 AM	#6
WahooUSMA Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Rancho Cucamonga Posts: 753	Very cool. __________________ GO ARMY BEAT NAVY! Bad decisions make great stories!

07-19-2013, 10:19 PM	#2
StinkyMatt Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Under a bridge Posts: 2,169	Great read and an awesome photo. Congrats!

07-20-2013, 06:25 AM	#7
telewka Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 38	Great check Nice catch the size is awasome ,lucky had some friends to help.Thanks again for the peice of steak was good tasting.

07-20-2013, 06:52 AM	#8
jimmyjones Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 41	Cold killa!!!!!

07-20-2013, 07:11 AM	#9
Southman Member Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Laguna Niguel Posts: 89	Congrats Wayne. You've inspired me to get out there and work on my bucket list. Great catch.

07-20-2013, 07:32 AM	#10
DanaPT Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: South OC Posts: 1,606	Welcome back Wayne, nice way to get back into the groove. Ain't nothing wrong with that. T-steaks are good. Great tips about T-hunting. You must have been a sight to see peddling back into the harbor with a shark following your yak. Probably a few concerned SUPers!

07-20-2013, 07:37 AM	#11
Montesdad Grey Haired Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: So. Orange County Posts: 53	GreaT job Wayne, I shoulda gone fishing with you guys __________________ - - - "I'm fishing as hard as I can" - - -

07-20-2013, 09:00 PM	#12
FishNinjaY Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Seal Beach, CA Posts: 428	were you at all concerned about dragging (trolling?) a gigantic bleeding bait behind your yak? I guess you'd have to be a very ballsy sea lion to come up and take a bite of T-shark.. but I'd be worried about bigger things out there! Congrats on an epic day and catch! I got slammed in that same area, a week ago, right by the red buoy. My mystery fish went on about 6 or 7 drag-peeling runs, but I never got color. I couldn't get the fish off the bottom, and water was only around 35-40ft. I suspect it was a bat ray, but a few people at the ramp thought it could have been a T-shark or mako. I'll have to head out there again... with a rope and some friends! Attached Images Last edited by FishNinjaY; 07-20-2013 at 10:59 PM.

07-21-2013, 05:28 PM	#13
Hondatom Senior Member Join Date: May 2013 Posts: 113	Great job, congratulations on a job well done.

07-21-2013, 06:52 PM	#14
DannyN Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 78	Nice fish !. Congats Wayne

07-22-2013, 09:34 AM	#15
yani Guest Posts: n/a	Wayne, What a great day. Thanks for sharing some fresh T Shark meat. It's by far the most tender fish out there. Miheil and I are so stoked for you!!

07-22-2013, 02:13 PM	#16
SorryCharlie Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Carlsbad Posts: 140	Congrats Wayne! Way to go on the team work. I've heard those tails can do some damage, and I sure wouldn't want to mess with one. Enjoy the steaks.

07-22-2013, 02:43 PM	#17
bellcon Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: San Pedro Posts: 999	Cool story and nice team work did Yani offer to butcher it on the water? __________________

07-22-2013, 09:48 PM	#18
Vikingj Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Dana Point area Posts: 438	Thanks for the comments, guys. In re: to some of your questions: Share the spoils? You betcha! I filled 1 1/3 five-gallon buckets w/ steaks. 1-2 lbs each went to 5 employees at Dana Jetski/kayak, 3 fishing buddies, and 2 family members. I still have 20lbs in my freezer. Yani the butcher? We don't let Yani within 10 ft of a knife when he goes fishing with us! Drag fish through sealions in harbor? I was a little concerned about the dogs so I finally gill clipped the head to make a speedy passage. The T looked like it was swimming alongside w/ its long tail and dorsal fin breaking the surface - this obviously caught the attention of several people in/along side the harbor. I told two young ladies on SUP's that I had trained the shark to follow me on a leash and I left them with an amazed look on their face. When I pulled into the kayak rental dock and hoisted the fish up on the deck there was a group of tourist renting yaks that I sure were considering canceling their kayak adventure. Tender steaks? Amazingly so! The 1st night I grilled steaks on a skewer w/ lemon, olive oil, and pepper -very good. Tonight I marinated the chunks in teriyaki sauce before grilling. OMG! I thought I'd died and gone to heaven - it was outstanding! Wayne