Old Man And The Sea?

[TCS]

Okay, the old man in Hemmingway's book didn't catch a Thresher Shark, but like him, I had to drag my fish back home strapped to the boat because I couldn't get it inside.

So here's the scoop, I've been lurking for a couple of months, you may have seen me in the water: Not quite the right boat, almost the right gear, asking a lot of questions. My name is Tom and I do appreciate all the insight that's been shared on the site and on the water.

I've been out there quite a bit lately and have gotten pretty good at feeding the sea lions, but a big keeper has eluded me till now.

I paddled out today at about 5:00 am to the kelp beds, not alot going on, but I did hook up a Thresher that bit off the hook. At about 9:00 I decide to cruise over to the pier for one last go-round before heading in, did manage to get one little greenback that I put on a carolina rig.

About 15 minutes later the reel starts to scream and I'm thinking 'YELLOWTAIL - COUNT TO 10 SLOWLY!' So I count to 15 to be sure and engage the reel. So begins the fun part: sleigh ride, slug out off the bottom, repeat for about 45 minutes, or at least it seemed that long.

What a rush!

Eventually I see my swivel and peek over the side to see what looks to be an enormous Thresher, of course they look bigger in the water, but it turned out to be respectable anyway. 'Okay take a deep breathe, do you really want to try and land this thing?' YES ( took about 15 minutes of soul searching to commit though)

So I manage to get a sling around the tail and secure that, but because of how I've rigged the boat, just can't get the head secured or get to the gills to cut them. Every time I try she just goes ballistic and the boat gets all tippy canoe. So, hmm, maybe I'll just drag her south for now and see what I can figure out. Tough paddle dragging that fish. By the time I get to the boat launch I have pretty much secured her, but I'm worried about the surf. I run into Bill coming into the launch and he gaffs her head so that I can cut the gills and get one more rope on.

I actually decided to get out of the boat and walk it through the surf to avoid additional complications. (snapping jaws, japanese tourists...)

I don't know how much she weighed. My daughter weighs 70 lbs and the shark seemed like she was in that range. Got a lot of of good steaks and had a group of friends over to celebrate. And eat.

This whole experience was a huge adrenelin rush. Think back to the first big fish you landed in a kayak. How about your first T-shark?

The character in Old Man and the Sea is heroic and tragic. My little story is pretty routine in comparison, but it sure seemed big to me when it was happening.

Now I want a yellowtail.

Thanks again, especially to Bill.