Fishing – Page 28 – Syndication Server

Fisherman makes surprise catch, and it’s huge

Fishermen on a charter boat 75 miles off New Jersey were not expecting this catch.

Fishermen on a charter boat 75 miles off New Jersey expected to catch sea bass, pollock, bluefish and cod, so it was quite a surprise what regular Joe Welsh reeled to the boat earlier this week.

Welsh of Hopatcong landed what was estimated to be a 475-pound mako shark, the biggest fish ever caught on the 125-foot Jamaica out of Brielle, N.J. The two previous bests were a swordfish and bluefin tuna of undisclosed weights.

Sea bass to 7 pounds are what fishermen typically catch on this trip with the occasional cod to 30 pounds. But a mako shark, and one that size? Not a typical catch.

“We have caught large sharks at this time of year before, but not quite that big,” Capt. Howard Bogan told USA Today/For The Win Outdoors. “Normally we see more large sharks on our Canyon tuna trips in September and October. But during the winter when we’re on the offshore wrecks, there are bluefish, bonito, weakfish and other species that sharks like to eat.”

Also on FTW Outdoors: Shark affects world-famous yacht race

Prior to the catch, a number of fish being reeled in were getting bitten off and fishermen assumed it was by bluefish, at least until Welsh’s catch, according to the Asbury Park Press.

Welsh, fishing in his usual spot at the bow of the boat, was reeling in a dogfish when the unexpected occurred.

“The shark followed the angler’s line up and ate the dogfish he was reeling in,” Bogan told FTW Outdoors. “He put up a little bit of a fight but then swam close to the boat where we were able to gaff it.”

Bogan said on Facebook that “by the time the tail rope was on the shark, three gaff hooks were straightened out, and the other gaff poles practically exploded.”

Even Bogan was a bit surprised by the catch, particularly because of its size. He said on Facebook, “When I saw that he had a large mako hooked up, I never expected [it] to get anywhere near the boat.”

The fishermen who went home with tasty shark fillets were no doubt happy it did.

Photo of Joe Welsh and skipper Howard Bogan behind him courtesy of Howard Bogan.

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Bizarre catches by Russian fisherman

A commercial fisherman started photographing weird catches that come up in the trawling nets, and some of the fish are out of this world.

Roman Fedortsov works as a commercial fisherman on a trawler out of the port city of Murmansk in the northwest part of Russia. He began photographing the bizarre catches his boat made and started posting the photos on social media.

He now has more than half a million followers on Instagram.

These strange-looking fish are out of this world. Behold…

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Great white sharks show off Hilton Head; first catch is ‘perfect’

Great white sharks that generated so many headlines off Cape Cod during the summer and fall are beginning to show off South Carolina.

Great white sharks that generated so many headlines off Cape Cod during the summer are beginning to show off South Carolina.

Capt. Chip Michalove of Outcast Sport Fishing logged his first tag-and-release of the season Sunday off Hilton Head, involving a young female shark that “took off like a bullet” after the hook was removed.

“She originally grabbed the bait right behind the boat, but missed the hook,” Michalove explained on Facebook. “About an hour later she came back more aggressive and took it all. Perfect hook set and perfect tag application.”

And perfect photo.

The junior apex predator measured only 8 feet, but opened wide to reveal a classic set of great white shark choppers before she was set free, allowing for a spectacular image capture (top and bottom images).

Salt Creek Outfitters accompanied Michalove to gather footage for a documentary and afterward stated, “Man are we glad we did, this shark put on a show for us yesterday and she wasn’t afraid to show off her smile, either.”

Michalove, who has a scientific permit to tag white sharks, told For The Win Outdoors that white sharks are just beginning to arrive off Hilton Head.

“They’re right on time this winter,” he said. “The water is much colder than usual so I was curious if they already went by.”

Michalove said early arrivals tend to be juveniles, with adult sharks showing a bit later and ranging “for a few months” between South Carolina and Florida.

“By Christmas or early January we get a 14- to 16-footer, like clockwork,” the captain said.

The sharks do not have thousands of seals on which to prey, as they do during the summer feeding months in coastal waters off Cape Cod. Michalove said they’re more opportunistic beyond Hilton Head, “looking for anything sick, dying or weak to eat.”

–Images showing the great white shark caught and released Sunday are courtesy of Outcast Sport Fishing and Salt Creek Outfitters

Young boy out-fishes fishing guide dad with 42-pound catfish

Kris Flores said he always thought his son would out-fish him one day, he just didn’t expect it to be so soon. Not bad for a 9-year-old.

A 9-year-old boy reeled in a 42-pound blue catfish on Elephant Butte Reservoir in New Mexico on Sunday, beating his father’s record by 6 pounds, which is impressive considering he’s a fishing guide.

The catch was not far off the state record of 54 1/4 pounds for a blue catfish, but it proved to be a record for the family and Muddy River Catfishing.

“I always knew my son would out-fish me some day, I just didn’t expect it to be so soon,” Kris Flores told USA Today/For The Win Outdoors, referring to son Alex.

Scouting the lake to find active catfish for upcoming guided trips, Flores had been fishing all day with his family and was about to call it quits just after sundown when the big blue catfish bit.

“Alex was quick to get to [the rod] and started reeling,” Flores told For The Win Outdoors. “At first, he didn’t think the fish was very big, but it didn’t take long for the big blue catfish to realize he was hooked. That’s when the fight started—the rod bending and reel screaming.”

The video showed that very moment.

“Alex fought that fish until it came up from the depths,” Flores told For The Win Outdoors. “I fumbled around trying to get it into the net.”

It was challenging because the rod was in a rod holder, so the end of the tip was more than 2 feet beyond the reach of the net.

“But finally it swam in,” he said.

Also on FTW Outdoors: Kayak fisherman nearly toppled by 200-pound alligator gar

Alex told KRQE that as soon as he started reeling it in “it didn’t feel that heavy, but then as soon as it got heavier, as soon as the rod bent, I should say, I knew it was a big fish.”

Everyone on the boat was excited as photos were taken with the fish.

“The fish was definitely too heavy for him to hold so I had him sit down and then I placed the fish on his lap for the photo,” Kris said.

After a couple of photos, the fish was released.

Alex nicknamed the fish Wailord (a whale) after the largest of all identified Pokemon characters. It was apropos as Alex’s fish was the biggest among the 25 caught that day.

“I’m pretty proud of my son handling that fish all on his own,” Kris said.

Photos courtesy of Kris Flores.

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Kayak fisherman nearly toppled by 200-pound alligator gar

A kayak fisherman came close to being tipped over by the 200-pound alligator gar he battled for 40 minutes in a south Texas river.

A kayak fisherman in south Texas came close to being tipped over by the 200-pound alligator gar he battled for 40 minutes before paddling one-handed to shore and landing the prehistoric fish.

The 7-foot alligator gar was the biggest Chris Hernandez had ever caught and it was almost too much to handle.

Hernandez told USA Today/For The Win Outdoors he was fishing a river on the outskirts of his hometown of Benito when he landed the alligator gar last week.

At one point, it became a bit scary when the fish slammed his kayak with its tail.

“It was just a quick flip from the tail that hit my yak causing my yak to shake back and forth,” Hernandez told For The Win Outdoors. “If my yak would’ve tilted a couple more inches, it would’ve took in water.

“At one point my rod was halfway in the water while the gar was taking line. My upper body was [so] tired that I thought I was going to lose my rod to this dinosaur of a gar.”

Hernandez told MySanAntonio the fish “was dragging me all over the river.”

Also on FTW Outdoors: Shark helps fisherman land huge tuna

Since there was no way he was going to pull the fish onto his kayak, Hernandez used one hand to paddle to shore as he held on to his fishing rod. A friend helped him through branches on the bank so he could to land the gar.

“This was an awesome experience and an awesome joy ride on the yak,” Hernandez wrote on his Facebook page. “Man, the heart was really pumping.”

Alligator gar are often referred to as “living fossils” because scientists can trace them back 100 million years in the fossil record, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. They can grow up to 10 feet and 350 pounds.

Hernandez is probably lucky not to have hooked one that big.

Photos courtesy of Chris Hernandez.

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