# High Island 07-22/23-05



## Jolly Roger (May 21, 2004)

Made it to the beach around six thirty saturday morning. Found perfect conditions. The storm surge had cleaned the beach good, and the water was flat. Good day to paddle offshore after some fish.
As we were getting rigged up, two shrimp boats were making their way to us. We got out in time to troll behind one of them. Only got one hit when trolling. So we anchored up in his mud slick. This boat proved to be the only one all weekend that got close enough to troll behind.


















Anchored up and started catching gafftop immediately, this would stay the same all day. The gafftops were in thick and were picking up and running with our baits all the time. Richard was the first to hook up with a big fish. Pulled him around good.
Richard with his first bull red from the kayak









We caught more gafftops and kill time BSing. The pogies showed up by the millions. They were popping the water as far as I could see in every direction. Shortly after the pogies showed up I get hit by something bigger then a gafftop. Sleigh ride time.

Jolly Roger hooked up









Jolly Roger with a bull red.


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## Jolly Roger (May 21, 2004)

Bull reds stopped hitting, but the gafftop never let up. We were getting runs every few minutes. Only for them to drop the bait. A few small sharks were also being caught, nothing big until I see Parrothead hooked up to something with nitro in the tank. He shot off the anchor, almost running over me and Terrance. He was moving at a high rate of speed away from us. I dropped my anchor and gave chase

Parrothead hooked up









When I finally catch up to Parrothead I see he has a good size shark. But I was having a hard time IDing the shark. Finally after it calmed down some I made my way over for a closer look and to help with the release. I get over to parrothead, and get my pliers out. The hook was in the corner of the mouth, and looked easy enough to get out. So I grab it with my pliers and start to yank. Well, MR. shark does not seem to enjoy this and goes into a violent head shark. In the process throwing the pliers out of my hands. So I tell Parrothead that the pliers were gone, need another pair. As he turn to grab his, I see my red handles in his kayak under his leg. Some how the shark had thrown the pliers into his kayak. Parrothead and me were laughing about our luck with the pliers. So us being the smart people we are attemp again to remove the hook. Once again the shark goes crazy, and the pliers were ripped from my hands. Once the water settled and I could see again. Their the pliers were again, right in the front of Parrotheads kayak. Now I knew it was luck the first time, the second time was just dumb luck. We decided to cut the leader and leave the hook. The shark seemed to want to keep it anyway.

This was a big finetooth, and was a darker blue then I am use to seeing on them. But once up close the teeth looked the same as finetooths. I am 80% sure on the ID, but if someone sees something I missed let me know. Pic did not come out good, to much water being splashed every where.

Parrothead with a 5+ finetooth.










Things settle down and we start to nap some in between the gafftop runs. I was fishing fresh dead and caught my second scallop hammerhead of the year. They are cute when they are babys. During this time I notice my line is going under my kayak. Line was moving fast, too fast for a gafftop. I had to drop my anchor before going tight on it. It was already behind me, and leaving at a high rate of speed. I got pointed to where I though the fish was and layed into him. All of sudden a big blacktip goes airborn only five feet from Richard. I thought the shark was going into his kayak for a second. Needless to say he woke up fast from his nap. The shark had me around my anchor, twice, around richard's line and had made a complete circle around my kayak before I even knew what had happened. He was mean and went airborn again. This time doing a complete 360 right in the middle of all our kayaks. He was mad and cut through my steel shortly after the second jump. We decided it was time for a lunch break, and paddled back to the beach.

Ate lunch and caught some more bait. Headed back out around two. Did not paddle out as far this time. After a little wait Parrothead is hooked up. Fish fights hard, and once he gets it to the kayak we see why. A very big bull red.

Parrothead with a big bull red


















Get back to the anchors and lines back out. I get hooked up again and the fight was on..

Jolly Roger with a bull red









Things slow down and we try for another hour or so. Decided to go in. Me a Richard drift in. Not to long into the drift I get hit and tighten up. Shark goes airborn with a huge splash, but pulls the hook. I get rebaited and chunk it back to almost the same spot. Before it could hit bottom hooked up again. This one did not go airborn, but came straight at me. Slacked me up and dropped the hook behind me. We decided to drift back through that area. A few minutes later I was hooked up again. The shark goes airborn, and belly walks on the water for thrity feet. Just a few feet from me, very cool sight. He is mad making blistering runs and doubling back on me often. Pulls me around for a good ten twenty minutes before wearing down.

Jolly Roger fighting and landing a blacktip.




































That was it for saturday. We paddled in and called it a day.

Sunday

Conditions were perfect again sunday. Got to the beach around seven. Kent caught a good size trout as we were getting everthing ready. I was surf fishing all day. Richard and kent paddled offshore for some yak fishing. They caught more gafftops and one bull red. On the beach things were even slower with me getting one good trout, and Buckeye one bull shark. Finger mullet were schooling through the first gut, but all other bait was hard to catch. Still a great day to be on the beach. Great weekend to be outside and enjoyed the whole weekend.

Buckeye with a Bull shrk


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## Redfishr (Jul 26, 2004)

Good Rpt, thanks JR........


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## kdubya (Jun 27, 2005)

I always look forward to reading your reports and seeing the images. Very cool.
The beach looked a lot cleaner too.
I need some of that dumb luck for my fishing pliers !

Great report, and excellent pics as usual.

Kelly


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## Txfirenfish (Jan 8, 2005)

Excellent report JR. You make it look so easy and so fun. I cant wait to get my yak out there, just havent had the chance yet.


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## Public Enemy (Jul 6, 2005)

Excellent Report and nice pics can't wait to get down there this weekend


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## Txfirenfish (Jan 8, 2005)

Question JR...What kind of camera do you use? Is it digital? If so, how are you keeping it dry?


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## Sam Hunt (Apr 25, 2005)

Great writeup, Jolly Roger, I hope to get down there this weekend and hope the conditions hojd for a while! Really enjoyed the pics and post!


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## Jolly Roger (May 21, 2004)

Right now I am using Fuji fine pix digtal camera. Use a aquapak water proof bag. I can take pics through it, but usually take it out to get the pic.

But I am looking at getting a Cannon s70 in the next month, with a waterproof case. Will also have video, I want to get video of the blacktips going airborn only a few feet from the kayaks.



Txfirenfish said:


> Question JR...What kind of camera do you use? Is it digital? If so, how are you keeping it dry?


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## pelican (May 22, 2004)

Awesome report and pics, TJ ... man, I'm sorry now we were committed to another activity last weekend.


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## gator (May 22, 2004)

Great Report, JR, I'm in Joliet, Illinois this morning coming back from Michigan. Caught some bluegill and large mouth bass while I was up there fishing with my uncle. It's wierd swimming in the second gut with no fear of sharks in Lake Michigan


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## Txfirenfish (Jan 8, 2005)

Jolly Roger said:


> Right now I am using Fuji fine pix digtal camera. Use a aquapak water proof bag. I can take pics through it, but usually take it out to get the pic.
> 
> But I am looking at getting a Cannon s70 in the next month, with a waterproof case. Will also have video, I want to get video of the blacktips going airborn only a few feet from the kayaks.


Wound up buying a new Fuji Finepix myself. Its 4.1 mp and got it for under $150. Couldnt pass that deal up. But tell me about the water proof bag. Where can I get one and how much are they?


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## gundoctor (May 20, 2004)

Water wasn't what got my Fuji. They said it was sand. 
I had bought a Fuji A205 and made about 10 trips to the beach with it when the switch on the lens cover quit working. This caused the camera to not turn on. I sent it back to Fuji and they said it had sand in the lens cover. The repair price was going to be about $150 + shipping. Since I had only paid $98 for the camera, I told them no thanks. 
Now I've got a Cannon PowerShot A510 and I'm going to get a housing for it.
If I had another Fuji, I'd keep it in a plastic baggie on the beach. I had kept mine in a camera case when not actually using it. A guy at the camera shop that I took mine to at first, said the Fuji doesn't like a beach environment at all.


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## Jolly Roger (May 21, 2004)

The bag is an aquapac, bought it off the internet, don't rember where.

thats odd, mine has over a hundred beach trips and got soaked today and is still working. Any camera has problems with sand, and gundoc, who ever told you about the fuji was wrong. They take good pics, and for the money can not be beat. If you built a sandcastle with yours might have a pproblem. But I keep mine in the truck until time to take a pic, and in the bag when in the kayak.

Here is a teaser pic from my camera today, last fish of the day, but not the biggest.


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## Txfirenfish (Jan 8, 2005)

JR, that pic is from today??? Dang, its amazing how different the water can be from High Island to Sea Rim.


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## cacciato71 (May 13, 2005)

Jolly rodger I looked for you guys today but didn't see you. Maybe I just wasn't looking right. Where were you. I drove HI around noon on my way back from trout fishing the surf in Bolivar?


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## Oso Yakman (Jan 2, 2005)

Sweet Report Jolly,

Osoyakman


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## Redfishr (Jul 26, 2004)

Definiatly SWEET...


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