# Sharkathon Week Report 10/22-10/27



## jagarcia10 (Mar 10, 2011)

*"Amidst the chaos of an unforgiving planet, most species will fail. But for one, all the pieces will fall into place. And a set of keys will unlock a path for mankind to triumph." (History Channel's "Mankind") *


Sharkathon week was here and so was my 28th bday! I took the week off and headed down to Corpus Monday after work. Got things prepped and ready to hit the National Seashore first thing Tuesday morning. The plan was to cruise down the entire beach seeing firsthand how the weed was and to acquire some fresh bait! This was a solo birthday trip that I called Operation "Bait-Recon". 
































Rolled down the beach looking for any kind of bait activity, mullet was present in the 30s and I managed to bag a couple of small jacks. Kept on heading south only to find more weed. The north wind had also picked up significantly. 





















This guy had a hard time staying in one spot. The wind was blowing him down the beach.












There were a few camps down at the jetties so I went back and checked out the channel to see if there was any action. After about an hour I decided to roll back up the beach and set up camp for the night. Ares and I walked around looking for buried treasure. 





















I was in a spot where the sun was going to set right over the center of this dune. Pretty cool sight. This was my first time using my new camera so give me a break if the pics are not as good as they should be. 











Come morning I brew up some coffee and do my morning ritual on top of the dunes. 










to be continued in 2 mins...


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## jagarcia10 (Mar 10, 2011)

As the sun got higher I was able to see jacks smashing mullet over the first bar while I was cruising back up the beach. I pulled over and tried to cast a spoon to them but the weed would get to it first. So I got out the cast net and blind casted about 4 finger mullet. Rode up the beach a couple hundred yards and BAM! 











Kept moving north a few hundred yards every so often and was able to land another. Landed 2 bigger jacks then I did the previous morning and I also lost a few. 










With good intel and fresh bait I drove off the beach Wednesday with a smile on my face. Great birthday trip! 











Come Thursday me and my girlfriend Ashley meet up with Grant who is already at the beach. We get there early to get a good spot in line for the numbering sequence that's set to take place around 10pm. Of course the beach would be almost as calm as it could be the day before the tournament. 










After getting a very good spot in line and meeting new folks we fire up the pit to grub on some hotdogs. Everyone seems to be having a good time and the beer is going down smooth. I crash out around midnight after everyone else starts heading back to their camp. 










Come morning we roll through check in and everyone bombs down the beach in search a good spot! 





















Down in the low to mid 40s we find a spot that looks promising. Weed was present and knowing that the conditions were going to get worse as the weekend moved forward I immediately started running baits. 










My first bait seemed to be drifting due to the weed so I start rigging another bait because I know it's going to get weeded out pretty quick. Not even 20 mins go by and the first rod I ran out takes off on a short run. I hop up on the rack and its game on! 











Didn't put up much of a fight as far as taking line but it did feel like it had a little weight to it. Possibly upper 5ft class bull was my guess. After getting it to the first bar it didn't feel like the fish I thought it was. Grant leaders the shark and it turns out I was dragging in a small black tip with about 10lbs of seaweed. Not what I was hoping for but it was still very early in the tournament. 










to be continued in 2 mins...


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## jagarcia10 (Mar 10, 2011)

Grant was working on getting some live bait for reds while I peep the scene down the beach to see if anyone is catching anything. Beach looks packed just north of us! 




















Me spying on Johnny and company. :doowapsta











As the day goes by we fight the weed while keeping shark baits out. I see a coast guard jet fly by us a couple of times and wonder why they were so close to the beach and only flying around the lower 40s. Did something happen? 











As most of you know this guy flipped in his kayak and got the 20/0 circle hook stuck in his neck. Johnny and his crew rush to help him out and from what I've read he is doing just fine. 





















Later in the afternoon I check if Ron or any of the guys just north of us have baits out. Seems like the weed is discouraging people from running baits. I get things ready for the evening drop and put out a good spread the night. 





















to be continued in 2 mins...


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## jagarcia10 (Mar 10, 2011)

I wasn't able to keep out 3 lines for long. Seaweed wiped out the casted reel pretty quick but I did manage to snap a few pics of the spread just before it got wiped out. 























Grant and I knocked weed off the lines throughout the night until they got washed in. I pulled the truck up way past the high tide line and kicked back around the fire with Ashley and Grant. After dinner and a few drinks we all crash out wonder how chaotic the surf is going to be the next day. 

The next morning I wake up to find the tide almost to my truck! Im sure people down the beach had it much worse. The surf was looking pretty rough! 





































Rough surf, strong current and seaweed had a lot of people leaving early Saturday. As for us, Grant and I were going to try to keep bait out regardless. This is going to be my last shark fishing trip for a while so I was going to give it all I had. 
























When giving up is not an option. 













Throughout the day we would take turns pulling weed off the lines and watching people drive by us heading off the beach and stop by providing valuable information on the way out. Biggest shark down south had been a 6'1" bull that was caught in the first gut. 












to be continued in 2 mins...


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## jagarcia10 (Mar 10, 2011)

With nothing to show for the day I rig up more fresh baits and get ready to deploy our last spread for the tournament. Seeing the tide this high we knew we had to leave early in the morning to make it back before 1pm. 











Although Grant didn't kayak any baits of his own I couldn't have kept mine out for as long as I did without his help. It was definitely a team effort. Thanks bud! 




















This is it! Everything is on these two baits. 





















Both lines got weeded out by 10pm so it was game over. 

We left first thing in the morning. Driving was slow and we saw quite a few camps that had been abandoned due to the high tides. 











We arrived at the awards ceremony just in time. Grant ended up winning a raffle prize and of course I didn't win ****! 











This guy looks familiar. I was taking the pic above and decided to zoom in only see PINS new shark guide Eric "Oz" Ozlin! Although I don't know him personally I've learned a lot from his website/reports and from his and Captain Billy Sandifer's articles in the Texas Saltwater Fishing Magazines. He has been indirectly guiding a lot of people from his reports and I think most people know it. I'm sure his new shark guiding service will prosper just like the sport of sharking fishing has in the past decade. My hat is off to you, cheers! 











That's a wrap. It was another tough year for sharkathon participants but I still enjoyed my time on the sand! Maybe I can get into some action while in Korea but if not then I'll see yall next summer!


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## Duckchasr (Apr 27, 2011)

Great report and pics too. thanks for sharing.


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## waltmeda (Jul 9, 2013)

Great write-up, as always. I saw you down there but I couldn't remember where I knew you from. Next time, I'll come shake your hand. 

Have fun in Korea. I was stationed at Osan twice during my time in the AF. You'll have a blast.


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## redlover (Sep 18, 2012)

Great report as usual, I always enjoy reading your threads. Be well in Korea.


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## TexasTom (Mar 16, 2011)

That is one awesome report! I really appreciate all the pics. That looks like something I would like to learn to do. 

Thanks for sharing,
Tom


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## TMB (Sep 23, 2012)

Great report, our camp comes out on your pictures haha nice!! (white Hummer)!
Take care


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## surfguy (May 17, 2011)

Nice report Joe! I think your new camera takes pretty good pics. We got 2 baits out Friday morning before the "hook neck" incident but they got weeded out within 1-2hrs, so we halted the yakkin on Friday afternoon. I'm appalled you were spying on us. J/K :biggrin: Give me a holler when you get back from Korea in 6mos. BTW, I thought I heard Grant's name get called for that nice rod/reel combo. Lucky SOB!

Take it sleasy,
Ron


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## jagarcia10 (Mar 10, 2011)

Thanks guys, I will miss the beach for sure.



waltmeda said:


> Great write-up, as always. I saw you down there but I couldn't remember where I knew you from. Next time, I'll come shake your hand.
> 
> Have fun in Korea. I was stationed at Osan twice during my time in the AF. You'll have a blast.


Yea there were a lot of faces I couldn't put with names. :cheers:



surfguy said:


> Nice report Joe! I think your new camera takes pretty good pics. We got 2 baits out Friday morning before the "hook neck" incident but they got weeded out within 1-2hrs, so we halted the yakkin on Friday afternoon. I'm appalled you were spying on us. J/K :biggrin: Give me a holler when you get back from Korea in 6mos. BTW, I thought I heard Grant's name get called for that nice rod/reel combo. Lucky SOB!
> 
> Take it sleasy,
> Ron


I was making sure you guys weren't catching all the fish bc if yall were we were going to move next to yall just like everyone else. LOL, jk.


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## Greatwhite (Mar 28, 2011)

surfguy said:


> Nice report Joe! I think your new camera takes pretty good pics. We got 2 baits out Friday morning before the "hook neck" incident but they got weeded out within 1-2hrs, so we halted the yakkin on Friday afternoon. I'm appalled you were spying on us. J/K :biggrin: Give me a holler when you get back from Korea in 6mos. BTW, I thought I heard Grant's name get called for that nice rod/reel combo. Lucky SOB!
> 
> Take it sleasy,
> Ron


Did I hear my name? Haha


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## iwanashark (Jul 13, 2009)

Man! Those are some rollers! looks like persistence and a little luck won that tournament. GJ nice report.


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## Devin 85 (Jul 19, 2012)

Good pics.....at least u caught something and didn't get skunked like allot of people...have a good trip to korea..heard its nice there!


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## gaftop (Feb 20, 2005)

Awesome report and really nice photos! You certainly know how to tell an interesting story. I now have a much better idea what Sharathon is all about. Good luck on your trip!


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## ShawnQ (May 21, 2004)

I was driving through as you were landing that blacktip. I remember saying to myself "better hurry up and get bait out because it's only going to get worse...".
Boy was I right!


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## Greatwhite (Mar 28, 2011)

Funny back story on that tipper, I was up on the dune playing with my phone signal and i look down and see Joe working away. so i waddle down the dunes and asked him if he had a fish, he confirms and being on the safe side since it was afterall sharkathon, i grabbed my tail rope.

I get out there and i see the leader coming in. Im looking....looking some more...ok wheres the fins? looked some more and suddenly this little guy was right on top of me before i saw him. 

Pretty much picked him up by the tail. 
LOL so much for that big bad tail rope I had. :dance:


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## jagarcia10 (Mar 10, 2011)

ShawnQ said:


> I was driving through as you were landing that blacktip. I remember saying to myself "better hurry up and get bait out because it's only going to get worse...".
> Boy was I right!


If only the coditions stayed like it was Friday, although kinda bumpy it was still managable.



Greatwhite said:


> Funny back story on that tipper, I was up on the dune playing with my phone signal and i look down and see Joe working away. so i waddle down the dunes and asked him if he had a fish, he confirms and being on the safe side since it was afterall sharkathon, i grabbed my tail rope.
> 
> I get out there and i see the leader coming in. Im looking....looking some more...ok wheres the fins? looked some more and suddenly this little guy was right on top of me before i saw him.
> 
> ...


Sucks to get a kayaked bait picked up by the little pups.


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## txteltech (Jul 6, 2012)

Great report love your description along with the photos, green to yah

Sent from my SPH-L900 using Tapatalk 2


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## troutless (Feb 17, 2006)

Thanks What! A awesome report and photo's plus, very detailed. I like the effort you put into your fishing, and camping. Well, it just didn't happen the trip and it was not because of your effort.


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