# Lost Time Shark Report 10-3-14



## jagarcia10 (Mar 10, 2011)

After coming off another agonizing yet semi-successful Sharkathon week I get back in the office Tuesday and do my routine weather and surf check for the weekend. Another front is moving across the entire country bringing cool weather, heavy rain, tornadoes and devastation to parts of the US.

I get excited and plan another trip as I am sure this will set the stage for predators to wreak havoc all along the coast as mullet and other bait work their way south along the beaches. Ares and I arrive on the beach first thing Friday morning just behind the front. The surf is calm with dirty water out for about 1000 yards out. 











As I am cruising down the beach I come across 3 of these devices from the CGG. ???











Bait is present and I managed to snag two of these baby pomps in the cast net along with plenty of mullet. I cut half of it up and toss it out on my bait rod as I am getting things settled around the truck. Not long after the Daiwa Saltist 30 gets blasted! I get to the rod in no time and tighten the drag. 











As I look up past the first bar a BULL shark breaches and tries to shake the hook! My first thought was oh ****, Iâ€™m going to lose this fish because this is my redfish leader equipped with 100lb mono and a 5/0 circle hook. 

I carefully wage war with this bull letting it run the show thinking, ok, anytime now my line is going to get cut. As I get it on the 1st bar I know I stand no chance of dragging it over the bar into the wade gut with this leader. My only option was to wade through the 10 yard long waste deep wade gut and drag her back to shore rodeo style. 





















I take all the measurements and write them down in the sand then get a tag in her. 











Behind the scenes of sharking soloâ€¦












3, 2, 1 Rodeo! 











Yes! With the first casted bait we are on the board with a 5ft class shark. 











Whatâ€™s left of the hook after I pull it out of the shark. 










to be continued in two mins...


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## jagarcia10 (Mar 10, 2011)

After the release I quickly cast out the rest of the pomp and some fresh cut mullet. I have plenty of left over bait from Sharkathon defrosting in the sun but as the pros in the Texas Saltwater Fishing Magazine preach, fresh bait is always best! 

As luck would have it the next fish on would be a solid ray! 











RIP Steve Irwinâ€¦











OH yea! 











That was the last of the pomps so I send out cut mullet while I prep the ray for deployment. Bull reds would act quickly to pick up the fresh bait. After the second one I had to stop casting baits and stay focused on the main objective, sharks! 











Sometimes itâ€™s easy to get overwhelmed when fishing solo. You have to stay focused on what your main goal is. If not, you will just end up running around trying to do too many things at one time and waste lots of energy doing so. 

I get baits rigged and dropped. One over the second bar and one almost to the color change. The green water is moving in quick. Wonâ€™t be long before it hits the beach! 





















After a few pics and a cold one or two the super 6 makes a small run. I get up the on the rack and locked down. Fish on! 











The tide was still falling almost exposing the first sand bar. Just like before, I had to go out and leader the shark on the first bar then walk her through the wade gut. The circle hook appeared to be swallowed so I did not want to pull her by the leader. 











Got the proper info and picsâ€¦











Snapâ€¦










to be continued in 2 mins...


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## jagarcia10 (Mar 10, 2011)

Not a bad startâ€¦











During the release I see that my other rod has been hit as the line is slack. I catch up to it and feel some weight. Not sure if itâ€™s a small one or if it got offâ€¦
Turns out it got off so I re-deploy both baits back out. By this time the green water is within a few hundred yards. 





















The super 6 would get hit once again. Only thing time when I get the shark to the beach my Texas Shark Rodeo Ruler in nowhere to be found! ***!? I am looking all over for it and even shuffling through the wade gut. Nothing! Dang! I guess this one will not count. 






















But wait, that means anything from now on will not count! Oh ****, Iâ€™m just getting started! I call for back up as the local Guru is part of Team Catchsharks. I ask him if I can borrow his ruler. Nick, without hesitation is on his way down the beach to help a fellow sharker out. Thanks bud! 

Meanwhile, I prep the best bait for last. The Avet 80w would make its debut with a 20lb midsection armed to the teeth with J hooks! Something I wish I could deploy down on the Seashoreâ€¦






















Nick arrives to man the shark tower while I bomb the 80w out deep. Just before dark all baits are out and of course the super 6 gets hit again with the same ray wing. This time thanks to Nick I have a ruler! 












I quickly get the super 6 back out as night time sets in. Garrett and Aldo show up and join our camp. Aldo is on a mission to catch bull reds while Garrett just kicks back with a few cold ones. The night goes on with Aldo hooking up with one bull red and my super 6 getting cut off. 

While walking over to Nickâ€™s truck I notice something shiny on the floor. You have got to be kidding me! Itâ€™s my ruler! There is no way it was there earlier when I was looking for it, no way possible! Seems like the shark gods have a sense of humor todayâ€¦ 













Around midnight everyone crashes out. Iâ€™m sleeping cozy in my tent cot as the fall breeze is refreshing. Around 4am I get up to use the bathroom and notice my line is slack on the 9/0. I get some tension on it and feel a fish on! 

No need to wake up the crew. With high tide and the fish not feeling very big I can handle it on my own. Snap a few pics and off he goes. 










to be continued in 2 mins...


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## jagarcia10 (Mar 10, 2011)

I wake up Saturday morning with the 80w still holding strong but the conditions had totally changed. Winds were howling out of the north, water was dirty again and the current was rippinâ€™ south making it difficult to hold casted baits out past the first bar. 











Late in the morning the 80w gets cut off. We really didnâ€™t do much fishing. Ryan and Dalton show up sometime after lunch so we just spent most of the day drinking, napping and gathering fire wood.











Iâ€™ve learned not to let the conditions bring me down. Before, I would throw in the towel early and head home ****** because I couldnâ€™t fish. Now days I stay on the beach regardless of the fishing conditions and enjoy the outdoors. In time usually the surf will settle. Always check the weather forecast before planning a trip. 

Aldo has had enough and heads off the beach late in the afternoon. I would remain optimistic about the conditions as they are predicted to settle towards the evening and be even better in the morning. 

Just before dark things are settling so I get baits prepped and deployed. I change my game plan to make things a little more interesting. Instead of using the medium sized reels I switch to light shark tackle and deploy baits on the newly purchases Avet LX (Thanks Ron) and the replacement Daiwa 50 SHA (Lost my other one at Sharkathon). The 9/0 would stay in the game as it was already rigged up and ready to go. 











Nick manages a nice bull red for the only action weâ€™ve seen all day! 




















â€œLife is good here in the lone star state.â€ #Sealevel 











Where is Ares? 




















to be continued in 2 mins...


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## jagarcia10 (Mar 10, 2011)

We kick back around the fire waiting for some action. Things are slow so we decide to fire up the grill and cook dinner.











Finally the 9/0 takes a dip and appears to have a fish on. I get up the rack and reel in what seems to be maybe the biggest fish yet. Then I hear Nick laughing when he leaders the shark. What? Whatâ€™s so funny? It was a foul hooked baby bull. The hook literally fell out once the shark hit the beach. 























While not the biggest fish of the trip this one would push me into the 1000â€ club for the Texas Shark Rodeo. 











The next morning I get up to a beautiful sunrise and great looking surf with mullet thick in the wade gut. 





















First cast with live mullet produces a quality jack! 











Then come in the reds and smacks.











The guys see me in action and do not hesitate to send out live mullet. The whole crew is catching fish except for Garrett, he is still crashed out. LOL, I get him up so he could help man the rods while I take out two super fresh shark baits! 












to be continued in 2 mins...


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## jagarcia10 (Mar 10, 2011)

I hesitate to start drinking because I normally head off the beach before lunch on Sundays. And not to mention it was a Texas Showdown with Americaâ€™s Team playing the Texans. What to doâ€¦Screw it, I have DVR. 

Cheers to the Republic of Texas!











Thanks to Steven from Catchsharks.com for the cool cozies in our Sharkathon packet!











After baits are deployed I walk down the camp to see what the other guys are catching. Slot reds, specs, croaker and even a shark have been caught! 





















A few hours go by and the half of jack gets rocked! Fought the fish for a few minutes then it came lose. I would re-rig the bait and send it right back out. 































A few mores reds for table fare and it was time to go. 











After spending 7 months of the year out of the country I was happy to make up for lost time by reaching 1000â€ for the Texas Shark Rodeo. Letâ€™s see if we can hit 3000â€ by the end of the year! See you guys on the sand!











to be continued in 2 mins...


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## jagarcia10 (Mar 10, 2011)

Way to go Cowboys!!! :bounce:


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## zthomas18 (Dec 1, 2008)

Great report man. I just sat here refreshing the page waiting for the next part. Green to you!


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## jimj100 (Dec 1, 2012)

Ares underrepresented in this report 
But the trip looks great. The new rack looks great. a few pics of the new 80w and rod would be nice too. Thanks for the post and pics and info, bait rigging shots. Jim


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## sharkchum (Feb 10, 2012)

Great report and pics as always. Are you fishing down south?


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## Blueshoes (Jan 24, 2013)

I think he always fishes matagorda, correct me if im wrong


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## Paul-nm (May 30, 2014)

It's always a joy to "click" on one of your posts. Great report, and educational for me. I can literally taste the salt in the are from some of those pics. Great report, good times. Thank you....


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## Blacktip Shark (Mar 7, 2010)

Good report. Thanks man.


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## jagarcia10 (Mar 10, 2011)

sharkchum said:


> Great report and pics as always. Are you fishing down south?


I was just a few miles south of you. :walkingsm


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## sharkchum (Feb 10, 2012)

It's crazy how much cleaner the water is where you were fishing, I had nothing but chocolate milk for as far as I could see. I've been kicking myself since I seen your report for not bringing my yak and shark gear along, but it would have been hard to fish a redfish tournament and mess with my shark rigs at the same time. We need to to hook up one weekend, I bet between the two of us we could wipe out the fish population along Texas coast in one weekend.LOL. Congratulations again on your epic trip.


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## TexasTom (Mar 16, 2011)

Great report! Really enjoyed all your pics


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## Fishingmatt (Aug 16, 2012)

Bada$$ report brother... looks like a blast


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## BrandonFox (Jan 8, 2013)

Awesome man.


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## edjman (Aug 13, 2013)

Nice report and great photos. I wish I could afford all that stuff...


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## Runway (Feb 6, 2005)

Can you imagine WHAT and Sharkchum teaming up - what a play that would be in the surf!!


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## troutless (Feb 17, 2006)

AWESOME as usual!! The photo's were great and I also enjoyed the pictures of the bait riggings. And Ares looked like her old self. Congrat's on great trip in the foul weather.


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## jagarcia10 (Mar 10, 2011)

Thanks guys. It was good to get some fish in the freezer!



sharkchum said:


> We need to to hook up one weekend, I bet between the two of us we could wipe out the fish population along Texas coast in one weekend.LOL. Congratulations again on your epic trip.


Indeed! :cheers:

-Joe


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## txteltech (Jul 6, 2012)

WHAT, great pics and narration. 

I've been outta town on work since June so I can relate but thankfully I've been in Texas but away from home, it's great that you got out there and had a good time despite the conditions that's what it's all about!!!


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## [email protected] (Jan 14, 2005)

U da MAN! 
Great trip. I'm glad I waited to read this report from home. 
These pictures are blocked at work and worth the wait.


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