# PINS 8/13 - Matagorda 8/25 Surf Shark Report



## Shark_Reeler (Aug 16, 2014)

*PINS-8/13*
It's been awhile since I posted a surf fishing report. Lots of things happened in the last few months including my retirement after 30 years as an Engineering manager. For this reason, I have changed my email address and handle from 'surfguy' to 'Shark_Reeler'. It was time to cut loose and battle the surf for some sharks to put some points on the board for our Shark Rodeo team 'Keeping It Reel'.

The plan was to meet up with Joe known as 'WHAT' who recently returned from Korea after 9 months for a trip to PINS the week of 8/11-8/17. Joe had gone down a day before me with plans to fish the jetty for fresh shark bait then meet up on the beach somewhere between the 30 and 50mm for a trial run before Sharkathon. Some communication issues occurred and we never met up. No big deal since both of us have shark fished solo many times with little trouble.

I arrived Tue night after dark and made camp somewhere in the 30's where the weed wasn't too thick. with plans to meet up with Joe the next day. Wed morning I awoke to beautiful surf conditions with very little weed in the water. I casted a few shrimp with fishbites and quickly nabbed a few good sized whiting also known as 'Blacktip Candy'. By 3pm, I deployed 2 whole whiting and a Jack roast with floats about 200-400 yds out and a large Jack head Joe had dropped off at my house on his way down. I would later regret not using a float on the Jack head.

About 5pm, I had a run on one of the whiting and had a 67' Tipper on the sand a few minutes later. It was good to have a shark on the sand after 3 months of horrible weed and surf conditions.









Later that night, 2 of my lines would get weeded out, reeled in and the Jack head would get cut off. I'm not sure if I had a weakpoint in my 100lb mono topshot or something toothy came along. Regardless, with no float, I lost my prime bait along with a set of tackle (leader, weight and all). I was upset, but that's part of shark fishing. Sometimes, you get lulled into thinking you're bulletproof, but it doesn't always work out the way you want it.

The next day, conditions were fairly similar in the morning.









I would run out 3 more whiting and re-run the Jack roast.









No runs would occur and all 4 lines would later get weeded out worse than the night before. It was apparent the weed was coming in from the south. Since Joe and I never met up, I decided to pack up and go back North to the 20's where the weed wasn't too bad. The next day was uneventful. Since my prime baits were depleted and the weed was moving in, I packed up and made the long drive home a day earlier than planned.

*Matagorda-8/25*
It was 2 weeks later and I was primed to get down to Matagorda for a solo shark fishing trip. This trip, I would take only a bag of frozen whiting and a skipjack saved from my PINS trip, 1lb of fresh dead shrimp and fishbites with the grand plan of catching some kind of fresh bait that was present in the surf. I got the itch and headed out Sun 8/24, a day earlier than planned.

As soon as I arrived at a decent spot down the beach, I immediately got some bait rods out and got hooked up with a 29" red on shrimp and fishbites. Unfortunately, it was an inch too big to keep and I already have a freezer full of slot reds anyway. He was released to fight another day.









Later that night, I would run out 4 frozen whiting in the fairly calm surf. Around 10pm, all 4 lines would get weeded out as the strong tides brought in fresh weed and pulled a lot of weed off the sand. It was a race to get to get each line reeled in without getting tangled up. By midnight, I was exhausted and crashed in the tentcot.









Mon morning arrived and I set about getting more bait. Again, I hooked up on a 29" red that was released.









Finally, after working thru the hardheads, I was able to bag a good size gafftop on cut whiting, and a few decent size whiting. These would be my sharkbaits today. The frozen skippy head yielded a 26" Blacktip on a casted rod. I did not bother to tag this little guy for the Shark Rodeo but I did tell him to send back his big brothers and sisters when I released him. 

To be continued..Pls do not reply yet!


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## Shark_Reeler (Aug 16, 2014)

Continued..
Today would start to get very interesting. I ran out 3 whiting and the gafftop. Right after noon, the reel with the gafftop goes off and I'm hooked up. Fortunately, at the same time Steven, the owner of CatchSharks.com drives up and offers to assist with clearing out my casted rods and leadering the shark I was hooked up to. A few minutes later, I had a 68" Bull on the sand. Steven assisted me with tagging, measuring and photos before the release. It was perfect timing that Steven showed up and I really appreciate his help. After that, Steven would head off to the cut and come back later that afternoon to join me again.









After Steven returned later that day, we would deploy more sharkbaits only to get weeded out and cutoff on 2 of my lines. I would try to locate the 2 floats the next morning to retrieve my tackle. The next day, I was able to locate both floats and set out in the Hobie to retrieve them. I retrieved one but could not locate the other. It seemed to be moving and disappearing. I would later find out why. I re-deployed the gafftop head, the gafftop body and another whole whiting late in the morning. I re-locate the 'missing' float and go out to retrieve it. At this point, things get very chaotic. As I'm lifting the float and leader to the Hobie, I feel a shark on the end of my line. That explains why it was moving earlier! I decided to drag it in with the Hobie as far as I can, which turned out to be the 1st gut. Then I grabbed a line off my idle rod and yakked back out and tied it on the leader, high-tailed it back to the truck to reel him in. As I'm reeling this one in my other rod with the gafftop head goes off. It's a double hookup. A few minutes later, my other rod with the whole whiting breaks loose and startsa drifiting quicly. I get the first one on the sand, quickly get him tagged, measured and released. It's another 68" Bull.









The 2nd rod gets reeled in and guess what? It's another 68" Bull. That's 3 on this trip.









I quickly get it tagged, measured and released so I can tend to my other line that was driftly down the beach. By the time I get to it, my line is 300 yds down the beach. I assumed it was just weeded out so I took my time cleaning weed off the line until I see the float in the 1st gut. As I try to pull it in, I feel a huge dead weight. I win the battle and see a monster appear in the wade gut. Holy ****, it's a monster ray! I estimated it to be about 5-6 ft wide and 100-150 lbs. I cut the cable and sent him on his way to produce more babies.









To be continued..


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## Shark_Reeler (Aug 16, 2014)

Continued..
I forgot to mention that before Steven left, he gave me a couple sheepshead to use later. It was greatly appreciated because I was completely bait depleted again. I run both of them out whole late in the day. They sit for several hours with no action. Finally, one of them gets a run and dropped. Then another, then another until the weight breaks loose and starts drifiting. I reeled it in to find a whole sheepshead bitten in half. I have no idea how it did not get hooked up.









A bit later, the other line finally gets weeded out and breaks loose. Before I knew it, my line was again 300 yds down the beach. This time, I took all my gear with me to retrieve my gear in the pitch darkness. I get down to the leader and feel something on the end. I drag it in and see another bull.
I tagged, measured it. It's another 68" Bull. Are you freakin kidding me? That's 4 in one trip. I tried everything I could to get a good pic in the dark but it just wasn't happening. I needed a spot light and was too far away from the truck and had no time to get it. Oh well, I doubt if this one will be counted for the shark rodeo due to the poor quality pic. Lesson learned!









Later that night, the storm would push the tide way up along with tons of debris. I ended up moving the truck higher up twice almost to the dunes.









The next morning, I packed up and drove off the beach happy to have all my gear intact.

Thanks for reading. Good luck and good fishing.

-Ron


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## Greatwhite (Mar 28, 2011)

right on man! seems like the name change broke the skunk. Thats some decent points on the board!!!


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## sharkchum (Feb 10, 2012)

Great report, that's crazy catching 4 bulls the same size.


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## jagarcia10 (Mar 10, 2011)

I'm jealous of that ray! I've never landed a big one like that. So cool! 

Thanks for the handle Ron. My freakn tip to that rod broke down at PINS. Instead of fixing it I replaced it with a Tsunami rod that I found at bass pro. Congrats on Retirement! Hopefully we'll get a trip or two in before Sharkathon.


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## Billygoat (Feb 1, 2013)

Nice report! How do you like the tentcot? I'm debating buying one for my surf fishing trips!


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## mullethead00 (May 31, 2010)

Solid report. Awesome ray. Were you floating baits up off the bottom or just marking your drops?


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## Shark_Reeler (Aug 16, 2014)

Billygoat said:


> Nice report! How do you like the tentcot? I'm debating buying one for my surf fishing trips!


 Tentcots are great for overnight trips, especially if you don't like sleeping in your vehicle. Most shark fishermen use them to be close to their reels when they go off at night and sometimes put them up on the truck platform. The best brand is 'CampRite'. They have 2 length sizes 7' and 8'. The 8' is called 'oversize' and is also a few inches wider for big people. If you're over 6' tall, I recommend the oversize. Gives you more room inside.
They also fold up and unfold quickly to save time and space.


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## Shark_Reeler (Aug 16, 2014)

WHAT said:


> I'm jealous of that ray! I've never landed a big one like that. So cool!
> 
> Thanks for the handle Ron. My freakn tip to that rod broke down at PINS. Instead of fixing it I replaced it with a Tsunami rod that I found at bass pro. Congrats on Retirement! Hopefully we'll get a trip or two in before Sharkathon.


 Thanks Joe. Yeah, we should plan to get another trip in before Sharkathon, maybe in a couple weeks. I still have the rest of that reel for ya whenever you we can meet up again.


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## Shark_Reeler (Aug 16, 2014)

Greatwhite said:


> right on man! seems like the name change broke the skunk. Thats some decent points on the board!!!


Yessir. Thanks.


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## Shark_Reeler (Aug 16, 2014)

mullethead00 said:


> Solid report. Awesome ray. Were you floating baits up off the bottom or just marking your drops?


 I use floats mainly to mark my drops and retrieve my tackle if my line gets cutoff, which happens quite regularly. The big weights we use keep the bait toward the bottom. They have other uses including keeping your mainline higher off the sandbars to avoid abrasion.


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## Shark_Reeler (Aug 16, 2014)

mullethead00 said:


> Solid report. Awesome ray. Were you floating baits up off the bottom or just marking your drops?


I use floats mainly to mark my drops and retrieve my tackle if my line gets cutoff, which happens quite regularly. The big weights we use keep the bait toward the bottom. They have other uses including keeping your mainline higher off the sandbars to avoid abrasion.


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## Surf Rodder (Jun 28, 2013)

Awesome report, bro. Feel like I was there with you. When I was living in Seattle I was constantly researching and learning more about 'Big Shell' and the Mansfield area. Still in a 2-wheeler I haven't yet ventured the trip. As the LORD allows and I return to work I think I may see a 4x4 in my future. 

Also welcomed the word on the tentcot. Very cool. Really don't like waking up in the morning with a coral snake snuggled up beside me or under my blanket or ground tarp. Been there, done that, got the wet underwear...


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## jagarcia10 (Mar 10, 2011)

The oversized tent cot sleeps 2 plus a dog. I've tested it out. :work:


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## troutless (Feb 17, 2006)

Well, I really enjoyed your report and photo's. Awesome Ray.
Congrats on your retirement! 
My biggest R&R is a Daiwa Sha 50 on a FTU 10' rod. I've never used a float on my baits. I usually yak out the baits, and cast the smaller rods. What size weights and floats do you use? I know that when I BTB fish I use a white crab ball to locate my anchor.


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## Shark_Reeler (Aug 16, 2014)

troutless said:


> Well, I really enjoyed your report and photo's. Awesome Ray.
> Congrats on your retirement!
> My biggest R&R is a Daiwa Sha 50 on a FTU 10' rod. I've never used a float on my baits. I usually yak out the baits, and cast the smaller rods. What size weights and floats do you use? I know that when I BTB fish I use a white crab ball to locate my anchor.


 Thanks man. I use 10" floats and the big orange floats depending on how rough the surf is and how much weed is present. My weights are Big Lou's style made by JohnnyReb and I over a weekend last year. They are 1-1.5lbs flat triangle shaped lead with 6 or 8 guage copper legs and loop connectors.


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## illesr23 (Oct 22, 2013)

Nice report and brilliant idea using the floats! Do you have any pics of how your rigs look with the floats? I am tired of losing my rigs to mysterious cutoffs and would like to be able to retrieve my stuff.


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## sharkchum (Feb 10, 2012)

illesr23 said:


> Nice report and brilliant idea using the floats! Do you have any pics of how your rigs look with the floats? I am tired of losing my rigs to mysterious cutoffs and would like to be able to retrieve my stuff.


I know everyone has their own way of doing things, but here is what works for me. I just get plastic bottles and fill them with expanding foam, drill a hole in the lid to put the small leader through with a crimp on the end so it cant pull out and epoxy the lid on and paint them bright yellow. I've tried using bigger floats but the waves would pull my sinkers lose so I stick with the 16oz to 32oz bottles now.


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## Sharkhunter (May 22, 2004)

Awesome report ! Nothing like a storm on the beach at night. Sends chills up my spine thinking about some I've been through.


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## Shark_Reeler (Aug 16, 2014)

sharkchum said:


> I know everyone has their own way of doing things, but here is what works for me. I just get plastic bottles and fill them with expanding foam, drill a hole in the lid to put the small leader through with a crimp on the end so it cant pull out and epoxy the lid on and paint them bright yellow. I've tried using bigger floats but the waves would pull my sinkers lose so I stick with the 16oz to 32oz bottles now.


Your illustration sums it up well. I will add that the bigger floats pull the line and leader up at a higher angle which helps to avoid sandbar abrasion but also puts a different angle on the weight that tends to break it loose easier. They also gather more surface weed. I would only use the bigger floats in calm surf or no weed on drops over 500yds. It also depends on how well your weight holds.


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## Greatwhite (Mar 28, 2011)

same here. I like those bright yellow floats.

I use the big long line floats simply for the fact they can be seen far far off and easier to locate BUT you are stuck having to use more weight when the waves pick up. 

Another thing that taught me was to think of it like a boat anchor, an anchor on a short rope has a better chance of being pulled. add some length to the anchor and change the angle and it will stick much better. 

Downside to that was the really long leaders are a pain in the butt.
Its all about trying alot of different things and finding what works for you.


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## illesr23 (Oct 22, 2013)

Thanks for the pics and info Sharkchum.


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## troutless (Feb 17, 2006)

X-2 on diagram and information. I never heard of a coast lock swivel, but that explains a lot. I guess that FTU will have the swivel. 
Again, thanks for all of the info, Awesome report .


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