# Team Shade Hats Thanksgiving Report - 12 over 6Ft



## alka144 (May 4, 2010)

The last two years of fishing over the Thanksgiving holiday were not very successful, to say the least. In 2013, my dad, Gina, and I joined Zach and his dog Ru for a trip to Padre Island National Seashore. Although we all have lasting memories from that trip, the fishing was slow and we were left without anything report on.









PINS 2013

Last year we decided to venture out of the state and head to the Florida panhandle for the week. Unfortunately the weather was recording record lows and the fishing was completely dead. Once again nothing to report, but at least there was good food and good fellowship.










Thanksgiving Dinner 2014

This year we decided to give the panhandle another try, hoping for better weather and better fishing. Leading up to the trip there were a few reports of red tide in the area and the forecast called for a cold front to push through on the Saturday we were scheduled to arrive, so this kept the expectations pretty low. The good news was that the first day would be the worst day and the conditions were set to improve each day for the rest of our trip. By Monday evening we were settled into the beach houses and finally caught up on our rest from the 12-hour road trip. With nothing on the agenda, Zach and I decided to run a few baits before sunset. We soaked the baits until around midnight, and without a click, we decided to call it a night.

The next morning was Gina's birthday and since it was her day, I asked her, "What would you like to do today?" Her response was no surprise, but it was like music to my ears. "I want to fish." With the green light to fish, Zach and I lugged the gear over the dunes and set up camp. Shortly after setting up our initial spread, like clockwork, Gina came out to take the first run of the trip. On Zach's lucky purple Avet SX, Gina landed a healthy 61" Sandbar. Happy Birthday!









Gina's 61" Sandbar

About an hour later, while I'm out in the kayak trying to catch some bait, I notice a commotion on the beach. Zach is hooked up and I can hear the clicker on his 6/0 as the shark is taking line. I head back in to help land the shark, ditching the kayak at the sandbar to grab the leader. Pulling the shark onto the beach, Zach shouts, "It's a Spinner!" A first for him and with an overall length of 78", that's a really nice shark for his first Spinner.









Zach's 78" Spinner









Another Angle

It wasn't 30 minutes later that Zach's LX got picked up and like a good teammate, he let me have this one. I believe he said something along the lines of, "I've got to keep my bait-launcher happy," meaning I had been running his bait for him since it was cold out and his waders had a hole in them. Nevertheless I was thankful to get on the board with another nice 71.25" Spinner.









Pete's 71.25" Spinner









With a spectator

With three sharks already on the sand, I strongly encouraged my brother Paul (who has never shark fished before) to go and get his fishing license. After hem-hawing around, he finally decides to run down to the bait shop and pick up his license. It was a good thing that he did because it couldn't have been 10 minutes after he returned that my MX got picked up and was taking line. After setting the hook, I reluctantly passed him the rod. (This would be the first shark caught on this particular reel, which happens to be a favorite of mine). It took him a few minutes to get the hang of it, but when he did, it didn't take long to get the shark on the sand. Congratulations Paul on your first shark, a very respectable 74" Spinner that was tagged and released.









Paul's 74" Spinner

Right before sunset, Zach's LX got picked up again and this time, it was Monty's turn. Like a true veteran, Monty made short work of getting the shark on the sand. His 72" Sandbar was tagged and released, capping off a great day of fishing!








Monty's 72" Sandbar

The next day wasn't as successful. The winds had picked up, causing a lot of chop in the water and the bite seemed to have turned off. After soaking baits from most of the day, Zach's LX finally got picked up. Camp scrambled as we tried to get Lisa (Zach's mom) situated to reel this one in. After a valiant effort from Lisa, the awkwardness of the 12' rod and the fight from the shark proved to be too much for her. After the shark crossed several of the other lines, Zach took over the reins and finished the fight. This 80" Sandbar was almost mistaken for a Spinner, until we realized that about 75% of it's dorsal fin had been bitten off! This obviously wasn't a recent injury, as the tissue was completely scarred over, but it shows the resilience of these sharks. Although it was missing the majority of it's dorsal fin, this shark seemed to be completely healthy. It was tagged and released to fight another day.









Lisa & Zach's 80" Sandbar (dorsal fin was bit off)


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## alka144 (May 4, 2010)

Close up of scarring

As dusk drew near, a fellow sharker set up camp a little ways down the beach from us. After chit- chatting with him for a bit, he recommended fishing right at dawn if we wanted to catch the infamous tiger sharks that we've been after. With dinner plans already established in town that night, we packed up camp and headed in. At the dinner table it was pretty obvious what our plan was going to be for the next day - have bait in the water before dawn.

At 4:30 the next morning the alarm clock buzzed and Paul and I headed over the dunes to meet up with Zach and Monty. After deploying some healthy size baits we anxiously waited for one of them to be picked up. Just as the sun was making it's appearance, I thought I saw the rod holding Zach's Avet 50w twitch. "Zach, your 50!" I hollered. At that moment, the clicker on my 50w began to click away. I ran over to the rod and started to take up the slack in the line but I was unable to set the hook. With a fresh shot of adrenaline, I quickly redeployed the bait and it was a good thing that I did, because it didn't take long before the chaos began.

First, my 50w gets picked up again and this time, I'm able to get a good hook set. Paul runs to the house to get Gina and pick up the fighter belt. By the time I get strapped into the belt, Zach's 80w gets picked up! Once I get the shark over the sandbar, I pass the rod to Gina and run for the leader. As I'm pulling the shark to the sand, the 10' jawbone rod that my 80w is mounted to bows over and starts pulling drag. I drop what I'm doing and run to the 80w. I take up the slack in the line and call for back-up. Monty takes the 80w and I return to de-hook and tag this chunky, 83" Sandbar.









Pete's 83" Sandbar









Monty taking over the 80w in the background

As I am releasing my Sandbar, I look over and see that Zach has managed to get his shark into the wade gut. I help him get it to the sand and return to my 80w. Zach's Sandbar taped out at 79.5" and he was able to tag and release it.









Zach's 79.5" Sandbar

Back at my 80w Gina, still in her pajamas, straps into the harness and begins cranking away but unfortunately she doesn't feel anything but the weight.









Wake and Crank

In a matter of 15 minutes we had three out of four rods picked up and managed to get two sharks on the beach.The bite was on and we were in a frenzy to get bait back in the water. I re-ran the three rods that were picked up, plus Zach and I each added another rod and reel into the mix.

Less than 30 minutes after we missed the shark on my 80w, it was picked up again and this time we managed to get a good hook set. It was Gina's turn in the rotation, but she had returned to the house to get dressed for the day, so Paul you're up! He eagerly grabs the fighter belt and takes the reins.









Paul hooked up!

After several good runs, Paul managed to pull the shark over the sandbar. I get to the leader and let out a "Whoo-hoo!" when I see the size of the dorsal fin. This 86" Sandbar would be the biggest of our trip and is the first shark caught on my 80w, which has officially been named "Showboat" by Monty. Congratulations again to Paul! In less than 48 hours you caught your first shark, joined the 6 Ft. Club, caught your second shark, joined the 7 Ft. Club, and did so with two of my reels that I still haven't caught a shark on. Great job!









Paul's 86" Sandbar

About an hour later, I was out in the kayak running another bait when I notice a commotion back at camp and they were running towards my 50w. Just as I was turning around to head back in, I saw a nice shark do a full aerial less than 50 yards from me. Gina, back on the beach and dressed for success, was hooked up and the fight was on. Strapped into her harness, Gina was all smiles as she landed this beauty, an 81" Sandbar.









Gina's 81" Sandbar









And Solo

At this point my back muscles are completely fatigued. After running the 50w back out, cramps in my back set in and I decide to head to the house for some R & R. While I'm away, Zach's 6/0 gets nailed, this behemoth Sandbar taped out at 81" but the most impressive part was its girth. Although we didn't take a measurement, this one was arguably the fattest shark caught this trip. High Five Zach!









Zach's 81" Sandbar


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## alka144 (May 4, 2010)

And Again

After a little rest and a bite to eat, future sharker Lily and I head back down to camp to see how things are going.









Future Sharker Lily

Less than 15 minutes after our arrival at camp, my 80w started singing. After several long runs, it was obvious that this was the caliber of shark that we were here for. I strap into the harness only to get that sinking feeling that the shark had spit the hook. I reel it in and as expected, this was "the one" that got away. The bait, a large chunk of stingray, looked untouched with an exception of two large punctures about 1" long and 1" apart. Although we'll never know what kind of shark was, it was definitely the biggest I've ever hooked into.









Pete Misses a Monster

Since the time I took my break from the action, Zach had taken over the kayaking duties and like a good teammate, he ran my 80w back out for another shot at the big one. Pushing 2:00 pm, it was Zach's turn for some R & R. While he was away, my 4w was picked up by another feisty shark. After dancing my way around, over, under, and through several of the other lines, we were able to land our third 81" Sandbar.









Pete's 81" Sandbar

As the evening started to wind down, so did the fishing. Just before dusk Zach's 80w was picked up and after a short fight, he landed his biggest catch of the trip, an 84" Sandbar.









Zach's 84" Sandbar









One more for good measure

Zach's last Sandbar put our Thanksgiving Day total at 7 sharks, one of Team Shade Hats most productive days ever, and our trip total at 13. We also had several other misses that deserve mentioning, one of which on Zach's 80w that was pulling drag so fast that it was back lashing his reel, and another on my 4w that caused Paul to bend its crank.

We all have so many things to be thankful for and I am so thankful that I get to share these lasting memories with family and friends.










Thanksgiving 2015 Group Photo
Thanks for reading and with the holidays right around the corner, I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Team Shade Hats looks forward to sharing more memories next year in the 2016 fishing season.

Until next time.

-Zach - Team Shade Hats


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## jagarcia10 (Mar 10, 2011)

Looks like a great Thanksgiving. Thanks for sharing!


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## sharkchum (Feb 10, 2012)

Great report and pics. Well done.


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## 535 (May 23, 2004)

great report! thanks for sharing


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## shadslinger (Aug 21, 2005)

A fine shark trip, thanks for sharing!


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## Paleo Dave (Jul 10, 2006)

Great Trip and report. Really cool catch with the Sandbar that was missing his dorsal fin!


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## Runway (Feb 6, 2005)

Great report. I'm not in to sharks , but can really appreciate the effort and skill involved.


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## [email protected] (Jan 14, 2005)

Sweet fish!


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