first BTB rig trip(PIC HEAVY) Solo

[SharkBait >*)\\\><(]

woke up and checked the bob hall webcam..saw everything i needed to see so i started getting my gear together...

took my daughter to school then headed to bob hall..

took a while to figure the best way through the surf, ended up making it out about 200yard north of the pier..the south side was nasty..

i will admit the valleys between waves was pretty unnerving as i headed to the bob hall pier standpipe.. took most of my energy to make it definitely wasn't a joy ride




had my first moment of terror when i anchored up current of the rig and my anchor didn't hold...got the anchor up in time before i went into the rig





went around to the down current side of the rig grabbed the knotted rope hanging from the rig and tied to that



got that 18inch bluefish measured it cause i though it might make KW points

i took menhaden, ballyhoo, a frozen ladyfish for bait as well as sabikis



most of my bites were on cut ballyhoo

i was using a sabiki, i had two bumper shad on, when a big jack chased them to the yak from the rig... i tried the bumper shad for a while both on mono and wire..went to cut ballyhoo i threw next to the rig and SMACK huge cobia(way over 40pounds) grabbed it and headed in the rig..

got my next moment of terror when the cobia was draggin me into the rig and nearly flipping my yak, i was leaning hard the opposite way..was using a fin nor spinner with 40lb braid, i managed to get it out of the rig but broke it off when i tried to stop it from going back in.. my braid had rubbed on the rig when it got in there the first time..



got two of these little snapper..

the second one came up without a tail and its air bladder needed to be deflated...

ended up putting it on my king rod with a balloon and drifting it down current..

kept checking the time, i had to be there to pick up my daughter from school at 2:00pm

was just about to untie from the rig and start paddling in, when the snapper gets eaten big time



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last terror moment when i finally see the shark and realize it isn't the 80pound cobia i was hoping for, and i couldn't find any of my gloves this morning

got my 7foot rod along its back it was over 7foot. my weight guess is still around 300pounds...not sure what species of shark it is, may not be the bull shark i thought it was, but then again it could be...









he hit the bottom of the yak a few times, and occasionally gave screaming runs into the depths













not sure what kayak wars needs for a picture for a shark, i did my best 30KW points

got a few bad line cuts grabbing wire leader without gloves...



the terminal gear in its mouth is a 80pound spro swivel hay wire twisted to 69pound tooth proof stainless steel wire with two 5/0 owner offset circle hooks

my rod was a ugly stick and fin nor sportfisher 80 with 40pound mono on it...i love 40lb mono i have caught more than a few fish over a hundred pounds on it

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just after cutting the wire on the shark....took a minute to get the shark ready to go, but it swam away good..the shark dragged me over half a mile down current from the rig, i paddled back to the rig to get my rope i cut off when the shark bit, and paddle my supple bum off to make it to pick up my daughter

thank you ocean for not killing me, thank you shark for not eating me


bob hall from far away
the journey home wasn't as bad the ocean actually calmed down some though i did have some water in the yak so i was a little heavy




bob hall a little closer



watching a jack get gaffed on bob hall, Harvey had a tarpon eat his slide

i shot the pier on the way in and surfed a couple of waves

got sick doin the report sorry for any typos, you know your a fishermen when you get landsick lol

till next time

[SharkBait >*)\\\><(]

this is why i dont fish specifically for sharks he is looking right at me to remember me


first big shark since i got shot 3years ago

[eclipse504]

Let me be the first to say, AWESOME TRIP BROTHER!

[fishnv]

Awesome trip. Love the photo of the shark dragging you out to the other three rigs...to bad you had to pick up the kiddie...you could of got a free 3 mile ride all the way out there!

[Earth's End Kayaker]

Some day on the water Sharkbait!!!...
I'm guessing the shark was a very big bull.... DAMN !
Great pictures and thanks for sharing the adventures!!!!

You think he was able to eat that snapper after you sent him a swimming?



Best regards,
EEK

[SharkBait >*)\\\><(]

You think he was able to eat that snapper after you sent him a swimming?

i think he swallowed it right off the bat i never set the hook..i was focused on the rig and i started moving as it ran..he was in good shape when i let him go..i don't think he thought he was getting away alive...


thanks guys cant wait to get back out there

[addicted2fishing]

Is that the wildy 140 or 160 you riding on?Good report,seems like its gonna be a great year for BTB.

[sheriff_john]

Looks like a wild trip!

[fishgutz]

Killer pics!!!! Glad you made it back to share them!!! Looks like it was a blast and a little spooky at times. Bet you had some good stories to tell to your daughter when you picked her up..

[SharkBait >*)\\\><(]

Is that the wildy 140 or 160 you riding on?Good report,seems like its gonna be a great year for BTB.

its a tarpon100

i definitely have some room to improve my technique
hoping to make it out again with a buddy soon hopefully the kings are there next time

[PhuKing]

Nice report SB! So how can you tell if it's good Togo or not by looking at the bob hall cam? What other site can you check the wind and surf..? Bet you got really excited when that ling hit. Man I'm itching more than ever!!!

[SharkBait >*)\\\><(]

Nice report SB! So how can you tell if it's good Togo or not by looking at the bob hall cam? What other site can you check the wind and surf..? Bet you got really excited when that ling hit. Man I'm itching more than ever!!!

there wernt any waves in site on the webcam at around 7:00am things were different by the time i got i out there

i was in way more danger with that cobia than the shark, the cobia tried to take me through the rig sideways with half my yak underwater....CRAZY

the shark was pretty nice really

[SharkBait >*)\\\><(]

http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/fin ... uery=78418

http://www.windfinder.com/forecast/corpus_christi_nas

http://www.tides4fishing.com/us/texas/port-aransas

http://www.swellinfo.com/surf-forecast/ ... texas.html

http://28storms.com/
some of the sites i look at

[MONSTER]

Awesome shark...and great report. That thing is a monster.

I know there has been some friction between BTBers lately because some don't like being told how to fish (or how not to), but is it legal to use snapper as bait? I could be wrong, but I think it's illegal. Not trying to play Jr. Game Warden....just don't want to see you get in trouble. I'll just assume that by snapper, you meant mullet.

Thanks for sharing. Looks like a great day on the water.

[SharkBait >*)\\\><(]

yes its illigal i knew it was illegal...i just decided to use it for bait instead of letting it flout away with no tail(got bit off when i caught it) and full air bladder

[Boomy]

Pretty sure I heard mullet too and saw some random rewrite. Funny what these hitech gizmos do on their own sometimes....

[Prof. Salt]

Wow man, you're making me feel bad for not watching the webcam closer. If I wasn't so covered up at work I would have volunteered to tag along. I haven't caught a nice Bull yet (a little jealous) but then again sharks can be tricky at the boat. Nice Ling action, that's what happened to me last time. For a new guy, you had a nice trip. I'm glad the seas stayed nice for you and you had some nice success.

Sharkbait, as an experienced BTBer I can tell you that the bait the shark ate was a Red Mullet, no doubt about it! It can be confusing sometimes out there. Last summer I lost a huge King on a 24" ribbonfish that looked suspiciously like a Smack to the untrained eye.

Sounds like you have spiked a fever for BTB! Let's get out there at the next window.

[SharkBait >*)\\\><(]

sounds good man, A/T and i are talking about giving it a shot monday or tuesday if the surf cooperates..not too sure if i can paddle further than that though

[addicted2fishing]

Yall see all them sea weed in the back ground.Trolling is gonna be a pain in the arse.Bring lots of ribbon fish and balloons.

[MONSTER]

Wow man, you're making me feel bad for not watching the webcam closer. If I wasn't so covered up at work I would have volunteered to tag along. I haven't caught a nice Bull yet (a little jealous) but then again sharks can be tricky at the boat. Nice Ling action, that's what happened to me last time. For a new guy, you had a nice trip. I'm glad the seas stayed nice for you and you had some nice success.

Sharkbait, as an experienced BTBer I can tell you that the bait the shark ate was a Red Mullet, no doubt about it! It can be confusing sometimes out there. Last summer I lost a huge King on a 24" ribbonfish that looked suspiciously like a Smack to the untrained eye.

Sounds like you have spiked a fever for BTB! Let's get out there at the next window.

The glare out on the water can be unforgiving....and quite confusing. Red and white can look like silver and black.....or so I hear. Hell...once my fishing license looked exactly like my subway sandwich value card. I went home, crawled into bed, and self medicated with Bud Light....was right as rain in the morning.

[Prof. Salt]

Let me know SB... I might have to come down with something (cough). Tino gets all the KW points in the bay, it would be a shame to let him show me up in the gulf too. Paddling BTB is not like in the bays, but as long as you don't get in a hurry it's not bad. The swells looked pretty big - how was the surf coming in?

Confession time: A few years ago before I had my yak, I took my 17' aluminum canoe BTB to the 5-mile rigs off Mustang (solo). Caught a 7 1/2' Spinner shark and he dragged me a mile and a half North, then I turned him and he took me back to where I hooked him. That was nuts! And stupid! Do NOT go BTB in a canoe. My trip was awesome, but in retrospect not the safest of ideas.

[fishnv]

Defiantly a Red Rig Mullet, seen them many times....Sharkbait you should bone up on your fish I.D. skills!

[fisher4life]

Cant wait to get out there just got to get a free day and good weather.how far is that rig?i hear alot of diffrent answers

[AO2000]

Very nice! Great job..

[RedWolf]

Pretty sure I heard mullet too and saw some random rewrite. Funny what these hitech gizmos do on their own sometimes....

Actually kind of looked like a vermillion snapper (beeliner) which are legal to use as bait.......