From the Keynoter:
An Islamorada charter trip last week went from a usual winter day of catching sailfish to a heart-stopping battle with a leaping 10-foot mako shark.
The mako won the first battle by dispatching one of the hooked sails, but the anglers eventually won the war by reeling in the shark as the biggest catch of the day.
The action occurred last Thursday aboard the Relentless captained by Paul Ross. He, mate Jim Hendrix and a charter group from New York had already caught nearly half-a-dozen sails in about 90 feet of water before the mako showed up.
“We had a double-header on and one of the sailfish was 30 feet from the boat when all of a sudden a mako skyrocketed out of the water, about 25 feet in the air," Ross said. “He missed one and then missed it again. The third time he jumped in the air with the sailfish in his mouth."
Ross said the angler pulled what was left of the sailfish alongside the boat, but the shark was still chewing on the billfish.
“Everybody ran into the cabin," Ross said. “They were worried the mako would jump right into the boat."
Hendrix quickly rigged a dead bonito with 80-pound test and dropped it right into the mouth of the mako. About 10 minutes, and six gaffs later, the mako was in the boat.
“As a teenager, I used to catch them a lot down here. They were rare for a while, but they're starting to come back with no more long-line fishing," said Ross, 34.
The most notable recent mako catch was an 850-pound monster brought in to Bud N' Mary's Marina in May 2008.
Ross said it's good to see the species rebound, as they present a rewarding fight and excellent table fare.
“Everyone at the dock got some mako to eat," he said.
An Islamorada charter trip last week went from a usual winter day of catching sailfish to a heart-stopping battle with a leaping 10-foot mako shark.
The mako won the first battle by dispatching one of the hooked sails, but the anglers eventually won the war by reeling in the shark as the biggest catch of the day.
The action occurred last Thursday aboard the Relentless captained by Paul Ross. He, mate Jim Hendrix and a charter group from New York had already caught nearly half-a-dozen sails in about 90 feet of water before the mako showed up.
“We had a double-header on and one of the sailfish was 30 feet from the boat when all of a sudden a mako skyrocketed out of the water, about 25 feet in the air," Ross said. “He missed one and then missed it again. The third time he jumped in the air with the sailfish in his mouth."
Ross said the angler pulled what was left of the sailfish alongside the boat, but the shark was still chewing on the billfish.
“Everybody ran into the cabin," Ross said. “They were worried the mako would jump right into the boat."
Hendrix quickly rigged a dead bonito with 80-pound test and dropped it right into the mouth of the mako. About 10 minutes, and six gaffs later, the mako was in the boat.
“As a teenager, I used to catch them a lot down here. They were rare for a while, but they're starting to come back with no more long-line fishing," said Ross, 34.
The most notable recent mako catch was an 850-pound monster brought in to Bud N' Mary's Marina in May 2008.
Ross said it's good to see the species rebound, as they present a rewarding fight and excellent table fare.
“Everyone at the dock got some mako to eat," he said.