A Sunday Out On The Water

The early bird gets the worm

The early birds getting the worms 

Spiritual moments.....If you look real careful, the shape of the clouds resemble that of a Thresher.  

After a very, very long battle, I was finally able to bring this bad boy to shore.  His length was 10'4", half was tail of course.  Based on length, girth, and recent weighed catch comparisons, we guestimated the fish to be somewhere around 230+ lbs.
   
Driving from Malibu to SF Valley was  interesting The drive home earned one or two double takes from onlookers.
  
Time to clean Even at 6'2" Jas looks small next to the tail
 

This Thresher was caught (by Jason Morton), Sunday September 23, 2001.  I was using 20# Stren with 2ft of 48# soft steel leader crimped at the hook.  I was using my Newell loaded w/ about 400 yards, attached to my Penn Sabre 7ft (20-50lb).  I fly lined a live mackerel with an Owner Gorilla 4/0 hook.
The battle lasted over 3 hours, with special care being given to the light tackle.  The shark took me in and out of rolling fog banks which made me thankful I had my flush mount Ritchie compass.  Having Sonar helps you determine of course how far you've been taken out.
I tied the tail to the back of my yak, threw some home made floats around the neck area, and began my 2+ hour paddle back to shore.  It was the toughest paddle of my life.  I tried numerous times to get him on board, but I just couldn't do it after that long battle.  I managed to beach us a couple of miles down the road from my original launch site..  I made deputies out of 2 tourists from Spain. They watched over my gear and fish while I walked back to my car.  As if I needed anymore exercise that day.
The shark was lugged on to the Honda for the drive through Malibu Canyon.  The fish was cleaned, processed and bagged for the family. 

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