The two female tourists from the Midwest weren’t sure what to make of the situation. There were lots of fishing rods, equipment everywhere, and a bunch of guys doing stuff around what looked like a camp on the beach. Then there was that flagpole flying the stars and stripes, a skull & crossbones, and a 3rd flag broadcasting the silhouette of a shark. Is it possible they’re fishing for…nah, can’t be. Doesn’t make sense. You’ve gotta be in a boat to catch THOSE kinds of fish. Others were scratching their heads too, but these guys just continued about their business while a few of them pulled numerous fish from the surf. Other anglers just down the beach looked on in frustration wondering if their luck would change if they just made the wade 15 or 20 yards into the gulf like those other guys. But then they’d have to get wet and what if they stepped on a stingray or got stung by a jellyfish. Better stay on the beach. Those other guys are just getting lucky, anyway.

I heard a definition of luck one time, “when preparation meets opportunity”. We had been preparing for that day for a long time. And with the perfect conditions, great baits, and all day and night ahead of us, the opportunity seemed to be presenting itself. It was the first year of seriously pursuing a sport called 'Land-Based Shark Fishing'. We had some modest success throughout the year, but it was only enough to make us want more, bigger, faster. Little did we know, on this night, we would feed and capture 5 sharks of 3 different species, release 8 and keep 1 for the table. I know…do the math. Just bear with me, and it’ll add up in a few minutes.

After setting up camp and catching some bait during the afternoon, we were eager to soak some sizable ladyfish 50 – 200 or so yards off the sand. The timing felt right with about 45 minutes left till sunset and the tide turning our way. The primary structure features we had to work with would be the 1st and 2nd sandbars. After some of the heavy storms that year, the first bar was only out about 50 yards out so we decided to place a lady just on the far side of it in the first gut. The other two would be just on the other side of the second bar that was approximately 150 yards out. Both bars ran straight down the beach without any detectable breaks, but that’s what we had to work with and we were committed to drop. Tom Trojanowski and I would each run Shimano 6500B’s on 15’ Ugly Sticks and a trusty Penn 309 level wind on a short boat rod would be manned by Ray Reeves until Tom Larkin arrived. Ray was down from Orlando and this was his first trip with the club so he was anxious to see what we were talking about. This equipment may seem on the light side, and it was. At the time, we thought it would be interesting to push the limits of lighter tackle in this sport. Plus we were trying to save money and still catch fish. After that season and some big fish lost, we realized the need to step it up. For this trip, anyway, the 30# gear was a fun ride.

While I prepped the kayak for the bait drop, the mid western tourists came around camp again so my brother Brooks broke the ice and started addressing their curiosity. When I walked over to test the walkie-talkies, both young ladies turned in my direction and attempted to convince me of the absence of sharks in the Gulf of Mexico. They were nice enough, but needed some education, and Brooks recommended they stick around a while -- just in case. By this time, the beach was packed with sunset watchers and we were ready to drop baits and enjoy the show with them. We also had the ritual sunset ceremony to conduct, and according to ancient clubhouse tradition, this must be completed before the great ball of fire sinks beneath the sea.

Three bait drops, a beautiful gulf sunset later, and it was time to wait. This night it wouldn’t be long. At 7:10, about 30 minutes after the drops, my 6500 starts to sing. It was an impressive non-stop run straight for the horizon. After about 20 seconds and nearly half of the 600 or so yards of PowerPro on the reel paid out, I activated the primary drag and stuck it to ‘em. The fish immediately changed direction to the north, but didn’t slow down. Daryl grabbed a spotlight and our release kit and we started walking. Just as I took my first step, a commotion erupts on the other side of camp. I hear Tom screaming, “Fish On!” His rig is going off just like mine did. A DOUBLE HOOKUP! The adrenaline increases it's flow as the Penn strike alarm on Ray’s 309 joins the party. NOW IT'S A TRIPLE!

Just then, I hear Tom performing a selection of profanity’s greatest hits from down the beach. Appears we’ve been downgraded to a double. We’ll take it. I’m gaining the upper hand by this time and I can see something in the spotlight. What’s with its fin? After I hand off my rig to Daryl, leader my fish and bring it in for a pit stop it seems my leader might’ve cut a sizeable chunk out of his dorsal somehow. I feel bad. I mean, come on. If you’re a shark, anything but the dorsal fin, right? Upon closer inspection it’s an old, healed wound. We document and release the 5’ 6” female blacktip. By now, we’ve got a sizable crowd of tourists and beach goers watching the action and it’s starting to feel like Sea World.

As I turn around to step back on the beach, right behind me in the surf is another shark. I had forgotten all about Ray’s fish! Being his first time, it sort of got away from him. It was getting darker now so he wasn’t sure where it was. All he knew is it was taking him for a walk down the beach and he wasn’t doing any of that releasing stuff on his own so he was looking for me to help him. Close call. We land and successfully release his female 4’ 8” blacktip; his first shark. Let’s hear it for Ray, boys and girls!

We congratulate each other, gather our gear, and head back to camp. It’s time to re-rig and hopefully do it again. Our new tourist friends can’t believe what they just saw. They go on and on and on about how they swam that beach all day – WAY OUT THERE – and these sharks were swimming around!? They both swear off ocean swimming for life. We say that’s not necessary, but it does no good and now they want to hang around and see more action. They would talk continuously for the next several hours.

By about 9:00pm we’ve served a fresh round of ladies and jacks for the second course. Although, the club is gunning for the double-digit club in overall length of fish, we were happy with the action so far. At the time, we’d have been satisfied with one of those sharks anytime and we had landed and released two and another one got off after a brief triple hookup -- all in under an hour. Like I said…we were pretty excited to see what would happen next. Talk eventually turned to the skinny ladyfish we rigged Tom Larkin with on the second drop. That or a decent sized frozen mullet was the choice. Fresh –vs- frozen. I rigged the little lady for him and there was more hook than bait when I was done. It was kinda sad; just two 12/0 Mustads and not much else. Then it was dropped less than 50 yards out in the wade gut. Just the way he wanted it. Another 45 minutes or so passed and just when our tourist friends were close to being voted out of the tribe, they were saved by the bell.

Tom’s 309 turned on. This run was very different than the previous three. We knew it was a close drop with that 12” ladyfish so everyone’s curiosity was peaked. It was something of size and it was not a blacktip. This fish was running down the beach to the south unlike the previous three. Tom was on his rig immediately and began slowly tuning the star drag before applying his hook set. Tom’s an experienced angler and wanted to budget the 350 yards of 30# mono carefully. If this stronger fish decided to head for the horizon, it might be over before it started. But Tom stood his ground and turned the fish several times from left to right. Ten minutes or so into this, and one of the Shimanos goes off. Another double hook up? Not so. After a blistering run and hook set the line snaps. A closer look showed a cleanly cut leader. Damn. Fortunately, Tom’s still with his fish and doesn’t want to take a chance. After about 20 minutes, he recommends we put an end to the light tackle shenanigans. Headshakes were becoming frequent and the fish’s movements more erratic. It was giving him the business and Tom didn’t want to end up with a free supply of mystery meat. Finally, the spotlight shows us something large inside the wade gut heading north. I don’t see the head at first, but it’s a hefty fish with two similarly sized dorsal fins. A nurse? No way. Not after 25 minutes. Say it isn’t so. Daryl spots the head for us. A lemon! That’s better; and a nice one at that.

I gloved up and leadered the fish. A perfectly timed wave helped with the rest. It came out higher on the sand than we liked, but we would work quickly. The hook placement was perfect right in the corner of the mouth. After a couple quick pics, and some hardware removal, it was time to send him home. Brooks would accompany me on the release. It was a great feeling to handle a fish this size; a 7’ 9.5” male pushing 300lb. We got him pointed into the current in about knee-deep water, and it appeared he was in fine condition. Brooks was right behind me managing the caudal fin whiled I kept it aimed upstream handling it behind and under the pectoral fins. There were a few tense moments when the fish started to kick just as the spotlight blacked out on us. It’s one thing to be in the water with a fish that size when you can see it, but in the dark, it’s all your body hair at full mast if you know what I mean. Finally, the fish started with good side to side motion. We both slid our hands down it’s solid mass to the very tip of the caudal fin as it steadily motored toward the first bar where it was just a phosphorescent glow…then nothing. Tom accepted his appointment as the club record-holder for largest fish to date and our tourist friends were speechless for the first time in nearly two hours. At that point, we all agreed it would be acceptable to call it a night, but we still had a ladyfish and a mack soaking and a mullet left we could throw out on the 309. We decided to stay a while.

About 5 minutes after releasing the lemon, we hear some drunken laughter and splashing in the surf just to the north of camp. It sounded like a bunch of people swimming. We walk up and sure enough, there’s 3 guys out there goofing around in their clothes while their wives stood on the beach egging them on. We didn’t want to rain on anyone’s parade, but had a responsibility to tell them what we were up to and that we just released a large predator down the beach that did swim in their general direction. They didn’t believe us so I showed the wives pictures on the digital camera. They still don’t believe us and said, “There’s not sharks that big in the Gulf of Mexico. Those pictures are from the tv or something.” After pointing out the clothes we were wearing and those worn in the pictures, it sunk in. The women ordered their husbands back to the sand where they proceeded to brag about swimming with sharks on their vacation in Florida.

An hour later, we’re starting to pack up when Tom Trojanowski’s rig goes off again. This is something small, but we’re ok with that. Turns out to be a little female brown of about 3’ 4”, and she’s gobbled down the entire Spanish mackerel that was well over half her body length. She’s definitely gut-hooked so we’ll be taking her home and nothing will go to waste. After dispatching her, I begin the field dressing and am surprised to see movement inside. She’s pregnant. I quickly and carefully remove four very lively pups and cut the umbilical cords close. Then a few of the guys got them into the water where they swam off like perfect little versions of the mother. I never delivered a baby before, and we’ll never know what became of these pups, but it was a good experience for the club. We figured it an even exchange for the one we would take home with us. By the way, after soaking it in ice and Pepsi over night, that shark made a tasty meal for about 10 of us the next day.

So are we done yet? Not quite. The 309 goes off right around midnight and it’s Daryl’s turn on that rig. Again, it’s not a monster, but it’s going to be his first shark and we couldn’t be happier for him. A short time later, Daryl comes face to face with a female blacktip of about 3’ 6”. After some quick pics, he gets to release her. Congrats to Daryl on his first.

Now we are done. It was a good day for the club. In just about 4 hours of land-based shark fishing, we fed and captured 5 sharks of three different species, released eight ranging in size from about 12 inches to nearly 8 feet, and we kept one for the table. At the same time, we made believers out of some tourists and enjoyed the great outdoors with some close family and friends. When it's all said and done,that last part is what it’s really all about.