The next day we stacked up on bait and got into some fish during magic hour before and after sunset. It started out with my 12/0 getting slammed and after a nice fight filled with headshakes we pulled a 7′1″ bull shark onto the sand.


I send the 12 back out there and it gets nailed again and this time we got a smaller 6′1″ bull on the beach.


After the sun had disappeared from the sky each of picked up a blacktip. The action was starting to heat up!
My blacktip

Eric’s blacktip

Jake’s bt

The next day was a day none of us will forget. It started out just like any other but that all changed when my lucky 9/0 gets hit hard in the hours before sunset. When i first set the hook i knew i was hooked up good but it didnt feel like anything special. Less than 10 seconds later i quickly realized i was into something huge when the 50lb test line started to steadily come off my reel. Jake turns the video camera on and the line keeps getting pulled out to sea. I lock down my 9/0 but it doesnt slow down the fish and i start to worry as im down to half of my spool.

I could feel this fishes tremendous weight and its tail just kicking away as there was less and less line on my reel. There wasnt a thing i could do so i started thumbing the spool in an effort the slow the fish. WE start moving down the beach to chase after the fish. The drag was overheating so bad that the left side plate was hot. I knew i was in some serious trouble and this fish just kept heading out to deep water. I felt extremely helpless as this fish had taken more than 400yds and by now i had less than a hundred yards of line left and instead of going along the beach the fish decides to head straight back out. I screamed to Eric that hes got to get his 9/0 over here and we might have to tie lines together to prevent getting spooled. Right as I say that the fish picks up speed and now i really start to panic, Eric’s sprinting to get his 9/0, while Jake’s filming the madness. Eric brings the 9/0 we get ourselves ready to have to tie lines. Jakes got a t-shirt to hold the line with, Eric tied on a snap swivel to his 9/0 while i fought the fish away from the water up the beach. Suddenly, out of nowhere, the fish slows a touch and i feel it turn!!! You cant even imagine how happy i was! I get some cranks in and pack on the little line it gives me. I know if the fish decides to head deep it can all come to an end so i know not to get comfortable.

I continue to take what i can but the fish pulls more line off and thats when i knew that the only way i had a chance was to sprint down the beach as much as i could and pack on as much line as possible. So i was off to the races packing it on. I didnt wear a bucket harness so i could move quickly without restriction. My arms felt like jello and there was more than 500yds of line out in the water. I started to gain some line on my sprints down the beach as the fish seemed committed to heading right as opposed to straight out like it was when it nearly spooled me several times.

The rest of the fight consisted of steady runs by the fish and fast sprints by me packing on line. After an hour of this i was back up to close to half the spool. I kept hammering the fish and kept gaining until i was fighting the fish straight on out past the 1st bar. Everytime i get the fish to the bar it heads back out until finally we get a glimpse of the fish. We see a huge wake and a good sized fin in the waves and it sort of looks like a bull. Its still out a good ways and we cant see for sure what we are dealing with until i work it in closer when we see the tail and dorsal we see we got a true monster on our hands. The tail doesnt look like a bull and dorsal looks less and less like a bull as we get it in closer but at twilight its hard to focus. I get the fish in to the gut and it stays deep as its high tide. Eric goes out there to leader the fish and as he does that we get the first good look at it and Eric and I both scream TIGER!

With no tail rope Eric gets an angle on the fish and grabs the Tiger by the tail and starts to wrestle it to the beach. Not many people would just go into 3-4ft deep water with a monster tiger shark and then grab it without hesitation. Major props go out to Eric on a job well done! In the waist deep wade gut this Tiger is clearly going to give us trouble. I take my 9/0 throw it in freespool clicker and throw it up the beach like a javelin and grab the Tigers tail as we struggle to keep our hands on her. Jake puts down the camera and the three of us man handle the fish as much out of the water as we can. The tail is kicking and i got shark rash all up and down my legs trying to stop her from getting back into the gut.

She measured 11′2″ and looked pregnant. She was the most beautiful shark i have ever seen. The girth was out of this world and the stripes as vivid as could be. I will never forget how thick the tail was! We couldnt get a hold on her! Just down from the fork the tail was as thick as a good sized log.

With no lights the camera was having trouble focusing and the pictures came out blurry with the flash on and off. All things considered being a 1/2 mile down the beach i cant complain!

She was hooked right in the corner of the mouth and i got the hook out and we pulled/pushed her back into the gut where i dragged her dtowards the cut in the bars where i turned her and pointed her head out and i gave her a shove and off she went! You cant ask for a better catch and release!

My first Tiger and personal best:

We have over 1 hour of HD video of the fight and landing of this beast! Coming soon…

Next day, Jake starts it off with a blacktip.


We stack up on bait and get ready for sunset. I catch and release a blacktip and soon after Eric’s 9/0 gets hit hard! He sets up and starts working the fish. A nice fight filled with zzzzzzz, head shakes and a true hatred for sand bars we get this 6′11″ bull onto the sand.



We had a few more runs but couldnt capitalize and called it a night.

The next day brought good conditions and we started getting into the fish when my 12/0 takes off at sunset. I set up and we hear a good bit of zzzzzzz on the intial run. I fight the fish and work it in closer until it gets to the bar and the fish turns on the afterburner. I get the shark over the bar and we see its a nice 7′plus bull and im real excited if it beats my personal best bull shark i caught last june which was 7′7″. Eric once again gets in there and grabs this nice bull by the tail and i set down my rod and get in there and help him out. The shark tapes out at just over 7′8″. A new personal best on a pretty fish.




Then i send her on her way as if nothing happened.

After the sun sets Eric’s 9/0 takes a short run and slacks up. He picks up the rod and starts cranking away trying to catch up to the fish. When he does catch up it goes instantly from slack to a blistering run. It happened so quick i thought he still had the reel in free spool! The fish rips line off the reel and punishes Eric with some mean headshakes! He slowly starts gaining on the fish but there are many times during the fight where he cant budge whats on the other end. After a half hour he starts packing line on the reel and after another 10 minutes or so we get to see what we are dealing with, a BIG Bull! I get out there and grab her and then get help from Eric. We got the hook out and and safely released her. She measured out at a solid 7′10″ with an awesome girth! Big congratulations go to Eric on a beastly bull and a new personal best!

After a while my 14/0 slacks up a bit and i cant get it to sit so i start reeling it in but its seems a lot heavier than it should. When i get to the sand bar i start feeling a fish pulling pretty hard and the i get some line pulled off the reel and im sitting there thinking “what the…?”

I quickly work the fish over the bar and get it into the first gut and we can see the rolling body of a big nurse shark. Measured at 8′1″and safely released. Of course i was given a nurse on the 14/0 and the 11′ tiger on the 9/0. Figures!

Soon after, Jake sets up on a fish on his 9/0 and after a short fight he gets in another blacktip.

The next day the good fishing continues when just before sunset i set up on a good fish on the 12/0. Zips some line off and then i put the heat on it. I keep hammering the fish until i get it to the sand bar where i see the two big dorsals and i knew it was my first lemon. It put on quite a display at the surface on the inside gut shaking its head. She measured out to be 8′7″ and after i got the hook out i dragged her back in and off she went.

Jake adds a 6′ bull after dark and I add another blacktip.

The next day we were stud hunting and in the end we missed a couple big fish but the only shark we landed was a small blacktip that i caught.

Jake managed to supply us with some fresh ray he got in the morning and after a quiet day the action starts at night with Jake landing a bt.

Then things got really interesting when Eric’s 9/0 gets hit. He sets up on the fish and after a slow first few econds the fish is steadily spooling his reel!!! Immovable weight and steady runs had us all convinced we were into big Tiger # 2. I grabbed my 9/0 and had it at the ready for back up because the spool was dangerously low on line as we started down the beach trying to catch up to the fish. On locked drag the whole time Eric managed to turn the fish just in time! We were all so pumped that he turned that fish! He slowly worked and worked that fish and after an hour or so he was making progress although the fish was still pulling off steady runs quite frequently. He packed the reel and after an hour and a half or so the fish was no more than 75 yds out. I was getting ready to have to grab the monster when all of a sudden Eric’s rod tip skipped a couple times and the line broke!!! Heartbreak! The line was seen visibly skipping across the shell covered bar and it gave out! There was a moment of silence and we slowly got everything together and headed back towards camp. I have to say that Eric played that fight as well as anyone coupld possibly have done so. He did everything right and its terrible that i came down to something completely out of his control. He still deserves praise as he turned a monster and worked it back in hundreds of yards.


That was a painful ending to the night…

The fishing slowed due to stormy conditions for a couple days and we worked a slow pick of fish.
Heres one of Eric’s BTs

A nice 6′1″ bull Jake caught



And yet another small blacktip that i caught

The conditions picked up after a couple days and we were into some crazy fishing for smacks, ladys, blues and bluerunners. We had a topwater bonanza for nearly 4 hours! We lost several dozen lures as the smacks were just hitting our swivels, knots and even just the line itself. We loaded up on bait and looked forward to the coming days.

Eric unfortunately had to drive back to NY because of lifeguard duty on Long Island so Jake and I were left as a two man crew. The day Eric leaves, Jake hooks up on the 14/0 and we knew he was into something big. Heavy weight and brutal head shakes had us thinking big bull. Some sizzling runs near the bar and Jake pounds the fish on extremely tight drag. We see the fin and we got ourselves a monster bull not wanting any part of the shallows. I set up the video camera on the tripod grab the release bag bring it up to waters edge, get the tail rope out and go one on one with the big bull. Everytime i got close to getting near the tail it would turn as fast as a 4 ft blacktip and tear through thhe water like a giant submarine ripping drag off the 14/0. When i got my hands on it the first time i saw the massive girth and i was in shock! I finally gave up on the tail rope, grabbed it by the tail got her belly on resting on the shallows because of low tide and then roped her. We both got on the rope and dragged her up to where she couldnt find her way back in. A monster bull at just over 8ft in length with an astonishing girth! Congrats to Jake who stuck with it all trip working his way thorugh 5-6ft fish and finally getting that trophy and new personal best! A safe release made it that much more special.

Less than a half hour after we released the bull my 9/0(which hadnt been used since the Tiger) starts to scream as loud as a lawn mower. As i ran over to the rod i already knew i was dealing with a monster hammer. I picked up the rod turned the star and was hooked up but the fish seemed like it didnt even feel it! Line starts pouring off my reel at a speed i have never even thought possible. It was faster and stronger than the 8′8″ hammer i got last August and quickly put any fish i have ever hooked into to shame! We didnt even have time to get the camera! I was lost a couple hundred yards in 2 minutes and and i screamed to Jake to get a back up rod. He grabbed my 12/0 ran over to me and we just watched my lucky 9/0 get dumped on locked drag with my thumb on the spool. I burned my hand on the star and the whole reel started overheating badly! Before we knew what hit us i was down to the very very bottom of my spool when my line broke due to abrasion! We were in complete awe of what just happened. I was speechless. The clicker was so loud that Jake couldnt understand what i was saying to him when he was standing close by! I reeled up my line and officially put the 9/0 in retirement. Jake walks up to me and says, ” I think you outgrew your 9/0″ and just walks away. I will never forget how powerful that fish was. It was a brutal reminder why i have a 14/0. Hopefully next time i hook a fish like that its on the 14/0 and it would be a fair fight!

Later that night Jake added a 6′2″ bull to the tally!

After that day all we did was stud hunt for the last few days on the beach. We had a few pick ups that were monster fish but somehow they managed to find their way off our hooks!!!

We did managed a couple more sharks. One was Jakes first ever nurse shark which he caught on a 9/0 and it measured 7′2″

And the final blacktip i caught

To summarize this trip in words is really hard to do because so much of it cant possibly be described in detail in one report. Although we missed and lost some big fish we did land a good share. We accomplished our goals and each got numerous personal bests. We stopped fishing for blacktips after the third day so who knows how many of those we could have caught if we targeted them! We finished off the trip with 27 sharks. Its hard to beat times like those with great friends! Thanks Jake and Eric for an incredible trip im sure non of us will forget!

Thanks to everyone on the site that has helped us get ready for this trip with a special thanks going to Deaver, Lasharkhunter, and Zach from Team Rebel

Final tally:

13 blacktips, 2 nurses, 9 bulls: 4 of which were over 7ft and one at 8ft, 8′7 Lemon and the 11′2″ Tiger

Matt

We see the sickle fin in the surf and the giant Hammerhead hits the beach and tapes out at a very healthy 11’9”. We work quickly and thanks to Heath’s help we are able to get her back in the water and on her way.

Once again, I would like to thank Heath and Tara both for their help in our time of need. With Jake hurting pretty bad it would have been nearly impossible for us to handle the situation on our own. Heath went and got Jake some painkillers while we stayed on the beach. Heath and Tara both went above and beyond and it would be a pleasure to spend time on the beach with them anytime in the future.

The next night I add a BT.

My dad joins us and we only have energy to fish for a couple hours but we get three BTs for our efforts.
Jake’s BT

Dad’s first BT of the night

Dad’s second BT of the night

I spear a giant 50lb ray the next day.

We get into some nice bulls.
Here’s a 6’9” I caught

I caught another healthy one going 6’11”

Now I never thought I would say this but, shortly after that fish I hooked and lost an 8’ bull to a full speed freight train of a jump. I had heard rare stories of big bulls jumping but I had never seen it in person. It is quite a sight. I was disappointed because that was definitely my personal best bull that shook the hook in flight.

I added another bull going 6’2”

The next day Jake lands a nice 6’5” Bull Shark.

I add a small BT.

Jake follows up with another small BT that was so feisty he couldn’t even sit down and get a picture with it.

I had dozed off but then I get a nice wake-up call when my dad gets me up because he says he is hooked up. He pulls in this nice 6’4” Bull shark.

Later in the night I hear the drum roll once again and I set up to a good heavy fish. Pulls some tight drag than it’s a tug of war with lots of giving and taking by both sides. When the fish hits the bar it takes off 75 yards of line and that’s when I was really impressed by the fishes fight. Get it back to the bar and it takes off another 25yds then another 25 yds when it hits the bar again and then another small burst before I finally get it into the gut. Jake gets a good look at the dorsal and says Tiger.

We get the rope around her tail and the three of us get her up the bank. Jake holds the head open and I get the hook out nice and easy. Quick measurement at 9’3” and a couple pictures and we send this very beautiful tiger on her way as if nothing happened.

The next day my dad hooks up in the rain and fights the fish on his 12/0. Gives some nice head shakes at the bar and trys to make a run for it but I go ahead and leader this very pissed off Lemon shark. It measured 8’ on the mark and is my Dad’s first Lemon shark and new personal best. Congrats Dad!

Next I hit a fish right at sunset and we put a 7’10 Lemon on the sand.

Later my Dad adds his personal best bull shark going 6’9” and a very stout fighting fish at that! Ripped some line off a 12/0 like he was a 7 footer!

Jake gets a nice topwater mackerel.

Then he gets a nice thick 6’6” bull.

After the sun sets I get bowed up on a nice fish that ripped line of the 14/0 on its initial run. Then again shows its strength at the sand bar taking line. I had a feeling it could be that 8’ bull I had been searching for and when we got it into the gut I knew I had it.
It taped out at just over 8’total length and was a male. It’s the largest male Bull Shark we have caught. After some quick dental work and a couple pictures this bull was off to terrorize more fish.

Conditions change and the fishing slowed considerably over the following days. We kept at it and worked very hard to get atleast one monster pick up every single night. Most of these resulted in broken lines, missed hooksets, and very aggravated fisherman.

My dad in particular had the worst luck with 5 or 6 consecutive cut offs even though fresh line had been respooled. He did everything right and yet the sand bar made it a nightmare but to his credit he just kept re rigging his rods, re spooling and kayaking back out. That’s what it takes.

Jake also bowed up on a monster fish on his 14/0 and ate the sand when his line snapped. There are a lot more heart breaking stories behind the scenes that drive us to work harder and harder to get the fish we want.

Dad adds another BT.

Jake’s Dad joins us and we have a great father/son and father/son trip going. His dad had never been fishing for sharks with us but quickly saw why we like it so much.
Jake knocks off another 6’2” bull.

We tried and tried to get around these 6’ bulls but they were devouring all of our baits.

Next night I added another 6’9” Bull Shark. Lots if the same length fish…interesting

Next night My dad hooks up and when his Bull shark hits the beach I hook up on another bull.
My dad’s 6’4” Bull.

Here is a classic! My dad does a comparison between his jaws and the Bull’s!

My 6’ Bull.

Jake gets the sandiest feistiest little BT we have seen.

The next day I catch a nice 24inch fork length mackerel.

Jake’s dad gets a nice little pompano.

Later, the legend of the full moon hammer materializes in Jake’s 9/0 getting slammed zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz is all you can hear. He sets up and the fish keeps on going and Jake starts screaming, “It’s a Hammer! It’s a Hammer! I know it!” I do a few circles running around in panic mode trying to get my 9/0 as a back up because at the time it looked like the fish wasn’t stopping. Luckily the fish turned long before we had to worry and Jake muscled the shark to the sand bar after a 30 minute long fight on very tight drag. With the full moon lighting my way I headed out to the sand bar to get the shark. We see the long sickle fin in the moon light and I scream Hammer!!! And a very pissed off hammerhead at that. This fish was the angriest Hammer we have dealt with by far. A quick picture, clipped leader and this beautiful 9’3” Hammerhead safely swims off. Jakes first Hammerhead and new personal best! Congrats bro!

Jake wasn’t done for the night though when he added yet another 6’9” bull shark.

That concludes our trip of summer shark fishing florida. We had many firsts and many bests and we couldn’t be happier. Many lessons learned and many memories made that wont be forgotten. Thanks for reading everyone!

Matt Zapala