Sand Tiger Shark

[Billfish715]

Always have a camera handy when you go fishing. No one would believe this Sand Tiger could have been caught on a fluke outfit without having a picture to prove it. I didn't have to explain anything to my wife and family either because they were there with me. We estimated the shark to be between 7-8 feet and over 150 pounds. It took almost 30 minutes to get it to the boat after a tug of war on 20# test Power Pro and 20# test flurocarbon leader on a small Shimano 250 Calcutta. It was hooked in the upper lip outside the gum line. It was carefully released and swam off to look for another meal. A lot had to go right to get it to the boat and it did. If you know where the Manasquan fluke fleet was on Sunday, that's where we were. By the way, the fluke fishing was the best it's been all summer. The reel is in the shop right now getting a new drag assembly.

[Billfish715]

Here's another view of the snaggly toothed sand tiger. I thought Shark Week was over.

[henro]

That's awesome and I'm sure you'll never forget that trip.

[Ttmako]

He/Shew was there Saturday as well.

[torchee]

Saw one caught from the beach in great kills 2 years ago
But not that big....

[Billfish715]

I wouldn't be surprised if there weren't more sharks around that area. The water temps have warmed especially at the bottom. Our jigs were warm to the touch when they came up. In addition, there was a lot of bait including squid, small bonito, large snapper blues, mackerel, and bunkers. Those ingredients should ring a dinner bell for those snaggle-toothed critters.

[shrimpman steve]

Sweet!!!!

[jcstriper1]

Very nice! Cool

[Capt. Debbie]

Very cool. A once in a life time hook up. Sweet.

[loosescrews]

We were out Sunday at the mud dump. Hooked one of these about the same size. Got it to the boat pretty quickly. Then 5 min later another one eats my seabass and game on again. This one was much bigger. It never stopped. Broke off after about 20 min.

[Fishin Dude]

That makes for a great Fluke fishing story. Nice catch.

[Billfish715]

We were out Sunday at the mud dump. Hooked one of these about the same size. Got it to the boat pretty quickly. Then 5 min later another one eats my seabass and game on again. This one was much bigger. It never stopped. Broke off after about 20 min.

We never saw the shark at all until it came up 30 minutes later. I fought it straight up and down in a tug of war the whole time. I thought about puting the boat in gear and planing the shark up but my Shimano Calcutta 250 didn't hold enough line for that. There wasn't enough drag to do much short stroking even by thumbing the spool. Too much pressure and something would have broken. I just had to hold on. It was fun to finally get it to the boat and see what it was. The 30 minute tug of war was not so much fun. It was work!

[Billfish715]

We were out Sunday at the mud dump. Hooked one of these about the same size. Got it to the boat pretty quickly. Then 5 min later another one eats my seabass and game on again. This one was much bigger. It never stopped. Broke off after about 20 min.

We never saw the shark at all until it came up 30 minutes later. I fought it straight up and down in a tug of war the whole time. I thought about puting the boat in gear and planing the shark up but my Shimano Calcutta 250 didn't hold enough line for that. There wasn't enough drag to do much short stroking even by thumbing the spool. Too much pressure and something would have broken. I just had to hold on. It was fun to finally get it to the boat and see what it was. The 30 minute tug of war was not so much fun. It was work!

[Jarhead]

I caught one last week on fluke gear during the JCAA tourney. I estimated it at 7 feet. Another angler was caught up in it so I had an assist bring it in. Got some pics at the boat and broke it off with a new piece of jewelry in it's mouth. Did you see that grill? I wasn't putting my hand anywhere near that!

[Billfish715]

That is quite a set of dentures but did you see the large gaps between each tooth? After looking at those gaps, I understand how a fluke hook can find some skin to sink into. I can also understand how it's possible for the leader to not be bitten through. With enough pressure, the hook and leader can stay away from the adjacent teeth because of the space between them. Still, a lot has to go right to get a shark that size near enough to even see it.

Always expect the unexpected when you are fishing off the coast of NJ. There have been many strange and unusual catches over the years. There is evidence of what unexpected fish have been caught but lots of questions about the ones that got away. The next time your rod bends and line starts peeling out you'll have a great story to tell whether you get the fish in or you never see it.

[flyersnfluke]

strip bait for life.

A sand-tiger washed up on sandy hook yesterday (I think near the first parking lot). Not sure if it was alive for a bit when it washed up but it certainly didn't make it, people from the marine lab and students from mast dissected it, marine lab collected tissue samples for analysis. Wonder how many*more are out there.

cheers

[henro]

My buddy was fluking Wednesday about 10-11 miles offshore and caught 2 of em about same size or bigger on the bucktails as well.

[Billfish715]

strip bait for life.

A sand-tiger washed up on sandy hook yesterday (I think near the first parking lot). Not sure if it was alive for a bit when it washed up but it certainly didn't make it, people from the marine lab and students from mast dissected it, marine lab collected tissue samples for analysis. Wonder how many*more are out there.

cheers
I heard from the tagging director, Jeff Dement, who told me that the MAST students and NOAA people indeed took samples. They were checking for any amounts of mercury that might have been in the tissue. He didn't know if a necropsy was going to be done. These sharks have been caught up and down the coast and especially by fishermen who target them at night from the surf. It will remain hush-hush because if swimmers knew what was swimming just off the shore, they would stay in the pool.

[Jarhead]

strip bait for life.

A sand-tiger washed up on sandy hook yesterday (I think near the first parking lot). Not sure if it was alive for a bit when it washed up but it certainly didn't make it, people from the marine lab and students from mast dissected it, marine lab collected tissue samples for analysis. Wonder how many*more are out there.

cheers
Wonder if it had a 6oz Magic Bus (yellow) spro in the corner of it's pie hole