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A Story of Danger and Redemption
Friend John Hebison captured this image from the cab of his truck as he struggled off the beach during Sharkathon.
The 11th Annual Sharkathon Surf Fishing tournament was held September 26-28 on Padre Island National Seashore. I have participated in every Sharkathon since the beginning and watched it grow incredibly popular with coastal fishermen. The organizers have done a stellar job. Through their Catch-Photo-Release format they have collaborated with universities and other organizations encouraging tagging of released sharks in support of science and the positive response from the angling community has been overwhelming. I enjoy fishing Sharkathon for a variety of reasons; not only have I placed in multiple divisions several times over the years, I deeply admire the way they have put "kill" tournaments out of business.
During the week preceding this year's Sharkathon Mother Nature began to show her dark side. Relentless north wind pushed abundant sargassum seaweed back into inshore waters and piled the mess on our beaches. Typically, PINS beaches are clear of sargassum by late summer due to predominantly southerly winds but this has been a different year. The record amount of the pesky weed still remaining further offshore provided plenty to wreak havoc during the tournament. In addition, abnormally high tides produced flooding that reached the barrier islands. The three days leading up to Sharkathon were filled with coastal flood advisories, and the worst was yet to come. The National Park Service was on the fence whether to close the beach but decided to leave it open for the event. Sharkathon's motto is "Hell or High Water" and high water it was.
The first day brought monsoon rain. With tides already being exceptionally high, the beach was now turning treacherous for both camping and driving. With bird and bait activity scattered but present at the southern end of the beach, I opted to stay north for the sake of not flooding my truck with corrosive saltwater like so many others suffered over the weekend. While I may have saved thousands of dollars in possible damage, my decision relegated me to fishing less than optimal waters. Even with some Park staff expressing regret in not closing the beach, the worst wouldn't be seen until Saturday evening.
I was fortunate to have camped at slightly higher elevation, free of danger from the creeping tide. Late that night, a convoy of more than 100 trucks (many towing trailers) would struggle off the beach for fear of how much worse things might get. Virtually all drove through some amount of the rising water. I watched the devastating sight, vehicles plowing through water so deep that waves would sometimes crash over the hood. No doubt the hapless competitors collectively lost hundreds of thousands of dollars as the cancerous saltwater nearly engulfed their trucks. No amount of undercoating or washing will cancel the long term effect of such a dousing.
Even greater irony would come into play as the forecast started looking exceptional for Monday following the event. Needless to say I did not triumph in Sharkathon and I was still thirsty for action. I had a few more days off until my next charter and decided to take advantage of the appealing conditions. I could not help but think that with the beach abandoned and perfect conditions ahead the fishing was about to explode, so I packed the truck back up and on Tuesday morning took off on a solo voyage. With much of my Sharkathon bait still fresh my I was hoping to hammer out some sharks for the year-long Texas Shark Rodeo event.
I rolled down late Tuesday morning on a gratefully low tide with stress-free driving on what can only be described as a coastal blue-bird day. I traveled the full 60 miles to the Port Mansfield jetties, surveying conditions, and then back north a ways to a spot with clear water and bait close to the beach. I made camp quickly and then set about rigging and deploying baits. It did not take long to tag and release a solid blacktip, and then another. Baits were getting pounded hard and often ripped off the hooks. I rigged larger baits and deployed them right before sundown. Around 10:30 I hooked a heavy fish and after a fairly impressive fight landed a girthy 7'8" bull shark–a fish that would have destroyed the 1st place shark from the tournament. Throughout the remainder of the night, baits would get hit but no hookups. I would resume in the morning.
As the sun came up the water looked even better than it had the day before. I organized gear and deployed baits as soon as possible. The morning bite gave me a feisty 6 foot blacktip and a couple of runs later I hooked a solid 6-1/2 foot bull as Billy Sandifer and Jeff Wolda stopped by to partake in the release. Things quieted down midday, in early afternoon I landed and released another hefty blacktip. A couple hours later a 6'-8" bull picked up a big jack crevalle bait and within minutes I had it on the beach. This year's stock of healthy and decent-sized bull sharks has been a joy and comfort to me. Come dark I put out all fresh baits but had no action until around 11:00 when I landed and tagged two more 6-foot-class bulls.
The next morning brought south wind of 25mph making kayaking the baits difficult. With an already phenomenal trip, and being scheduled to pack up and leave early in the morning, I fought but could not resist running a couple more baits. Both were nailed shortly, I landed another blacktip, the tenth shark for my "redemption" trip. Energy drained and out of tags, I packed and headed home, desperately in need of rest from a roller-coaster week.
There is something to be said about shark fishermen. Such a relentless, crusty breed. Hundreds duked it out in apocalyptic conditions over the weekend and while there were only a handful of fish caught, the ones that were fortunate enough to hook up certainly earned their fish. Sean Curless, friend, good guy, and winner of the 2014 Sharkathon, certainly earned his fish along with all other individuals who placed in the event.
For me, I made the decision to play it safe and while I did not win or place in the tournament, I got my revenge with Mother Ocean shortly thereafter. It is simply amazing how conditions can change for better or for worse along the coast. It is important to know about the dangers of poor conditions and be aware of warnings issued. Weather and marine advisories are issued for a reason and we are all fortunate that lost or damaged gear were the only things lost. Congrats once again to all the winners for their hard work. Another year of Sharkathon is in the books and like hundreds of other anglers, I am looking forward to the next great event!
During the week preceding this year's Sharkathon Mother Nature began to show her dark side. Relentless north wind pushed abundant sargassum seaweed back into inshore waters and piled the mess on our beaches. Typically, PINS beaches are clear of sargassum by late summer due to predominantly southerly winds but this has been a different year. The record amount of the pesky weed still remaining further offshore provided plenty to wreak havoc during the tournament. In addition, abnormally high tides produced flooding that reached the barrier islands. The three days leading up to Sharkathon were filled with coastal flood advisories, and the worst was yet to come. The National Park Service was on the fence whether to close the beach but decided to leave it open for the event. Sharkathon's motto is "Hell or High Water" and high water it was.
The first day brought monsoon rain. With tides already being exceptionally high, the beach was now turning treacherous for both camping and driving. With bird and bait activity scattered but present at the southern end of the beach, I opted to stay north for the sake of not flooding my truck with corrosive saltwater like so many others suffered over the weekend. While I may have saved thousands of dollars in possible damage, my decision relegated me to fishing less than optimal waters. Even with some Park staff expressing regret in not closing the beach, the worst wouldn't be seen until Saturday evening.
I was fortunate to have camped at slightly higher elevation, free of danger from the creeping tide. Late that night, a convoy of more than 100 trucks (many towing trailers) would struggle off the beach for fear of how much worse things might get. Virtually all drove through some amount of the rising water. I watched the devastating sight, vehicles plowing through water so deep that waves would sometimes crash over the hood. No doubt the hapless competitors collectively lost hundreds of thousands of dollars as the cancerous saltwater nearly engulfed their trucks. No amount of undercoating or washing will cancel the long term effect of such a dousing.
Even greater irony would come into play as the forecast started looking exceptional for Monday following the event. Needless to say I did not triumph in Sharkathon and I was still thirsty for action. I had a few more days off until my next charter and decided to take advantage of the appealing conditions. I could not help but think that with the beach abandoned and perfect conditions ahead the fishing was about to explode, so I packed the truck back up and on Tuesday morning took off on a solo voyage. With much of my Sharkathon bait still fresh my I was hoping to hammer out some sharks for the year-long Texas Shark Rodeo event.
I rolled down late Tuesday morning on a gratefully low tide with stress-free driving on what can only be described as a coastal blue-bird day. I traveled the full 60 miles to the Port Mansfield jetties, surveying conditions, and then back north a ways to a spot with clear water and bait close to the beach. I made camp quickly and then set about rigging and deploying baits. It did not take long to tag and release a solid blacktip, and then another. Baits were getting pounded hard and often ripped off the hooks. I rigged larger baits and deployed them right before sundown. Around 10:30 I hooked a heavy fish and after a fairly impressive fight landed a girthy 7'8" bull shark–a fish that would have destroyed the 1st place shark from the tournament. Throughout the remainder of the night, baits would get hit but no hookups. I would resume in the morning.
As the sun came up the water looked even better than it had the day before. I organized gear and deployed baits as soon as possible. The morning bite gave me a feisty 6 foot blacktip and a couple of runs later I hooked a solid 6-1/2 foot bull as Billy Sandifer and Jeff Wolda stopped by to partake in the release. Things quieted down midday, in early afternoon I landed and released another hefty blacktip. A couple hours later a 6'-8" bull picked up a big jack crevalle bait and within minutes I had it on the beach. This year's stock of healthy and decent-sized bull sharks has been a joy and comfort to me. Come dark I put out all fresh baits but had no action until around 11:00 when I landed and tagged two more 6-foot-class bulls.
The next morning brought south wind of 25mph making kayaking the baits difficult. With an already phenomenal trip, and being scheduled to pack up and leave early in the morning, I fought but could not resist running a couple more baits. Both were nailed shortly, I landed another blacktip, the tenth shark for my "redemption" trip. Energy drained and out of tags, I packed and headed home, desperately in need of rest from a roller-coaster week.
There is something to be said about shark fishermen. Such a relentless, crusty breed. Hundreds duked it out in apocalyptic conditions over the weekend and while there were only a handful of fish caught, the ones that were fortunate enough to hook up certainly earned their fish. Sean Curless, friend, good guy, and winner of the 2014 Sharkathon, certainly earned his fish along with all other individuals who placed in the event.
For me, I made the decision to play it safe and while I did not win or place in the tournament, I got my revenge with Mother Ocean shortly thereafter. It is simply amazing how conditions can change for better or for worse along the coast. It is important to know about the dangers of poor conditions and be aware of warnings issued. Weather and marine advisories are issued for a reason and we are all fortunate that lost or damaged gear were the only things lost. Congrats once again to all the winners for their hard work. Another year of Sharkathon is in the books and like hundreds of other anglers, I am looking forward to the next great event!