Magical Mayhem

While fishing for sharks in the surf for more than twenty years, I've spent every season of every year observing how the weather affects the fishery. The most obvious aspect of Texas weather, especially along the coast, is the way it almost constantly changes. Different seasons generate different types of changes, of course.

In winter, cold fronts normally pass over the coastal waters every few days or so, bringing strong north winds and rough conditions. Often, in the wakes of these fronts, relatively calm windows of excellent potential develop in the surf, usually lasting just two or three days.

Summer is the time of least change, usually offering reliably calm seas and clear water. Afternoon winds normally kick up just above the gentle gradient and taper off overnight. This kind of consistent, benign weather makes for the easiest fishing in the surf, overall.

The two transitional seasons present the biggest crapshoots regarding weather patterns. Early cold fronts can cause some issues for anglers at the beginning of autumn, but when summer lingers into early-fall, phenomenal conditions usher in high levels of activity among the creatures that frequent our surf.

On average, spring offers the most chaotic weather patterns, with the highest potential to wreck the efforts of anglers headed to the beachfront. This year, we certainly had an unexpected but welcome run of weather during the month of May, a change from the long-term norm. I most often mention change in a negative context, but the results from this change were nothing short of magical.

No one could have predicted the events that unfolded just prior to June this year. Historically, April and May rank as the two windiest months in South Texas, with onshore breezes often blowing twenty to thirty knots for days on end. This year, winds fell almost silent and the Gulf waters calmed to nearly flat from the middle of May all the way into the first days of June.

By far, this is the longest run of calm weather I've seen during this timeframe. Normally, we might expect to have light winds for four or five days in a row, but a calm window lasting upwards of two weeks during one of the predictably windiest months is virtually unheard of. These conditions would have astounded many of the old-timers, who thought of sharking season as beginning around Memorial Day and lasting until Labor Day. Many big shark fishermen still frame the season in this way, mostly because of the generally calm, consistent weather patterns that prevail during the hottest season.

The ultra-calm conditions in May created crystal clear water in the surf zone. Because of the rare opportunity the situation presented, a multitude of anglers made their way to the beaches. The number of anglers reached levels we typically don't see until later in June. The whispering winds and clear water did more than attract shark fishermen to the coast; it also invited a variety of shark species to the shallows!

Monster sharks came cruising through in the largest numbers I've ever seen at this time of year. Mega hammers hitting the fourteen-foot mark, beefy tigers, massive bulls and even some stray dusky sharks made their presence known. Prior to this year, over the decades, just two hammers measuring fourteen feet were landed from the Texas surf—Ray Cedillo's beast and my 14'8" monster. Amazingly, during just this one historic month of May, Texas sharkers landed FOUR more great hammerheads measuring at least fourteen feet!

Granted, more anglers than ever are fishing for big sharks in Texas, and they're doing so with better knowledge and equipment, but the production of so many giant sharks during one prime window of opportunity proves nothing short of spectacular. During the first week of the uncannily awesome weather, I decided to avoid the crowds and fish farther south than normal. This led me to the least-traveled sharking destination on the Texas coast, the beaches of South Padre Island.

While the beaches of Padre Island National Seashore north of the Mansfield Jetties are my main stomping grounds, I do appreciate a change of scenery once in a while. On one of May's memorable trips to South Padre, I fished with Tim Hill and Carol Cox, two experienced shark anglers who wanted me to show them a few new tricks. My buddy Joel Ybarra, a young and successful guide in the area, had given me some helpful intel. A hard-working guide who shows a high level of respect and appreciation for the fishery, Joel was responsible for putting two of this year's fourteen-foot hammers on the beach.

On the trip with Tim and Carol, I wasted no time before deploying big baits. As a rule of thumb, the clearer the water, the later the sharks will bite. When the water becomes crystal clear, the bites will likely happen very late in the afternoon, or at night. Kayaking the baits out beyond the guts, I noticed pods of cruising tarpon. Tarpon rank high on the list of the hammerheads' favorite foods, so I expected we'd encounter some of the hunting brutes before long.

Our baits soaked without getting any attention for the first few hours, but just before sunset we hooked our first fish, and Tim began a battle with a smoker of a shark. Almost instantly, I knew it was a hammer. After a solid thirty-minute battle, Tim brought the hammer to the beach – it stretched the tape to an impressive 11'8". We all experienced a satisfying thrill when we watched the beast swim off vigorously after release. The next morning Carol brought a solid tiger to the beach, so South Padre did not disappoint.

A couple days later, my personal thirst urged me on a solo journey to PINS. Right before dark I deployed three large baits. That night, two baits were picked up; I landed a ten-foot hammer and an eight-foot bull. I then gained full appreciation for the magnitude of the event, with such an insane amount of early-season giants roaming our beachfront waters.

Over the next few days, many large sharks were landed by other anglers. Tigers measuring up to twelve feet were hitting the sand, along with even more big hammers. With so much banter about these events appearing on social media platforms, many people headed to the ocean's edge. I'd say most all the people who had the good fortune to take part in this prolifically productive period during May were handsomely rewarded.

As of this writing the Gulf is chock-full of sargassum weed, creating uncertainty as to what summer may have in store for us. Will we be weeded out? Will we get slammed by tropical weather events? Or, will we be rewarded with the most epic season of shark fishing imaginable? We don’t know the answer to these questions, but we do know we’ve already experienced something historically magical.