September 2nd, 2017
The plan was to hit the Coimbra for mahi and tuna and come back into the first set of fingers out of Moriches for sharking. Mother nature had other plans. As soon as I got in the ocean I knew something was wrong. Way too rough to run 30 miles. I actually stopped the boat and contemplated whether to call off the trip and head home. However, there was a 13yr old on board that was extermely excited to catch a shark or mahi.
I decided to head for the fingers which are about 11 miles out. The windy conditions provided for a great chum slick. About an hour into the trip the bait furthest from the boat gets hit. We see a fin on the surface and then it disappears. After a few minutes I decided to reel in that line and check the bait. As I'm reeling I see a shark right next to the boat. Craig, who is the father of Justin (13yr old), notices the shark has a tag. I saw the tag and also noticed that the shark had a hook in his mouth that had a line attached. Justin already had the belt on so we clipped him. I'm no way related to Justin so when I tell you he knows how to fish at the age of 13, I am not bragging about a relative. I was amazed at how well he could handle a rod. His father told me he was obsessed with fishing and it showed. It's nice to see that there are still kids out there that would rather be fishing than playing video games.
Justin gets the shark close to the boat after a quick 5 minute fight. I'm no expert but I'm pretty confident that this shark has no idea that he is hooked. A few seconds later everything changes. The reel starts screaming, line is being pulled from the reel at an insane pace. The shark jumps at least 10 feet in the air. We go nuts. Then another jump. At this point Justin digs in for a long battle. A half hour in his father asks if he wants to take a break. Justin replied "no way I'm I giving you this rod." How awesome is that. 15 minutes later we have the mako tailed roped and hanging from the back cleat. WOW, watching a 13yr old catch his first shark with his father at his side is pretty awesome.
Justin also caught his first false albie on a live mullet. Next, he and his dad caught about 100 mackerel. On one trip Justin crossed off 3 fish that he had never caught before. We headed back to the dock and watched Gina fillet the mako. I'll be having mako steaks for dinner tonight.
Life is all about memories. I will always remember this day and I'm sure Craig and Justin will also.
BTW, Life is to short, it's time for a bigger boat. Next boat 31/32'. Hope to have one by the start of next year.
The weather coming up looks terrible. Once this is over, hello bass and blues. October and November are the two best fishing months of the year.
