The King Mackerel are in a bit closer now. We got one at the 10 mile box cars today and marked 66.7 degree water at the same location. This one might be a fore runner for the pack because this is the only one we found but more have to be nearby. The dredge wreck should have a few kings holding on it and the school house should be on fire with kings. We caught the king on a Yozuri crystal minnow on the down rigger. We also lost another suspected king. They are holding a bit deeper with the cooler water. 68 is the magic number for water temp and it will be here this week I hope and all heck will break loose! The bottom fishing is doing fairly well and the blues have been thick at the near shore wrecks and reefs. Jigging seems to work the best for them. TODAYS TRIP… We popped a King Mackerel in the box during the first 2 minutes of having the lines out. Then a missed strike. We trolled our way in closer due to the increasing waves. As we approached the 7 mile rock the down rigger went off with force. We had something large. We cleared all other lines and the down riggers and chased it down. It would run to the bottom and right back to the top and all over the place, like nothing I have ever seen. This went on for 10 minutes or so. Then it bulldogged us to the bottom and would not budge. I started thinking early season cobia? Na couldnt be.. A shark? naa not on a yozuri. My customer states if it is a shark he wants to keep it. I say no, its a safety issue, but we will get a pic.(I remember my old sand tiger tail gaff incident!)Well my 3 customers kept fighting this fish for over a hour and twenty minutes and the fight covered over 1/2 a mile! The three of them switched off fighting this fish four times between the three of them. We were only using king tackle and 20lb Spiderwire Stealth with a 20lb mono leader. We saw the leader 3 times but no fish. Finally my customer comes up with a HUGE Thresher shark!! It was snagged in the tail by the yozuri! It was motionless and apparently expired (or very close to) during the fight. I lip gaffed it and it did not move. So here I am with this shark fumbling through my papers to make sure it was a legal catch. I called a friend to confirm and all was good. The shark was dead, the customer wanted it and it worked out great. Took it to Bridge Tender and weighed it in. 70lbs and 80 some inches long! Not bad on king tackle and 20lb SPIDERWIRE braided line!! Hats of to my customers for staying in the fight! Its heating up! Lets go fishing! Capt. Matt Wirt Reel-Adventure.com
