Even though I posted these pics in the other forum I figured this was a good place to share em’ too… I’ve been in North Myrtle Beach the past few days…doing some fishing from my surf kayak (Wilderness Systems Kaos). I’ve just been fishing squid strips on the bottom and have been consistently pulling in 3’ Spiny Dogfish sharks (I’m pretty sure that’s what they are). They fight quite well and are a blast to catch. Landing them in the kayak can be a bit of a chore though…those spikes behind their dorsal fins are quite sharp. I already got whacked in the thigh by one of them.
Here are a couple pics…
http://www.mudspike.com/eatyou2.jpg
http://www.mudspike.com/eatyou3.jpg
A bit of rain today…and some serious fog. By the end of the day the fog was so thick I couldn’t even see the shore…but I could hear the waves breaking…
http://www.mudspike.com/eatyou4.jpg
Another few sharks…also caught a couple skates which are even more of a chore to get off the hook. I have to say that sharks have got to be the most muscular and powerful animal I’ve ever handled. They are just so darn strong!
http://www.mudspike.com/eatyou5.jpg
http://www.mudspike.com/eatyou6.jpg
http://www.mudspike.com/eatyou7.jpg
A lot of fun. The best thing I did was put out a small mushroom anchor with a float on it and a carabiner. That way I can stay anchored and bottom fish in one spot and if I get a big fish I just unclip and let the fish (shark) pull me away from the “mooring”. Nice setup…
Hope everyone else is getting some fishing in during the winter…
Regards…
BeachAV8R
Nice pic
of the sun/clouds reflection on water.
I’ve stolen if for my new background.
…
I'm back at the beach for a few days..went out today and caught a few more little weakfish (I think) and a bunch of sharks. One of them was the biggest I've caught yet...it was great. I had a piece of squid on the bottom and I felt this huge "thunk" and my line went slack. I raised the tip a bit to feel if the weight had come off the bottom and the line continued to be slack...so I reeled in a bit..then WHAM...the shark took off and I set the hook. I disconnected from my mooring buoy..and was off on a ride as the shark pulled me around. Once I got him up under the boat I saw he was too big to bring aboard and paddled in through the surf to land him on the beach.
Here are the pictures. I'm not sure what kind he is. The eyes look a lot like the Spiny Dogfish sharks I was catching most of the time..but he lacked the "spines" that are the telltale of the Spiny Dogfish. Any ideas?
Edit: Nevermind..I think it is a "Smooth Dogfish"...looked it up online and that seems to be the correct ID...
http://www.mudspike.com/toothy1.jpg
http://www.mudspike.com/toothy2.jpg
Great fun! Oh..and I invested in a nice set of heavy duty wire cutters which were a great purchase. Now..with bigger sharks I can just cut the barb off..pull the hook through and release them much faster with far less yanking and trauma on the fish.
Chris
Very cool pics!
I liked "eatyou3" and "eatyou4" the best. Nice looking kayak you've got too. Nice rig all the way around. Nice for you to have such a nice fishery so close to a major metropolitan area like that. Thanks for sharing.
I'm telling you now that I stole eatyou4 to add to the montage of photos I have in my screensaver.
- Big D
net season
try the fall for the bigger sharks , sand tigers to 8 ft are common. they follow the big schools of spots and croakers. sept and oct are the season.