Fishing Report 8/21/2014

I took the paddleboard out this morning. I had the St Croix Tidemaster and the Orvis Hydros out with me. I started out by casting a pretty long gummy minnow. Within a few minutes, something had grabbed it, pulled a bit and took off with my fly - good sign. I spent the next 45 minutes trying different flies. I got a few more takes on a chartreuse clouser, but nothing hooked on. I started throwing a popping lure (mullet) and got no interest either. By this time I had also seen three mantas (small ones - 3 foot across) and one shark - maybe a 4 footer. I finally switched out the popper for a 5/8 ounce deep lure and started trolling it (which I think is pretty cool from a paddleboard). I got a hit - smaller Spanish Mackerel. I got another hit - a bluefish. Now is where the fun really begins. I cast the swimming lure again and I quickly got another hook up. This one was bigger and was moving pretty quickly. I did not turn the GoPro on (but really should have). I got the fish in sight and saw color - it was another bluefish - but it started to pull drag and WOOSH!!!! A big shark threw a bunch of water while trying to eat the bluefish. For a second I thought "there is no way that I have that shark hooked... it would have broken off a long time ago - and how the heck am I going to get my lure out that mouth..." - but then I saw the bluefish jumping to get out of the water. I got the fish on deck and decided that it was time to paddle in. That shark was bigger than the 4 footer that I saw earlier - and way thicker... I have not had that much adrenaline flowing through me since I was in Diego Garcia and had a bluefin trevally on the end of my flyline and it was running from a shark!!!