We met at 7am and loaded up the Irish Ayes with all the sharking gear and necessities for the day. Aboard we're Capt. Joe, Johnny Oz, Cashin, Scott G and myself.
We broke the inlet and the east wind made for a little slower trip than normal to the grounds around 25 miles out. We saw some flying fish and porpoise. At the grounds the weather was nice and we got the slick going with lines and floats out. A nice Mahi estimated at 20lbs circled the boat a few times but did not want any of our offerings.
After a couple of hours It was time to try a new spot. A 5 line trolling spread went out for the move consisting of a spreader bar with Squid, a cedar plug, a couple single chuggers and a daisy chain. Joe passed by several lobster pot markers hoping for a Mahi bite but they were not around.
We got the slick started again with the gear out when a couple of big whales came up for air 40 yards away shooting spray from the blowholes. Cool!!
A big turtle swam by to pay us a visit too. The sounder showed some life on the bottom "200 feet down"so we took turns jigging and dragging bait. My 8oz hammered diamond jig felt a bit heavy and I reeled up a small whiting. Everyone was surprised to see it hit a jig. As Cashin was reeling in his jig he felt it rub against something, he looked down into the clear 30' visibility ocean and it turned grey. Something huge 15 to 20' was below the boat. It was moving slow and was down around 25'. We all said what the F is that?? It had shark like features with a flat nose and was white on the bottom and grey on the top. Very similar to a whale shark but not spotted. Nobody will ever know for sure what it was. It slowly swam back under the boat and was gone.
Unfortunately we never saw a shark and made it back to the inlet at 3pm. Everyone had a good time. Thanks Capt.Joe for the ride!!
Good Luck Everyone, Eddie
