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Topic: Bean Hollow 9/30 Sat  (Read 6343 times)

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1CRZYIND

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   Thanks for the info Mol  :smt004. I will  know next time and I,m sure there will be a next time. I never got to tell you nice fish at Mendo and whats up with the Cuda at Capitola?
« Last Edit: September 30, 2006, 10:55:16 PM by 1CRZYIND »
James      Fish ON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!and ON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


cafecraig

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Thanks Tote...  I wasn't feeling particularly at ease, but I hear ya.  I think all my systems just shut off and there wasn't much else in my mind at the time, so it wasn't hard to focus!  I am quite sure you'd react the same.  No reason to paddle anywhere at that point.

Yeah Molbasser, skate wings are pretty meaty I think!  I wouldn't mind hooking into one tomorrow.  From what I hear, James was farther out that what we usually do at Bean.  Ima head out that way tomorrow.

Regarding GWS, I was thinking James had a good point, so I was just looking up mola mola pics, and one thing I remember well was the big gills I saw...  I didn't take the time (or thought) to count them, but i definitely saw defined gills.  So I am thinking it wasn't a mola mola I saw, but based mostly on that observation, because there definitely are similarities, based on what I rememeber and on what James said.

Oh, after I read more, the other thing is that the fish I saw today was swimming and making 2-3 mph maybe, and when it left, Paul and I heard the swish of surface water and saw a pretty big boiler left behind...  Mola mola appear to be more like floaters, either carried by current, or by spitting strong jets of water from its mouth for propulsion...
« Last Edit: September 30, 2006, 11:15:43 PM by cafecraig »


MolBasser

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Cuda seem to have left the building....

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e2g

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I have seen molas in the water and they definitely dont move with much authority, though the color can catch you off guard when they roll on their side showing lots of silver flash.

if wilderness ever wants to know how fast the tarpon 160 can go, just clock me as I head for the beach after I see a GWS travel under me.  Craig, you are one cool individual.   
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Next time...

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I definitely have to give the calmness award to craig. I can not believe that he kept his cool like he did. i had just changed and dropped me lure, and all off the sudden i see a blue or two swim around my yak, about a foot deep(thinking that was strange)- i hear craig just say something like "oh wow- look over here"- i said what is that(hoping it was a seal or dolphin), and right as he said shark, i saw the huge bulge in the water, the tail, and tip of the dorsal. frightened i yelled what kind, and he just said like it was nothing "white". while i shat my pants, craig says "i wish i had a underwater camera". --- so i chxend out and paddled in.

glad there were no other encounters with the friendly shark. besides that and the landing, i had a great time. only caught 3 blues, but had a ton of bites. i glad that all you other dudes really want to see a gws, but personally, i never want to see one again unless its at the aquarium,  tv, or a really big boat.

Lessons learnt today:

- be calm around really big fish
- get rid of all hazards on your boat before landing (rope paddle and rod leash), and keep them from getting tangled around your feet

BUt it was fun, cant wait till i get another chance to get out on the water again, assuming my juevos drop back down.

thanks craig for showing me around- and good job to ed too.

Paul


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Its whitey season and you guys are right by Ano so its no big surprise.  You got cased, and thank god he decided you weren't what he was looking for...damn brother thats a CRAZY story.


Seabreeze

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King of Cool, King Craig.............. :worship

Though, when the boss comes sniffing around what'cha gonna do but be respectful. 

Are you going to change your list name and avatar now?  SharkCoolDude.  Getting an avatar of you riding a gws might be tricky.

The Mola image was cool.  I've not yet seens a live one from my kayak.

Back to the landlord, does one shark eat both fish and mammals?  Would a shark looking for seals want our fish?
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jmairey

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craig, you are either a naive city guy, or you have serious guts. or some strange combination of the above. I have seen people crack under pressure, and others stay cool as cucumbers through anything, there is just no telling who can take it and who can't until it happens,  so I no longer judge guts by appearance or gender or anything else. there is no telling till the sh!t hits the fan.  I am okay until about 5 minutes after an event, then I skake like a leaf. probably average to below average in the guts department.

So don't take any of my comments the wrong way, you have my respect regardless, you are one of us
kayak fishermen, but I'd like to ask a few more questions.

I have had the mola-mola experience at bean hollow. I have also seen a 6 to 8 foot very thick and very fast shark while surfing. possibly a very young GWS, maybe a mako, I don't know what other possibilities.

the experiences are a world apart. I am somebody that cannot understand how a guy that catches fish can't tell the difference between a harbour seal and a sea lion but I know it is common to not really know the difference between ocean going animals.

mistaking a mola mola for a GWS should not ever happen unless you don't get a good look. sounds like you got a plenty good look.

anyway, 28" wide, would not be a super long GWS, we need some kind of guy like bsteves or ralph collier of the shark reseach committee helping us with length to width (and weight) calculations. but yes, it does not sound "small" in any real sense of that word.

please don't project 'friendly' or other anthropomorphic aspects on a wild animal like that, that kind of silliness gets people killed. the shark is not 'friendly'.  you just did not pass the 'edible' test which is good, maybe that shark will pass up all other kayaks now it knows that they don't appear yummy.

GWS are a heavy bodied shark, super fat. but if you have see the one at the monterey aquarium and read reports, you know that they are plenty fast when they want to be.  refined power for sure.

A mola mola, well I feel like I could outswim that silly fish.  good for them they taste terrible.

what about the possibility of it being a large blue shark? they are long and skinny. why are you thinking GWS, how much of it did you see? the broken line between dark top and white bottom is pretty distinctive in tall the photos, I think that is a real distinguishing feature to see from a kayak.  Also the fatness of a GWS.

anyway, I partied with the wife and slept in this morning,  bought some salmon from Patrick of Mission Fish, haven't had that for a while, how suburban of me! at least the WAF is high!

J

john m. airey


mooch

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Craig - consider yourself VERY lucky  :smt002

1) You were not attacked or harassed
2) it's not often you see such a spectacular "eating machine" - especially on a kayak (Pics would have been da bomb)

Go to Seven Eleven and get yourself a lottery ticket  :smut001

Make sure your report your "close encounter" to the Shark Committee AND GET A FRIGGIN CAMERA  :smt003

 a lesson to others: NEVER leave your fish hanging on the side of your kayak  :smt009 To this day, I still see guys doing that :smt011

Just like I have predicted before: it would only be a matter of time till one of us would come across the Land Lord - our Nor Cal Kayak Fishing Community is growing and so will be the sightings....BE SAFE OUT THERE :smt002
« Last Edit: October 02, 2006, 09:41:43 AM by Mooch »


ZeeHokkaido

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Great reactions Craig, you did exactly what you should have.... except to keep on fishing after the event. GWS are very curious sharks and due to their size, larger animals (ie. humans) like us are interesting and don't really scare them. From what you mentioned it sounds like it was a juvenile GWS in the 8-10 foot range. The reason I think everyone should leave when sighting a GWS is next.

The most common GWS attack scenario is this:
1. The shark gets a visual and makes 3-4 wide circles tightening consecutively. The last circle may be tight enough that it bumps the prey. If the prey is on the surface they sometimes roll onto their side to get a better view.
2. The shark goes deep below the prey and comes straight up and makes it's best attempt to disable the prey and waits for it to bleed to death.

So if a shark does check you out and then "leave" you should be weary.

I've had an experience with a GWS when surfing Ano 10 years ago. I was cool too but only because it felt like my heart was filled with ice water :smt103 and stopped!! I was petrified and paddled strongly and swiftly straight in. When I got on the cliff I not only saw one GWS but three all patrolling the same area. There's plenty of them out there. Ano Nuevo is known as a nursery for GWS so you can expect them to be quite territorial and aggressive in those parts. That's what makes for so many attacks and run-ins with them out there.

Glad everything turned out ok!!
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cafecraig

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Thanks for the props all.  Paul was there too, and he saw it as well, and was close enough that I didn't have to raise my voice so he could hear me - he was very cool too!

J, you're right, friendly is not the right word.  I hope that he stays not unfriendly with kayaks now tho!

About the ID, I have seen GWS on TV and such, but didn't know enough to compare with Blue Shark.  Honestly, I can't remember enough details. It looked like it was big enough for me to fit inside it, and that was enough for me to know at the time.  I am from Ohio (which makes me, by definition, yes, naive) and til I moved here, the biggest fish i saw alive in person was like a 24" carp.   All I could think about was to "be the debris" or else I might make some actual debris.  I saw Jaws this summer on AMC and remembered those kids got munched because they and their boats made noises.  So, I just didn't move.  i guess Richard Dreyfus would have been proud.

It looked like it did a figure 8, but I don't know how long it was there before it surfaced.  From when I saw it, and it made its passes, it was only about 20-30 seconds.  So, I didn't need to keep my cool for very long!

Thanks for the info and advice Z and Mooch!  Noted, definitely.


ZeeHokkaido

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As far as ID'n the shark a blue is quite different. From what you've described it sounds like you saw a White because it's body was so wide.

The White has a very thick, tall, triangular dorsal fin with a sharp point, the blues is skinnier, less pronounced, and has a rounder point. The White is very wide bodied while the blue is long and slender by comparison. Blues are pelagic so cover great distances in open water. They need that long slender body to get the best glide and fight strong currents. Whites do cross large oceans but spend most of their time nearshore and have that stocky body for their bursts of speed. Although they've been known to make trips as far as from Calfornia to Hawaii, coverng lots of open ocean, so are actually quite well rounded swimmers.

The easiest way to tell the difference from sitting in the yak is by it's body width and nose length. Even a juvenile White shark (3rd pic) is really thick, they look pretty stocky with a short nose, while the blues are long, slender and a long nose. The big ones are amazingly skinny looking.

Z
« Last Edit: October 02, 2006, 11:01:22 AM by Zeelander »
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jselli

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I can say that I for sure saw a great white shark on sunday.  I was in Monterey, at the aquarium. HA....
I was very cool to see it so close.

Anyway I have stated over and over that the sharks are in full force this time of year around Ano.  The researches do feed the sharks to tag them as someone mentioned and they are very curious.  I doubt a shark attack would happen but some investigative bites is not out of the question given the experience the sharks have with researchers. Furthermore, GW's can eat an elephant seal up to 15 feet long.

Jason
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ZeeHokkaido

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Good pont jselli. A lot of times a GWS isn't in full attack mode, just curious, but just their investigative bites can cause some serious damage. Some researchers say that their mouths are very sensitive and they use them as a way to feel around.
Z
« Last Edit: October 02, 2006, 12:40:47 PM by Zeelander »
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cafecraig

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Jason, I know what you mean...  It was cool, though at the time, I was definitely nervous and very careful (and not thinking about how cool it was).  Glad you got you enjoy your visit for longer and more safey tho!

Z, thanks for posting those pics.  The fish I saw was long but not as pointy as a blue.  One thing I will say is that the white belly on the one I saw went up higher than on the juvie picture.  I was looking at it from a little to the right, but mostly above, and i clearly saw the white up onto the side of the fish.  Also, I remember the gills extending into the white color.  

About the size, as I said, it was so clear that it seemed right below the surface, but as I didn't feel anything when it came towards me and under/through below my yak, I am guessing it was like 4-5 feet deep at least.  So it may have been a little bigger than it looked from my angle.

The dorsal looked more like that of the juvie, although I just saw the top 6-8".  I didn't see the tail, either - just heard it.  The tail may have been more behind me than I was looking.  I don't know how much of a tail Paul saw.

It could be that it was an adolescent - not full grown, but not very young either.  I was thinking shortly afterwards that any contact, test bite, or significant bump, would toss me from my scupper pro.  I was feeling pretty rigid at the time, and even given good secondary stability/rocker, I would have over-corrected and dumped.

Thanks for the helpful input!  I appreciate it.  It's jogging my memory a bit.  Positive side note:  have not had dreams of sharks!
« Last Edit: October 02, 2006, 12:43:49 PM by cafecraig »