1300 lb Mako caught off SoCal

I would keep the halibut.

I ate Mako once in the Gulf of Oman.  Pretty good stuff

I ate Mako once in the Gulf of Oman.  Pretty good stuff

I hooked a giant Mako once while fishing for YFT in the Gulf of Oman. Went airborne and my Dad and I thought it was gonna crush our boat! Luckily it spit the hook!! 

It's beautiful over there huh Rob? My Dad lived in Muscat for several years. I got my SCUBA openwater/advanced/night diving/deep diving certs over there.

Wanna go back one day with my long fins and speargun.
 
 

 

Sincerely,

Jim

I ate Mako once in the Gulf of Oman.  Pretty good stuff

I hooked a giant Mako once while fishing for YFT in the Gulf of Oman. Went airborne and my Dad and I thought it was gonna crush our boat! Luckily it spit the hook!! 

It's beautiful over there huh Rob? My Dad lived in Muscat for several years. I got my SCUBA openwater/advanced/night diving/deep diving certs over there.

Wanna go back one day with my long fins and speargun.
 
 

 

Sincerely,

Jim

Yeah it certainly was beautiful.  I imagine the SF would be awesome around the old oil platforms.  Although the huge numbers of sea snakes might take some getting used to, I think I would like to go back and dive.

I ate Mako once in the Gulf of Oman.  Pretty good stuff

I hooked a giant Mako once while fishing for YFT in the Gulf of Oman. Went airborne and my Dad and I thought it was gonna crush our boat! Luckily it spit the hook!! 

It's beautiful over there huh Rob? My Dad lived in Muscat for several years. I got my SCUBA openwater/advanced/night diving/deep diving certs over there.

Wanna go back one day with my long fins and speargun.
 
 

 

Sincerely,

Jim

Yeah it certainly was beautiful.  I imagine the SF would be awesome around the old oil platforms.  Although the huge numbers of sea snakes might take some getting used to, I think I would like to go back and dive.

I came across quite a few snakes while diving out there...spooky for sure, but they were not aggressive at all.

I remember the water was so clear it was like diving in air, and I've never seen such a large amount or incredible diveristy of marine life anywhere else in the world....

If you get a chance to go back and dive (free or scuba or SF or whatever)...do it.   

 

Sincerely,

Jim

These kinds of people are the reason fishing is becoming unpopular (and illegal) in California. I doubt they would have released it even if they could have. They looked thrilled with themselves. And what does it mean to donate it to science? It probably just wound up in a dumpster.

What I don't get it that when big sharks are caught and killed then their meat is donated to the homeless?
Did anyone else catch that at the end of the video news clip? Killing of gamefish to be donated to homeless people? Wow.

It's bullshit. What the hell does a homeless shelter know about cooking shark? Donating an unwanted fish to science or the needy is a lame attempt to make the whole thing sound justified. Probably tastes like piss anyway. They got their "money shot" and went home.

I think if it is within the regs they shouldn't be put down for killing the fish. Look at big game hunters. They don't consume some of the things they kill. If it is legal to kill a lion or cape buffalo, why should they not do it?

The ethics issue is a different matter. Ethics are a personal decision with regard to fishing and hunting. Personally I would not target mako sharks and if I did incidentally catch one, I would release it. I don't target sharks in general because I don't think they are great table fare. Yes I have tried leopard and t sharks and I don't like the texture or taste compared to salmon, c bass, YFT, YT or dorado. I am a consumptive angler and only target and take what I am going to eat. My goal every year is to waste nothing that I catch and the last 3 years I met that goal. The other issue with sharks is their role in the ecosystem. Sharks keep undesired species like the humboldt squid under control. Now that finning and selling of fins is illegal, hopefully the shark population will return to a healthy state. Lastly, there is the karma thing. So my thinking is that if I leave them alone, maybe they will leave me and my little yum yum yellow plastic boat alone. 

If it is legal to kill a lion or cape buffalo, why should they not do it?

Lions are on the road to extinction. If that isn't a good reason, I don't know what is.

I think what upsets people (me, anyway), is the back-slapping, high-fiving demeanor of these guys, dancing around this poor shark that was probably pregnant, when they're just going to waste it. Aren't there some laws against wanton waste of fish and game?

Yes in fact Agarcia posted that rule awhile ago. Waste of sport fish is a citeable offense. Bastards can pound sand.

On the surface, I don't have a problem with them keeping it. It might be a pending record. I kind of wonder about that reality show crew there to film it though.

Those fishermen aren't out there chopping off the fins of thousands of sharks like the factory ships from Asia. Maybe we ought to check which countries are wiping out the shark populations and STOP buying their goods at our local Walmart etc. That would do much more good than lamenting one mako shark.

Now their dumb commentary was Jaws/70's-like "sharks are evil killing machines"sounding, which is pretty stupid in these so-called "enlightened days" we live in.

Would I throw back a 23 pound largemouth bass? Nope. Would I throw back a 6 pound crappie. Hell no! How about a 400 pound halibut? I would put that one back. How about a bluefin tuna???? Their numbers are WAY WAY DOWN worldwide. People that target them should really think twice. And maybe bluefin should not be allowed to leave our country to fly first class to Japan for some folks ultra-expensive sushi dishes.

Fisher folks need to be careful. Our sport is being targeted. Only science without an agenda can get the real facts out there. Ironically, the same people griping about fishing often have no problem eating fish themselves. Somehow it's "green" if you buy it packaged in clear plastic at a supermarket or order a fresh selection at the neighborhood sushi bar. Like I said, we seem to live in an "enlightened age" of stupidity.   

So while that shark rots in the waste the guy can stroke himself off to the pictures of it being killed..................... awesome!