Reports from home and abroad tell us that now is a prime time to catch hammerhead sharks on Gulf Coast beaches.
On Sunday, we shared the shark fishing exploits of Charles Harger of Maumelle and Hal Harger of Little Rock. They take annual trips to the Florida Coast, where they catch multiple species of sharks from the beach. Big hammerhead sharks are common, and the unusual looking predators are always exciting because of their size, speed and difficulty of landing them in the surf.
The Hargers, like most shark anglers, release the sharks they catch.
On the other side of the Gulf, Poco Cedillo of Robstown, Texas, caught a 14-foot long hammerhead at Padre Island National Seashore last week near Corpus Christi, Texas. The shark was estimated to have weighed 918 pounds, according to an excellent story by David Sikes, outdoor editor of the Corpus Christi Caller-Times.
Sikes noted with much regret that the big hammerhead did not survive the encounter. Cedillo, who has affixed research tags to more than 100 sharks he caught, said the hammerhead probably succumbed to exhaustion after a fight that lasted nearly two hours. He and his companions filleted the shark and donated 400 pounds of meat to the Good Samaritan Rescue Mission.
Sikes noted that Cedillo was harshly criticized on social media over the shark's death, largely because of a report that aired on a local television station that did not mention Cedillo's extensive efforts to revive and save the shark.
While filleting the shark, Cedillo found 15 stingray barbs embedded in the shark's skin, including one that was 12 inches below the skin. Hammerheads prey on stingrays, and Cedillo used a 12-pound stingray as bait to catch this particular shark.
Charles Harger and Hal Harger said they frequently use stingrays for bait, too.
As the Hargers do, Cedillo paddled a kayak about 500 yards into the ocean to deposit the stingray in the deep water where big sharks roam. Charles Harger said 400 yards is his limit because he knows what's out there, and even a big kayak is under matched against giant sharks which are known to bite or bump kayaks.
The Hargers fish from ground level. Cedillo fishes from an elevated, specially made platform that's mounted on his pickup truck.
Photos of Cedillo's shark reminded me of my visit to Padre Island during spring break, 1981. My companions were fellow 1982 Central High grads Jay Sweeney of San Francisco and Rich Long of Mt. Airy, Md. Long, a Coast Guard brat, was raised on the East Coast and was an experienced surf fisherman. We fished chest deep in the surf at Padre Island. At night. It wasn't one of the smartest things I've done, and all we got to show for it was a mess of saltwater catfish.
Curiously, the State of Alabama strongly discourages fishing for sharks on or even near beaches, including fishing piers. The Alabama wildlife code reads: "It shall be unlawful, on or adjacent to the waters of Alabama under the jurisdiction of the Marine Resources Division as provided by Rule 220-2-.42, for any person to surf fish for sharks, bow fish for sharks, or fish for or target sharks by any other means from any pier or beach in such a manner that presents an unsafe condition to any beach goers, sun bathers, swimmers, or any other person."
According to David Rainer, a public information officer for the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, the regulation makes it illegal to fish in a manner that attracts sharks or targets sharks. It does penalize an angler that catches a shark while demonstrably targeting non-shark species.
I am told this regulation exists because Alabama has a very small amount of coastline compared to Florida and Texas, and its limited amount of coastline produces a lot of revenue from tourists that enjoy frolicking in the surf.
Luring sharks or fighting sharks among swimmers is probably not good for business.
If you stay at Orange Beach, Ala., you can fish for sharks in the surf simply by crossing the Intracoastal Waterway into Florida.
Sports on 07/19/2018