350lb bull shark tops huge haul of Florida Keys fish (As published in Sea Angler)
A trip to the balmy waters of the Florida Keys resulted in a holiday of a lifetime for Martin Hodgkinson and his three friends who, in five action-packed days, banked an incredible seven tonnes of shark between them. Fishing with Angling Direct Holidays, the group from Wolverhampton caught a wide variety of the species, including lemon, nurse, bull, and black tip sharks, as well as stingrays and barracuda. Under the watchful gaze of experienced guide Dave Plummer, in one day alone Martin and his pal, Brendan Moore, had 29 runs, landing 14 of them, with the biggest topping the 300lb-barrier and the smallest going over 100lb.
It wasn’t all plain sailing, however, with one of the group having to be rushed to hospital after being bitten by one of the ferocious predators. Martin told Angling Times: “It took a couple of days to suss out that most of the sharks were in the shallower water, and also how to get our presentations right. We started off using two hooks, but after having several fish drop the baits we went down to one hook, and our catch returns improved dramatically.”
Testament to the quality of fishing on offer was that all the party managed to land a specimen over 300lb and, bizarrely, Martin and Brendan both caught the same shark ¬ estimated around 350lb ¬ in the space of four days.
“It was a memorable trip, but also hard work. We were out on the boats in the scorching sun for eight hours a day and each fight lasted at least 20 minutes. I could do with another holiday just to recover,” Martin added.
The majority of the fish were taken on chunks of fresh fish, and were brought to the boat with the help of 50lb mainline attached to 100lb leaders, 200lb wire traces and size 8/0 hooks.
It was on the final day of the trip when one of the party, Richard Bradley, felt the sharp end of his quarry after being bitten on the forearm while unhooking a 60lb shark next to the boat.
“He had to be taken to the hospital, where he received 45 stitches. Luckily, it was one of the smallest fish we caught all week ¬ if it had been one of the 300lb-plus sharks, things could have been a great deal worse,” said Martin.
