d-Some photos providedccccc

NOTE: As Lead Committee Members of the ILSFA, we were proud to gather a lot of good data on these fish for MOTE Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, FL, as well as NOAA's Apex Predator Tagging Program. There's a lot more info to go with this story and we'll add it all soon, including the fish facts. For now, we're heading to North Carolina on a last-minute, priority production call regarding some big news we'll share soon. For now, we'll let the pictures tell the most important part of the story ...

This expedition reminded us of touring and playing music. Whether it's rock & roll or fishing, there's something special about joining forces with other like-minded individuals as hell bent as you are to use whatever means possible and do whatever it takes to kick some good 'ol fashioned ass. In this case, the stage was a beach, and our audience was Mother Nature herself. She can definitely make for a tough crowd sometimes, but whenever we play nice, she usually gives it up.

The day before we hit the road, Mike & Zac confirmed the news reports, and told us the migration was in full-swing. In a few spots, sharks were breaching non-stop ... lots and lots of them at the same time. It was, as Zac said, "Like Disney World for sharks out there." This dramatic breaching behavior also earned this location another nickname -- 'The Popcorn Machine'. Before calling, they had already secured dozens of bluefish for bait in a matter of hours, and in the last 30 minutes or so of that outing, nabbed a few decent sharks -- just for fun. We'd have to dodge some cold fronts, but the shark show was a little ahead of schedule meaning there was only one thing left to do.

The objective here was simple; bait, catch, tag, document and release as many sharks as possible in about 10 hours of beach time spread over two days. And as usual when we get together, we wouldn't concern ourselves with who rigs, paddles or pulls the fish. this was about numbers ... period. It's this kind of fishing and attitude that epitomizes what this sport is all about. So now, it was showtime and all we needed were some sharks.

Keep in mind, this was February; a time of year that typically brings smaller fish. But during the late spring and summer months, these exact same waters support impressive specimens like the one shown below. Going in, we had no idea of the sheer quantity of sharks this particular expedition would produce. In the end, the team successfully captured, documented and released 22 bull and blacktip sharks. To our knowledge, it's the first time this particular style of angling was ever implemented to successfully pull off such a feat. Needless to say, it was a proud acheivement for everyone involved.