Wisconsin Badger's Hammerhead Shark
Capt. Steve Souther
January 5, 2018
Fort Lauderdale - Saltwater Fishing Report
With the week between Christmas and New Year behind us, we've found that one of our trips created a bit of a stir. The Wisconsin Badger's Hammerhead Shark is what we'll call this.
5 of the players and one of the coaches from Wisconsin joined us for some fishing before the Orange Bowl game. The late afternoon trip set out around 4 pm. We are looking for BIG fish, after all, these were big boys. LOL
Sitting in deep water over 600', we waited and I was about to try in shallower water when we got as bite. It was funny because we had the boys try and pull line off the reel. They had a tough time with where the drag was set. This fish did not have that problem and pulled off about 100 yards quickly.
Our angler never faded and stayed set on his goal. It took a little over 30 minutes to see what we had caught, a 9' Hammerhead shark. We boated the fish for measurement, tagging and pictures before releasing him. But that's not what caused a stir.
It seems at the game they posted a picture I had taken from the fly bridge of the shark and the crew on the Jumbo Tron. Hammerhead sharks are protected in state waters because they are endangered. The public and media were calling the FWC, our fish and game people.
An agent contacted me some days later for an interview of what occurred. I explained we go to great lengths to take care of the game fish we catch and release. We have a hose that pumps sea water for our catches to breath and this helps us release them in good shape.
When you see game fish caught on our boat in a picture, if it's not edible, it is released. And it was the same with the Wisconsin Badger's Hammerhead Shark.
Happy New Year
Captain Steve
More Fishing Reports:
