12ft Hammerhead Shark- "Hook Shots" Field and Stream Shoot.

Well you all know how I like to do a nice write-up to every report we publish. However, this time we wont be doing that, because Field and Streams "Hook Shots" show recorded it for us. Team Rebel has been very elusive to moving film for years now, and this is a great way to break the cycle, thanks to Joe Cermele and Jimmy Fee of "On the Water" magazine. So sit back ,grab a beer and some BBQ, an American flag, and get ready to have your soul crushed by Team Rebel Charters!

Bringin' it Strong!

  I just looked at the calendar, and it is already four months into 2013, almost five months removed from doomsday, and finally ready to break out of our Trout filled hibernation, and do the beach thing one more time. However, this year will be a lot different, I have relocated much further North, into a strange land, and will not be stalking the South coast in search of the elusive sicklefin for the first time in ten years. But sometimes you get lucky in life and you run into some people who truly "get it" and are ready and worthy of having the torch passed to them, to hold down the legacy that was left behind. Cody got his feet wet for the first time last shark season, and proved he was really worthy of some of the information handed down toward him, along with his trout fishing borderline cyborg counterpart  Adam "Redfisk" Fisk.

   They came up to Shark Command Central North, expressing their interest in fishing this season, so we convened, and decided they need to get the right set-ups to get a Team Rebel quality job done. And after much searching, and a lot of headaches, their rods were built, reels were filled, and they were finally ready to hit the surf after one of the longest winters I can ever remember here in Florida.

 The weather had finally warmed, and their first day had finally arrived. But there were a couple of setbacks, such as not having a tip for Codys new whopper stopper, and well, no bait. So as soon as Cody got off work he began driving all over the county in search of two items that they could not fish without. The tip was acquired without much incident, and luckily for once, so was the bait, but now the ace to prime time was on, and Cody had to fight through the merciless Southern snowbird rush hour traffic to deploy baits for prime time...

  We here at Team Rebel like to tell the truth, no matter how brutal or unsettling might be, so get ready for a quickie about what legnths we go through to catch sharks.

 Cody was three cars back in a turn lane, when the light changed, and some guy in a new Mustang decided that he didnt feel the need to move forward. And in true South Florida fashion, Cody gave him the one finger salute and a heavy dose of horn when he got the chance to get around him and go. Well, apparently as soon as Cody did this, the guy took off behind him, and continually harassed him in traffic for the next fifteen minutes or so, screaming many things out his window from behind the PS-1 (Codys truck) which garnered many solitary fingers in response. Cody pulled into a gas station to fuel up to meet Redfisk at the beach where he was waiting, when the Mustang followed him into the gas station. The guy immediately started yelling at Cody from his window while Cody was trying to gas up, and Cody was having none of it. He ran to the mystery mans car who at this point was shouting "you need to chill out!" When Cody started punching him repeatedly in the face while he was trying to roll up his window and get away from the situation. After a good 6-7 shots to the guys face, he tried to speed away, while Cody was still in pursuit on foot. Well somebody called the police at this point, and they were pulling in while Mr. Mustang was pulling out. While they were trying to figure out what was going on, Cody was thrown into the back of a squad car, where he was able to snap this convenient picture, before the police let him go after many bystanders confirmed that the guy followed him in to start the issue. And just like that, he was on his way to deploy.

 Cody arrives at the beach with "Albatross" blaring from his speakers and echoing down the still lively streets while Adam rushed to unload to get baits out before nightfall. 40min before dark the first baits were dropped in a menacing looking ocean, when I received a text saying the first baits on season were finally in soak mode.Only fifteen minutes had pased when Adams brand new Avet 80 started screaming, needless to say both of them were in complete shock being 15minutes into the season. A harness-less Adam sat down in the sand, cranked tight and the first fish of the year was hooked up and taking line fast!

Cody called me about 15minutes into the fight and said they were hooked up, and that they saw a Hammer dorsal rise up in motion out far and it was a decent one. I was completely ecstatic by this news, and right before he hung up I yelled "get a good picture!" as the phone line went dead. The shark came in in under 20minutes, and it was LIVID. It was going completely ballistic in the wash, while Cody was trying to work the leader and secure a tail-rope on this guy solo.

 After a short and brutal struggle, Cody was able to secure the shark for a moment and remove the hook while they "tried" to take a few pictures. I say tried, because neither of them thought it was a good idea to bring a camera, and apparently their Iphone photo skills are not really up to par, it will be a learning experience for sure, as you can see from these incredible shots taken.

 The photo session was short, as they wanted to make sure the shark swam away healthy and quickly. This did not go without incident either, as the shark was "still trying to eat them" all the way till the moment they released it from their grasp. Less than an hour into the season they were on the board with a 10ft range Hammer, very skinny but with freakish appendages.

About 20min goes by and Codys new 14/0 setup goes off. He gets harnessed up , and locks down and comes tight with the fish which immediately starting stripping a lot of line off his reel, unfortunately after a SOLID  run, the hook inexplicably pulls, leaving the beach silent once again...

 It was heartbreaking, but the sting was eased knowing they had a nice one on the beach from a short while earlier, but not to be deterred, they paddled back out what little bait they had left. While Cody was out in the darkness deploying the second bait, a black-tip flew out of the water infront of him and clipped the front of his kayak. He immediately turned back toward shore and found dam wrestling this little guy to the beach single handedly. One quick picture and she was pushed back out to sea.

 The rest of the night went without incident and sat in silence for another few hours before packing up to catch a few hours of sleep before work in the morning. Both of them were able to catch lightning in a bottle their first trip out, hell their first bait out. And if this is any indication on how this season may go, you better stay tuned, because we will all be bringin' it stronger than you can possibly imagine!

Team Rebel out

"The Home-wrecker"

   The springtime East wind had begun to blow, sending most sharkers packing back to their homes to wait the big blow out until the seas die down enough to make fishing somewhat manageable and safer. But sometimes when you are hell bound, even monster surf can't hold back an even bigger monster.

 I was sitting on my back porch looking into the sky, watching the branches on all the Foxtail Palms flexing in the stern wind, and enjoying the overcast skies and a frosty beverage, when my phone began to ring from none other then the hammer kid Viktor. He told me he wanted to fish on this night, which I Immediately thought that he was out of his f*^%#&g mind, but he pressed the issue and insisted that he had a good feeling. Being that he is now at the ripe old age of 20, and I am no longer responsible for his death if he dumps in the surf way out at night time, I said "go for it, no rest for the wicked right".

  His normal companion did not want to "waste his time" so Team Rebel pledge Cody and I decided to dedicate the rest of our night to Vik's cause. We did a little bit of brainstorming, and dug deep into the rebel X-files to think of a place that we would have a balance of somewhat smaller surf and the best chance of a hookup, and with the conditions at hand, all signs pointed at "The Bank". Justly named, as we always seem to make "withdrawals" when we hit spot-x at the optimum time.

   When we setup base camp on the beach, a shred of humanity descended upon me, and I told Viktor that this was a terrible idea, but he insisted he was heading out to sea to crest the white mountains that were present as a stable foreground to the menacing darkness offshore. And after a VERY dicey paddle in 4-6ft surf without a life jacket, Viktor stayed true in getting the one lone bait out, and the wait began.....

 About two hours into the soak Viktors 12/0 let out a steady roll against the mammoth surf. Viktor came tight and engaged the circle hook into the fishes mouth and both him and the shark were locked in for the long haul. The fight  was full of belligerent head shakes and strong, brutal bursts which were yanking Viktor all over the beach in his harness. Cody had to take a break from trying to wreck homes and help support Viktor while I readied the rope and cutters for a landing.

 After the better part of twenty minutes, a black dorsal rose in the midst of the white wash at the surfs edge, it was then I was able to identify the fish as a feisty and belligerent Bull shark. True to its name, it was difficult to land the shark because it kept "bulling" hard in the wash, but within a minute the shark was finally subdued for a hook removal and a couple of quick pictures.

 Viktor and Cody said they would take the tail for the dangerous release, which is always sketchy when you are dealing with an angry and spunky Bull shark in rough and shallow water. But all went well, and the long,skinny male which looked like it just came out from the inside waters was in great shape and on its way again after the short detour. Afterwards, some high fives were exchanged, and Viktor proclaimed that "now we could go home", and not a moment too soon in my opinion.

 Surf was braved, homes were wrecked, and bulls were caught. Last time I checked, that constitutes as Metal in the book of Team Rebel.

Until next time, get tight, Beast up, keep it metal.

-Team Rebel out

 This report was brought you in part by.....

March to the Shore

   It didn't seem that long ago, that we were coming off our worst season to date, dull of despair and emergency room trips. Yet, here we are again, the flowers have began to bloom, the ducks are beginning to take flight, accompanied by the endless sniffles and headaches that come along with the spring time allergies. It is time to dust off the gear and try to sneak out for what may be our final spring shark season.

 The smell was in the air, and the motivation was still at an all time low even after an almost year long hiatus from shark fishing. We had no plans to fish at all this year, until something strange occurred a couple of nights ago.... Long-time readers and followers of our operation know what we are talking about when we make mention of the "ducks", and during a nap a couple of days ago I awoke to my dog barking out my front window as if somebody was trying to tear my front door off the hinges. But when I walked out to investigate, a chill shot up my spine when two of the ducks were on my porch, staring through my window with their soulless eyes, and it was at that moment I knew, no matter what had happened in the last year, it was time to get the gear, and march toward the shore, if only for one trip.

 It just so happened that Brendon called me soon after the incident had occured, and I asked if he wanted to give it a go on a whim, which he reluctantly agreed to. However, for the first time in 2012, the skys were about to open up and unleash the floods upon us...

 We took a page out of the old Team Rebel scriptures and decided to beast up no matter what bad weather was coming to give it a shot. We were met with HEAVY resistance from above, and were punished in four hours of blinding rain and lightning, in which we had no shelter, and had to resort to throwing our camera and phones into a maggot infested trash bag to keep the only things that mattered dry, as we stood in the pitch black ocean for 2 hours just to stay warm.

 By some miracle, the rain stopped and shortly after Brendon got a steady run on his rod. He harnessed up and I came tight on the circle hook and the fight was on.

The battle was short but well fought by our adversary, and after about 10 minutes we were happy to see a dorsal rise in the surf. I went out and roped it and we left the guy in the wash zone and snapped a quick pic in the rain during the hook removal process and sending him on his way.

Nice to get tight again, and who knows, maybe we will have to go fishing again one day soon.....

Until next time....Beast Up!

-Team Rebel out

The Demons of Durban- Part II

 

A humpback whale at the Durban Slipway Circa 1909

"The Gear"

     The anglers would load up their newly acquired whale meat and head southward on the railway that lead to the end of Durban's south jetty, with hopes of taming these beasts that constantly patrolled the harbor. But the tackle and techniques these anglers choose to use were somewhat primitive, even for the day and age they were stalking these sharks. The tackle which was most commonly used to try to tame these giants from the rock laden jetty typically consisted of a wooden Scarborough reel, with rods constructed from locally grown bamboo. These outfits usually held anywhere from 600-800 meters of Flax line, which was then proceeded by a 30 meter length of wire or cable trace, that normally would have a dog chain link somewhere along the leader that was closer to the bait and homemade sinker. To deploy these baits off the jetty and into the shipping channel, one angler would typically hold the rod, while another angler would strip anywhere from 20-40 meters of line off the spool of the Scarborough reel, and lie it flat on the surface of the jetty. At that point, the second man would then take a strap of leather or a belt, and place it through the dog chain link that was on the cable trace leader. After the belt had been secured onto the chain, the second angler would then begin to propel the bait in a helicopter like motion about six or seven times, or until enough momentum had been built up, and then relinquish his grip from the belt, enabling the fifteen to twenty pounds of bait and sinker to sail across the horizon and into the shipping channel. The anglers were also resourceful by using little home made wooden boats, with an oar that is similar to that of todays kayak paddle, to deploy baits out into the shipping lanes, as seen in the video below, which is the only known video to exist of this group of anglers.

'WARE SHARKS!

Peter Botha with a 793lb Great White Shark

     But where did these men put their rods while they were waiting for hell to erupt on the jetty? Well through a labor intensive task, these men carved numerous holes into the slabs of rock that formed the jetty with just hammers and chisels. Each man had their own hole to place the small butt end of their rod in while they awaited the bite that could have made them immortal. Another problem that needed to be addressed , was how to prevent line from coming off of their Scarborough style reels while they waited, for these wooden reels did not have any drag system or anti-reverse. The men were very creative and resourceful in this effort, using a wadded up piece of newspaper placed between the reel and the rod to prevent line from escaping off the reel while in the waiting position.

Angler fighting a shark; Note the Carved holes and the newspaper preventing reel from free spooling.

 Up to this point, the anglers had it all figured out, from how to get the bait, to how to deploy their lines. But alas, the toughest part was still ahead of them, and far from over ever before it began, for the epic battles of the South Jetty of Durban were about to commence, and separate the men from the boys..........

Anglers from the club proudly displaying their 33 Bull and Dusky catch from a mere 5 hours of fishing

The Demons of Durban- Part I