"Wing and a Prayer"

Sometimes you just get a "sign" randomly that signals to you that you have to go soak a bait, and that's how this story begins. I was gassing up with what little cash I had available at a local gas station, when I saw it, the universal sign of METAL, and I knew I had to call Team Rebels newest metal contributor and spring into action ASAP.

 I called Cody and told him what had happened, and he agreed that we needed to act accordingly  by finding the closest water and rowing baits before the day was gone. So I packed up the gear and met Cody at his house and it was time to rock!

  Obviously, since I was low on the fossil fuels, we decided to throw all the gear into Codys rig and in no time we were finally beach bound in search of what would accept our stingray offering.

 We arrived with some favorable conditions for a change, and were anxious to put baits out to see what would come of it. However, the tide was not in our favor and there was seaweed starting to creep into the trough and our lines, but we were in too deep now to turn around.

 Hours passed as we conversed about who our favorite metal bands, and sang the praises of the band DOWN's guitar player Kirk Windstein and how cavemanish he is. That's when Codys 80 TTS began to light up. Cody has never spent much time shark fishing on the beaches for anything besides black-tips and spinners, but he has been committed since he Team Rebel induction to getting tight on something stout on the sand, and it appeared his chance had finally arrived.

 After about 4 pick ups and drops the spool finally was rolling steady, that's when I told Cody to "lock it down" and let the circle hook engage into the sharks mouth. Without hesitation Cody locked up and line started peeling off the reel, it felt like a decent one. Cody being new to this opted to sit in the sand instead of the more traditional Team Rebel harness while the fish was taking its initial run, and this one had a lot of heart!

The fight lasted about 15 minutes until I saw the JET BLACK dorsal pierce the water in the first trough. It was the unmistakeable sickle we saw cutting across the water all while it was executing some ferocious 180's as it tried to elude capture. However its attempts were futile, as I bum rushed the shark the first opportunity I had. In an instant, Cody had landed his first real beach shark.

  We took two pictures before the hook was cut and I was dragging the angry black hammer back to its watery home, but not before Cody was able to snap this cool picture.

  So far Cody has broken into the Team Rebel ranks while bringing it STRONG to whatever expedition we have embarked on, and if his luck keeps up, something big is lurking on the horizon...........

Until next time....

Team Rebel OUT!

"The Curse of the Hammer"

  This year has so far been lacking in the shark department for us here at Team Rebel, that is due to a variety of reasons that will come to light in the very near future, but a small bright spot has given us a much needed spark to continue on with what our mission here at Team Rebel is. Mike is another kid I have watched over the years grow up at the pier and a very good friend of Team Rebel's Viktor, and even though he thoroughly enjoys shark fishing, he has lived three years with a vicious shark curse bestowed upon him and his luck when it comes to the coastal denizens. But no longer will Mike have to walk around town with that burden lingering over his head, as the curse of the hammer has finally been lifted...

 Friday afternoon I received a call from Viktor telling me that he has finally completed his semester of college, and had a truck load of fresh bait and him and Mike were looking to go wrangle some toothy critters a little later on that night. And during the duration of the phone call I helped Viktor lay out some potential options and spots to lay siege on for the night, but after a short while we both agreed on what the best option was for a chance at a nice fish in the now barren wasteland of South Florida, and they quickly geared up and mobilized for the ensuing expedition.

   They were set up and deploying baits around 9 P.M. into the silent sea, that of which we have not seen much of in the recent months, and began the usual waiting game in hopes of a nice fish roaming the area code between sandbar number one and two. After about a two hour soak, Mikes 12/0 started to make a slow steady run eastward, he quickly threw the reel into gear and came tight onto a fish that qickly stripped off around 150yds of his 130 pound mono off his reel, and he knew he had finally hooked a nice one after years of dismay and agony.

 Mike hooked up to his personal demon

  From Viktors account it was touch and go for a while with the heavy drag they were fishing, and Viktor re assured me they were taking the necessary measures to stay safe while shark fishing from the beach, as they have recently moved up to fishing with harnesses, and will always have a safety line attached to the angler with a spotter due to their smaller stature.

 

 After about a forty-five minute battle, the best sight in Mikes shark fishing career cut across the surface of the still ocean, and a healthy hammer-head soon made its presence known to the leader man Viktor, as he shouted up to Mike in excitement, knowing that the long awaited battle was finally over, and Mikes persistence in shark fishing finally helped him break through to the hammer side.

 They began snapping some quick pictures, while Viktor and his skeleton crew began removing the hooks and prepping the still spunky male hammer-head for a safe release.

Mike with his conquered adversary

   After a few short moments and pictures, Viktor worked the now frisky hammerhead back into the flat surf, and after a few moments the shark took off like a missile back into the depths to resume its normal daily hammerhead regiment.

   Congrats to Viktor and Mike for getting out there and making something happen, and make me and top-tier Team Rebel member Chris look bad, as we opted to go chase monster line-siders, which did not end well, instead of headed out in search of sharks. They worked well as a team to put a nice fish on the sand, and re-energize Mike and the members of Team Rebel to maybe, just maybe get back out on the sand soon and start to hunt the legendary Florida sharks once again. And one more time, a big shout-out to Mike or "Beans" for stepping up to the plate, remaining persistent and breaking the curse of the hammer, here's to ya' and many more safe captures and releases in the future! It has been wild watching these kids grow up into shark fishing machines from what seemed like just a few short years ago when they were causing trouble on the local piers before they were old enough to drive!

 This Fish was brought to you, and caught on a Double-D Extreme Tackle rig!!

Until next time.......

Team Rebel Out!