"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.....

Prior Arrangements

 We were pleased that we fished one night the previous week and were able to land a decent fish for the first time in a long time, and apparently that little lemon was all it took to ignite a fire under the asses of Viktor and co. to go out and try to get in on a little shark action himself. Vik called me and told me his plan of action and I agreed that it was a good idea and to go pound sand until he got what he wanted. But there was one little problem.....there was no bait...

  Viktor decided he would address this matter himself with a lure that no unwilling future shark bait could deny; the cold steel shaft of his AB Biller spear gun. But the sea was lifeless as it has been for months now, thus making this task much more difficult than it even seemed at first. After a total of 14 hours and 6 locations over the course of two days scanning the depths for stingrays, Viktor finally was able to get a couple small ones and depart back toward the coastline for the original purpose.

 Viktor called me and told me the location he would be fishing on this particular night, and I told him I had some prior arrangements with Cody, and that if something changed we might take a stroll out to scope out the situation. Well, as usual, the plans fell through, so after a long trek back from the northern lands, chewing on beef jerky, and completely overloaded on nicotine and Black Label Society, we launched a sneak attack on the small, discreet shark camp.

 When we walked up on them, I noticed that the beach had the "vibe" that I always mention when I feel like there is something nice swimming in the perimeter of base camp, so we decided to hang out for a while and see what woould come of it. But shortly after our arrival Mikes 12/0 let out a fast and steady run. It sounded like a nice fish had taken the ray, and with one quick throw of the lever, the circle hook was buried in the corner of the fishes mouth and the battle was on!

The fight was short lived but full of plenty of belligerent headshakes and sharp turns. Within a few minutes we saw the signature double dorsal rise up in the wash, and we knew we had a stout Lemon on the other end of the leader. We charged the surf and cody and I secured the tail so we could get a couple quick shots.

After about approximately 30-40 seconds in the wash zone, the shark was on its way back into the trough so it could continue its regular routine and casual cruising and sight-seeing tour up the coastline.

All in all, not a bad not for any of us, even though we had some prior arrangements fall through, we were able to get over to spot x and help out a little bit with Mike and Viktors fish. And one thing we all took from this besides a couple of nice pictures, is the fact that everybody has a fire ignited under their ass right now, and who knows what tomorrow could bring.

Until next time.....

-Team Rebel Out

 We would like to thank our great sponsors for supporting us through hell and high water so we can keep doing what we do! Make sure to check them out!

"Return to the Flat"

  * NOTE- This report is a couple of weeks old, it just hadn't been published due to picture difficulties

 A long endless year of heat here in Florida this year has been more unbearable than ever before, mostly due to the fact that this may be the worst year of fishing I have ever witnessed with my own two eyes. But there has been a couple of bright spots during the course of the seemingly endless purgatory of fishless-ness, and this report is one of our best moments of the year.

   The heat index was hovering around 109 degrees, with the humidity in the air being so thick, it makes even the simplest of tasks a burden this time of year. But even with the scarcness of good angling, and the stiffling heat, Brendon made the phone call to me asking if I would like to join in on a trip to a legendary wade fishing spot of ours, which i graciously accepted.

   We got our gear set and hit the water at around 1 P.M. not knowing what to expect, as many of our trips to this honey hole of ours have left us heart broken, or heading home empty handed throughout the course of the year. But after leaving the spot alone for over a month, and the mullet starting to make their annual migration in the area, it renewed our hope that maybe something would be different on this trip.

   We set up our customary base camp in the normal spot, and began the task of rounding up some mullet to prepare to fish the tide change. Luckily for us, there was mullet swarming the surrounding flats, so it was a nice change of pace, as we have had to fight tooth and nail just to be able to obtain bait this year. After about twenty minutes, we had all the bait we needed for the afternoon, so we began drifting the 12inch mullet down current towards the edge of the now grassy flat.

  Just like the rest of the year, hours went by of standing in the luke warm water, without a bite, or a sign of life to be seen anywhere. Needless to say, morale was low yet again, and it wasn't looking to promising just like all the previous trips to the flat during the year. That was until Brendon began retrieving his mullet and prepare for another drift. Brendons massive mullet was about a foot and a half from where he stood in a little more than ankle deep water, when I looked over toward him to check out what he was up to, when I noticed a large black shadow raising up just a couple of feet away from him at the end of the flat. In a split second, there was a massive eruption just inches from Brendons feet, and his rod was bowed over as far is it could bend, all while he was trying to regain his footing and composure in a frenzied state of panic. Mud was being thrown all over the shallow flat everywhere the fish traveled, and amongst the massive boils I could see shades of green and yellow, indicating it was the fish we had been looking for all season long.

   The battle raged on for a few minutes, before the fish had finally wore itself out enough to be chased down on the flat so it could be landed. I grabbed the fish, while still leaving it submerged, and yelled for brendon to grab his phone to take a picture of the beast he had just beaten in the shallow water, and what a nice fish it was.

   After a couple of quick pictures, Brendon placed the big snook back into the water, and began to walk her down the flat to let her recuperate after the vicious shallow water battle, before she shook once violently and slowly cruise off the flat back to her home in the channel.

  It was nice to see not all hope has been lost for the remainder of the year, and with a little bit of luck, and a much needed boost to our morale, maybe we can end the year of 2011 strong. Great job on a trophy wade fishing Snook Brendon, and hopefully it will be the first of many more to come.

So until next time....Team Rebel Out!

New Sponsor Announcement- Barrett Custom Rods Signs on!

 

 You are all in for it now! We here at Team Rebel are VERY excited to announce that Barrett Custom rodshas officially joined the Unholy Alliance! Pete Barrett has quickly become one of the most sought after rod builders in the state of Florida, and with good reason. His rods are built individually to meet the standards of every customers personal specifications. And along with the modern twist and edge Pete builds his rods with, it isn't hard to see why he has even built rods for Zac Brown of the world-famous Zac Brown Band!

  Pete has an established reputation as an angler, and that is personified within his demon slaying creations! We here at Team Rebel have stopped a number of leviathans on Pete's sticks, and back his product a 110%, and one look at his work and the fish that have been captured on these monster stompers, you will see exactly what we are talking about!

 So keep your eyes peeled, because the next monster fish we drop lie a ton of bricks into the international fishing community will DEFINENTLY be on a Barret Custom Rod!

 Now lets get back to the surf and F*^k up some monsters!

  BEAST UP!

 With Barrett Rods!

The Sour Taste of Summer

 As we quickly near the annual kick-off of Florida's dreaded hurricane season, the fishing is starting to heat up quickly, along with the asphalt that is now hot enough to fry an egg on, thus signifying that summer is in full swing here in South Florida. Along with summer, some of the lucky ones get to indulge in three month long vacations and all the other benefits that come along with being young still. So to sample the temperate waters, Viktor headed north in search of the somewhat absent Lemon shark to kick off the summer festivities.

 Viktor arrived at location-x at about 2 p.m. to prepare for the tide switch that would be occurring in the next hour or so. And as quickly as he got there, his shark baits were soaking a short time after as visions of large sharks swam in the waters of his day dreams in anticipation of the bite.

After a couple hours time, and a few pesky black-tip bites on his baits, Viktor was soon hooked up to a decent fish that was landed after about a ten minute battle. The fish was quickly subdued and left in the wash from the waves while the hook was removed from this nice Lemon Shark.

 

After a quick Removal of the D-D Extreme Tackle hook, the shark was back on its merry way, to keep terrorizing the surf zones of the North, as the mating season for the Lemon Shark is nearing fast.

 

 Not to bad for an impromptu trip, congratulations to Viktor on yet another fine catch, and a great way to kick-off the summer season of fishing for him. At least now, the sour taste of summer has been taken from all of our mouths...

Until next time....

Team Rebel Out!

This Fish was safely caught and released on a DD Extreme Tackle Shark Rig!!