Thread: Shark Fishing Expanding

"God, grant me the serenity
To accept the things I cannot change,
The courage to change the things I can
And the wisdom to know the difference."

It seems that there are a few dozen sharks that tend to make the pier "home" and I will reserve judgment until a couple of dozen have been harvested and many more have been hooked, harassed, worn down and released with the bigger equipment being allowed. The fact that the decision makers are making adjustments to make it more successful is encouraging to say the least. I seldom fish the octi at night and usually leave by 6pm for dinner with the family anyway. So on a week vacation I would only lose fishing the octi for maybe 2 hours on 2 days. The novelty will wear off with the spectators who will get bored, hot, sleepy or hungry and they will go home long before daylight and leave the draw fishable those 2 mornings. I would even try to snag a few Spanish and offer up a couple for the sharkers to use for bait. Maybe that might even condition a throw back to think eating mackerel is hazardous to its health.

Originally Posted by Haywire

Mr. Cleland---you get stars, points or whatever for your first post. Great!!!!

I agree, Haywire! Great poetry!

Originally Posted by chillinfish

It seems that there are a few dozen sharks that tend to make the pier "home" and I will reserve judgment until a couple of dozen have been harvested and many more have been hooked, harassed, worn down and released with the bigger equipment being allowed. The fact that the decision makers are making adjustments to make it more successful is encouraging to say the least. I seldom fish the octi at night and usually leave by 6pm for dinner with the family anyway. So on a week vacation I would only lose fishing the octi for maybe 2 hours on 2 days. The novelty will wear off with the spectators who will get bored, hot, sleepy or hungry and they will go home long before daylight and leave the draw fishable those 2 mornings. I would even try to snag a few Spanish and offer up a couple for the sharkers to use for bait. Maybe that might even condition a throw back to think eating mackerel is hazardous to its health.

Bingo! The casual observer is not getting up at 5 or 6 in the morning to go watch. The other areas of the pier will be fishable. Hell if you've paid any attention at all this week there's been success on kings north of the octagon. It's progress! Let's embrace it. I will lose a couple hours on my vacation too if this continues through September but if it results in better fishing on the hours I'm out I think it's a huge win.

Some one needs to find out if you hook a jack or king if you will be allowed to follow it if it goes to the end , if they say no and I loose a good fish I will not be a happy camper and will voice my displeasure

There are methods to turn a hooked fish...

Originally Posted by Nimakdm

Yah as I mentioned in the other thread that amount of time sucks lol. With the crowds/closed octi there's no reason for me to buy a week pass now at the pier as 2 days will be unusable when I normally can get there. Why can't they just do like any other pier and let people fish around shark fishermen...

My thought is that could very well be the next step, or the end result, providing things go well. There is a lot to consider and determine whether the Pier and folks that run it want to take the issues on. Since it has never been done, I think leadership is wise with their approach. Find out for ourselves rather than just jump in because other piers do it. Far more issues. So lets all contribute by being positive and helping. Some of the rhetoric going off on the live stream chats is interesting. Some folks are NOT shedding a positive light on the fisherman or fish community. So what if someone is trolling and trying to cause trouble. Just ignore them. The stronger will rise above that garbage and simply ignore it. Then we ALL look good! Progress is happening ,,,,,,,,,,,,

^ GREAT first post there!

Originally Posted by Pier#r

There are methods to turn a hooked fish...

Big king or jack will do what he wants to do when first hooked , some time. Just have to go with them

I understand the frustration for a pre-planned vacation; however, you'd probably be a lot more upset about losing a nice king and tons of tackle than you will be by missing a little fishing time on the octi. So you've planned an entire week of fishing at daybreak, but it tends to pop up showers and storms all the time, you likely can't get every single day in anyway. The bite comes and goes throughout the day anyway. I'm glad they have listened to everyone's concerns and are working to try and figure out the best way to deal with it. If I'm able to save only 1 x-rap, that's more money saved than an entire day of pier admission...or pretty much anyway.