Captain's Report - December 25th, 2012

by Capt. Dave Mistretta

Awesome week of fishing: This week proved to be quite rewarding for us, with some unusual catches. Our most incredible encounter was with a giant tiger shark. My client landed this rare shark while bottom fishing, 25 miles to the northwest of Clearwater.

Unexpected surprise: After reeling in 1000 lbs. of jacks in a two hour period, bottom fishing seemed like an easy way to end the day. Little did we know, the shark followed us from the wreckage. These curious sharks love to hang around wrecks, especially ones that hold large jacks.

Unique Characteristics: Tiger sharks can easily be recognized by the vertical stripes that cover their entire body. Their square-like head is also unmistakable. This shark did not let us down, displaying its beautiful striped pattern, as it cruised by the boat after a half hour battle. Eventually the shark tail whipped the leader boat side. Water from its tail splashed all of us, drenching everyone. We watched in amazement, as the giant shark swim away. Our cell phones came in handy that day, allowing us to take numerous videos of this rare battle.

Other game fish: Big kingfish showed up too in a few locations. We witnessed numerous kings skyrocketing in the air, as they fed on bait at the entrance to Clearwater Pass.