SWAT goes beyond the break to catch Hell's Angel.

[jerryG]

Late report from a couple weeks ago. I met up with Toads Only (Jonathan) and PTN (Peter) on the water for a SWAT Navy Mission outside the break.. Second cast I hooked something really solid.. I couldn't lift it off the bottom.. I thought it had me in some Kelp stringers. I put as much pressure as I possibly could with 12 lb. line to try to get this fish off the bottom. It would come off the bottom a for a couple seconds shake violently and then go right back down and bury itself on the bottom again. This went on for several minutes before I finally got the fish off the bottom.. It made a few short but powerful runs. It would swim away from me and then turn and swim straight towards the yak. By this time PTN had come over to help out..

Although I was hoping to find a monster halibut at the end of my line I was thinking that I had a big leopard. When I finally got a look at it and I was very surprised to find a big Angel Shark.. I had hooked in the nose which prevented it from chewing me off with its razor like teeth. This thing was no Angel.. It fought hard and it was mean as hell. I did not want to get my hands anywhere near it. It would thrash from side to side opening it's mouth showing its rows of jagged teeth. I have spent a lot of time fishing our local waters over the past 35 years and this was a first for me.


Here's a few pics.. Sorry no good pics of the fish.. I passed on trying to grab it. If it got a hold of me it would have been bad..

http://i1231.photobucket.com/albums/ee502/jerrygiberti/Hells%20Angel/ae2af771-ac83-4da4-92fe-0ab5aa23ec89_zps52e14971.jpg (http://s1231.photobucket.com/user/jerrygiberti/media/Hells%20Angel/ae2af771-ac83-4da4-92fe-0ab5aa23ec89_zps52e14971.jpg.html)

http://i1231.photobucket.com/albums/ee502/jerrygiberti/Hells%20Angel/Angelfightbackgroundedit_zps385e49de.jpg (http://s1231.photobucket.com/user/jerrygiberti/media/Hells%20Angel/Angelfightbackgroundedit_zps385e49de.jpg.html)

http://i1231.photobucket.com/albums/ee502/jerrygiberti/Hells%20Angel/IMG_2432_zpscfdef8d7.jpg (http://s1231.photobucket.com/user/jerrygiberti/media/Hells%20Angel/IMG_2432_zpscfdef8d7.jpg.html)

http://i1231.photobucket.com/albums/ee502/jerrygiberti/Hells%20Angel/51a07971-6ad5-4482-861b-018c0b5318a3_zps51989e12.jpg (http://s1231.photobucket.com/user/jerrygiberti/media/Hells%20Angel/51a07971-6ad5-4482-861b-018c0b5318a3_zps51989e12.jpg.html)

We also caught some short halibut and I think Peter might of caught one that was legal..

.

Jerryg

[SP Dan]

Great catch Jerry! :Big Smile::Applause:

That is the first Angel Shark that I've ever heard of being caught on this site :EyePop: or ever! :Thumbs Up: WTG!!
I looked it up on Google and these sharks have been placed on the marine endangered species list.

Great job on the release! :Cool: Even a better idea not to handle it because of how :Shocked: dangerous it could have been!

SP Dan <"))><

[bachiboy]

Nice going Jerry! Those bad boys have some gnarly teeth, so don't think I woulda been messin with it too much either. Good to hear that you guys were able to get out there and wet a line together. Sounds like good times!

Don


I looked it up on Google and these sharks have been placed on the marine endangered species list.

Interesting cuz I never heard of anyone keeping or eating them, so I wonder why the dwindling numbers. I'm sure the tree-huggers will find some way to blame it on us.:LOL:

[The_Dude]

Nice going Jerry! Those bad boys have some gnarly teeth, so don't think I woulda been messin with it too much either. Good to hear that you guys were able to get out there and wet a line together. Sounds like good times!

Don


Interesting cuz I never heard of anyone keeping or eating them, so I wonder why the dwindling numbers. I'm sure the tree-huggers will find some way to blame it on us.:LOL:

hahahaha bachi they have done a great job of restricting us so far.

on a side note, looked up that shark and what a weird specimen.

[Raneman]

WTG Jerry! That is a very rare catch indeed. I've had to pleasure of seeing one of these amazing beasts once when my friend caught one off a jetty. Those things are definitely gnarly looking. I don't blame you on not taking the photo op, those teeth are nothing to mess with. Keep up the good work!

Raney

[blackwater]

Wow Jerry, nice job battling the Beast, I would have cut my line as soon as I saw it, I want no part of that thing, hahaha :LOL:
Long time since we last fished together my friend, hope to see you at the next Hunting Giants event. :Cool:

Here's another Hell's Angel that Commander Wingnut caught a while back on the LC from the surf. I was with him that day and it actually bit him. :Shocked:
The thing bent around and bit him in the leg. Lucky for Arthur the jaws clamped around the 3rd grip holster. :EyePop:

Here's the link to the report.
http://fishingnetwork.net/forum4/showthread.php?20816-Business-as-Usual-in-my-quot-Other-quot-Office-NEW-Species!-Sunday-7-20-08&highlight=angel+shark

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r135/Wingnut32566/Wingnut2/Wingnut3/Picture022-4.jpg

[yakfish51]

Wow! great report.

Tim

[SP Dan]

Interesting cuz I never heard of anyone keeping or eating them, so I wonder why the dwindling numbers. I'm sure the tree-huggers will find some way to blame it on us.:LOL:

I looked this up:
The Angel Shark is classified as Critically Endangered (CR) on the IUCN Red List.
As they lie on the bottom, Angel Sharks are particularly vulnerable to by-catch in trawl fisheries, an activity that has increased in the last 50 years.
As a result, numbers of Angel Sharks have declined dramatically, and have even been declared extinct in many areas.

So this was a very rare and possibly a once in a life time encounter to always cherish! :UDaMan: Way to go Jerry!

Dan

[5150fishn]

Wow! What a epic catch. I had to look that one up. Congrats on a rare catch!

[Which Way Out]

Good to see you got on the water Jerry. And to top it off with a fish like that should put you way up the list in the exotic category.

WWO

[sidified]

Yep, hooking into those toothy critters isn't much of a confidence builder when your butt's that close to sea level...
What a beautiful day to share with pal yakkers.

Sid

[PTN]

Jerry,

It was fun being on the water with you. It's always a learning experience as you always share a wealth of knowledge with me and you are right about Jonathan being able to humble any angler. When I can't seem to get a consistent bite, he just pulls up to me and catches fish without looking like he's trying :LOL:.

I hope you can join us again and congrats on that Angel Shark.:Applause: I bet you would have killed it out there if you didn't have some equipment malfunctions.

-Peter

[Jaysuuun]

Jerry, congrats on the rare catch! After doing a google search on angel sharks and watching a few YouTube vids, I can see why you were afraid to pull that thing aboard your kayak. Yikes! I think Tess and I are ready to join the rest of the SWAT kayak armada soon.

[PokerFish]

I caught a pretty big Angel from my float tube in Leo Carrillo back in '09:

http://fishingnetwork.net/forum4/showthread.php?35162-Leo-Carrillo-on-6-25-09-from-Float-Tube

[jerryG]

Great catch Jerry! :Big Smile::Applause:

That is the first Angel Shark that I've ever heard of being caught on this site :EyePop: or ever! :Thumbs Up: WTG!!
I looked it up on Google and these sharks have been placed on the marine endangered species list.

Great job on the release! :Cool: Even a better idea not to handle it because of how :Shocked: dangerous it could have been!

SP Dan <"))><


Thanks Dan.. They are very uncommon.. I'm sure they would be caught more often if it wasn't for their rows of sharp teeth..


Nice going Jerry! Those bad boys have some gnarly teeth, so don't think I woulda been messin with it too much either. Good to hear that you guys were able to get out there and wet a line together. Sounds like good times!

Don
Interesting cuz I never heard of anyone keeping or eating them, so I wonder why the dwindling numbers. I'm sure the tree-huggers will find some way to blame it on us.:LOL:

Thanks Don.. It was nice to get out.. Based on what I read I was surprised to find that Angel Sharks were heavily targeted commercially here in Socal during the 80s as a substitute for thresher shark. Which is probably what lead to their decline. It never fails... The commercial guys take all the fish and the recreational anglers who are out there trying to protect our fisheries have to share the blame for the decline in our fisheries.


hahahaha bachi they have done a great job of restricting us so far.

on a side note, looked up that shark and what a weird specimen.

The seal huggers with nothing better to do have proven to be very effective in influencing decisions on things they know nothing about.. They are playing with a stacked deck with heavy hitters from the petroleum industry in their corner they can buy any politician that stands in their way..


WTG Jerry! That is a very rare catch indeed. I've had to pleasure of seeing one of these amazing beasts once when my friend caught one off a jetty. Those things are definitely gnarly looking. I don't blame you on not taking the photo op, those teeth are nothing to mess with. Keep up the good work!

Raney

Thanks Raney. Yeah photo op was definitely a no go.. I hope to fish have the opportunity to fish with you and the guys sometime soon. Until then keep catching my friend.


Wow Jerry, nice job battling the Beast, I would have cut my line as soon as I saw it, I want no part of that thing, hahaha :LOL:
Long time since we last fished together my friend, hope to see you at the next Hunting Giants event. :Cool:

Here's another Hell's Angel that Commander Wingnut caught a while back on the LC from the surf. I was with him that day and it actually bit him. :Shocked:
The thing bent around and bit him in the leg. Lucky for Arthur the jaws clamped around the 3rd grip holster. :EyePop:

Here's the link to the report.
http://fishingnetwork.net/forum4/showthread.php?20816-Business-as-Usual-in-my-quot-Other-quot-Office-NEW-Species!-Sunday-7-20-08&highlight=angel+shark

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r135/Wingnut32566/Wingnut2/Wingnut3/Picture022-4.jpg
Hope you and your family are doing well my friend. I love the flashback report..That's is an awesome Angel.. What a great day of fishing..




Interesting cuz I never heard of anyone keeping or eating them, so I wonder why the dwindling numbers. I'm sure the tree-huggers will find some way to blame it on us.:LOL:


I looked this up:
The Angel Shark is classified as Critically Endangered (CR) on the IUCN Red List.
As they lie on the bottom, Angel Sharks are particularly vulnerable to by-catch in trawl fisheries, an activity that has increased in the last 50 years.
As a result, numbers of Angel Sharks have declined dramatically, and have even been declared extinct in many areas.

So this was a very rare and possibly a once in a life time encounter to always cherish! :UDaMan: Way to go Jerry!

Dan

Thanks Dan Commercial market had an impact but even before that I don't know that they were ever caught all that often by hook and line anglers. Most spear fisherman probably swim right over them and never even know that they are there.



Wow! What a epic catch. I had to look that one up. Congrats on a rare catch!


Good to see you got on the water Jerry. And to top it off with a fish like that should put you way up the list in the exotic category.

WWO
Thanks it was great to get out.. I can't wait to get back out there.


Yep, hooking into those toothy critters isn't much of a confidence builder when your butt's that close to sea level...
What a beautiful day to share with pal yakkers.

Sid

I would not want to get bit by an angry angel.


Jerry,

It was fun being on the water with you. It's always a learning experience as you always share a wealth of knowledge with me and you are right about Jonathan being able to humble any angler. When I can't seem to get a consistent bite, he just pulls up to me and catches fish without looking like he's trying :LOL:.

I hope you can join us again and congrats on that Angel Shark.:Applause: I bet you would have killed it out there if you didn't have some equipment malfunctions.

-Peter
Looking forward to fishing with you again Peter.. I need to upgrade my kayak(s) to a hobie so I can fish hands free. Looking forward to getting back out there.


Jerry, congrats on the rare catch! After doing a google search on angel sharks and watching a few YouTube vids, I can see why you were afraid to pull that thing aboard your kayak. Yikes! I think Tess and I are ready to join the rest of the SWAT kayak armada soon.



I caught a pretty big Angel from my float tube in Leo Carrillo back in '09:

http://fishingnetwork.net/forum4/showthread.php?35162-Leo-Carrillo-on-6-25-09-from-Float-Tube

[Wingnut]

Not sure, but some people say that Angel Sharks are also known as Monk Fish. They used to be heavily harvested awhile back up near the Santa Barbara area.
I tangled with one from the surf years ago and don't want to do it again... ever. :LOL:
I was holding that sucker by the tail for a photo op and it whipped around and bit me right in the leg. Luckily, it got a hold of the 3rd Grip holster and tore that up instead of my waders/leg. :Shocked: Good to see you out on the water brother Jerry and hope we can fish together soon... :Cool:

[exfactor]

Not sure, but some people say that Angel Sharks are also known as Monk Fish. They used to be heavily harvested awhile back up near the Santa Barbara area.
I tangled with one from the surf years ago and don't want to do it again... ever. :LOL:
I was holding that sucker by the tail for a photo op and it whipped around and bit me right in the leg. Luckily, it got a hold of the 3rd Grip holster and tore that up instead of my waders/leg. :Shocked: Good to see you out on the water brother Jerry and hope we can fish together soon... :Cool:

they are one the only fish that can whip around 180 degrees, and get ahold of you. I've caught them salmon trolling also, on spoons. The jaws would be a neat project to do someday. Mikey

[skunked4life]

Wow Jerry! That picture of the Angel in the water looks ominous! Glad to see some veterans coming out of the wood work and getting some time in on the salt! Look forward to more!

Ken

[DockRat]

I passed on trying to grab it. If it got a hold of me it would have been bad..



Check this Angel shark attack Jerry...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGGoOWYS2iM

[Wingnut]

Check this Angel shark attack Jerry...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGGoOWYS2iM

Damn... that's a surf angler's nightmare... :mad:

Imagine wading along in the surf and accidentally stepping on one...
It goes ape sh*t and attacks you. :Shocked: