Great day at Manhattan Beach Pier 4-18-10

[DAF0311]

So my uncle, who I haven't seen in a long time invited my lil bro and I to a day of fishing along with some of his friends.. I love fishing so of course I said YES!

We started off by hitting up MDR for some live sardines. Then we got tho the pier at about 0700. To my surprise there was nobody else fishing there except for these 2 little kids. Good for them

Set up and before I was in the water I knew all I wanted was a leopard shark. So knowing that they are bottom feeders I hooked up a freshly dead sardine to my rig and cast it out. I was using an 18 in wire leader and a big octopus hook with a 6 oz pyramid sinker.

At 0900 my uncle's reel goes off! Then 1 minute later my Baitrunner goes off!!
Bam! Both hooked up with with leopard sharks! The only question now is who's is bigger, haha!




Who is bigger!? MINE! Hahaha! 48 inches and his at 40 inches


So since the morning was still young, we decided to release the smaller one in the hopes of getting his big brother.

An hour later my uncle is hooked up again! It's another leopard shark! And it measured in at 48 inches! Hahaha! This is me holding them up.
Man they're beautiful creatures!





Then nothing until about 1400. BZZZZZZZZ!! It's my uncles rod and reel going crazy again! This battle endured for a good 10 minutes at least. This one was big! It took him up and around the end of the pier a few times.
It turned out to be a shovelnose guitar fish. The biggest one I have ever seen!
Here it is with his conquerer haha!

I had to take a pic with it too. We forgot to measure it but I'm 5'9"


After that there was no more big fish to be caught. Just a lot of fun mackeral on the light tackle
Fished til 5 then called it a day.
Man I've forgotten how fun pier fishing could be. My uncle and I used to fish this pier all the time when I was a teenager. It's been at least 2 years since I've been back there. Thanks for re-introducing us Unc.

Good Times and Tight Lines
-Dave

[calico killer kevin]

Quit taking pictures with other people's fish. They're starting to get pissed. HEHE

[DAF0311]

Hahaha the first 5 pics have MY leopard in them.
total counts:
Me: 1 leopard, bunch of macks
My uncle: 2 leopards, 1 shovelnose

[DockRat]

Good looking Leo's there. Did you see any Great White Sharks ?
Anyone recall this story ?

Hooking of 3 Great White Sharks Off Pier Stirs Debate
Water safety: Some swimmers and lifeguards in Manhattan Beach are concerned that sportfishermen are luring creatures that might pose a threat to humans.

September 11, 1992|KIM KOWSKY, TIMES STAFF WRITER
The recent catch of three great white sharks off the Manhattan Beach Pier has hooked anglers and lifeguards in a debate about whether sportfishermen should be allowed to bait waters near popular swimming spots to attract the creatures.

Swimmers were unharmed in all three instances, and marine biologists say the sharks were probably too small to be considered a threat to humans. But some lifeguards and local swimmers believe that by dropping "chum," or cut-up fish, into the water to lure sharks to their hooks, fishermen may be endangering swimmers and surfers.

"We have never had a conflict between swimmers and sharks, but we don't want to create one," Los Angeles County Lifeguard Capt. Steve Saylors said Thursday.

The controversy was sparked on Aug. 31 when sportfisherman Mike Walker, a 39-year-old Manhattan Beach resident, hooked his first of two great white sharks in a week.

Walker, who says he fishes shark for fun rather than for food, landed the shark on the sand just long enough to take its measurements--6 feet, 11 inches--before releasing the animal into the waves.

"The lifeguard was fit to be tied," one of his fishing buddies, Richard Bird, 65, of Torrance, said Thursday. "He couldn't believe (Walker) turned him loose in the surf."

On Sept. 3, Walker landed his second great white shark--this one slightly more than seven feet long. This time, the lifeguard on duty prevented him from releasing it. Instead, he asked Walker to reel it onto the sand and load it onto the back of a lifeguard truck.

The shark was then driven to the end of the pier and dumped into the ocean. It landed on its back and sank, prompting Walker and others to speculate that it had died.

Three days later, another fisherman caught a great white shark measuring 6 feet, 6 inches. The angler, whose identity was not known, killed the shark and cut it into filets, Manhattan Beach police said.

Los Angeles County lifeguards and some swimmers say they are particularly concerned because the fishermen use chum deliberately to attract sharks into the area.

"I think that's crazy in a public swimming area," said Catherine Yates, a 21-year-old swimmer. "It's just asking for trouble."

Saylors said many lifeguards agree: "A lot of lifeguards would like to see it prevented for safety reasons, but we don't have any demonstrated problem we can deal with at this point."

[murrieta angler]

Very nice job getting the leo's and the shovel nose to boot Dave.
Thanks for the report and pics,
Robert

[smokehound]

Dayum, thats a nice shovelnose...

[ryryk]

WOW!
Thats a huge shovelnose!
I heard they taste like scallops... can anyone confirm that?

Ryan

[Jaysuuun]

Those are some nice leos. Haven't caught one those in awhile. Nice job.

[mrjonez]

giant shovlenose! and congrats on the leos.

[blackwater]

Did you keep any of those "beautiful" creatures?
Man, i haven't fished on the pier in years.