Airs - Labor Day Weekend ...Spike TV I would like to be proud for a moment and congratulate my son Anthony who reads this board for being awarded 1st place in the Junior Angler Division in the Oak Bluffs Monster Shark Tourney two weeks ago. For those of you who may not have heard of it, its the largest monster shark tourney in the country with over 300 boats competing for close to $500,000 in calcuttas and prizes such as a new Contender CC. For the past 3 years it has been on ESPN but it was dropped last minute so Spike TV picked it up. What a week, lost monster thresher, big Makos swimming around the boat to early like 60 minutes before lines in, (UGHHHHHHH)only begins to describe our weekend battle with sharks and weather however Anthonys performance was the silver lining to it all. Anthony (12) put on a clinic on how to battle sharks especially in rough seas. He released 8 Large blue sharks on day two, 4 of which were over 9 ft fork which equates to about the 300+ range and weighed in a Mako just short of 6 ft which went 180. It was a short fish but extremely fat with a girth of 40" and a belly packed with snapper blues. The mako didnt exceed the benchmark but it was his largest Mako to date so we decided to throw the calcuttas out the window and take the fish. All fish were caught by IGFA standards and I am extremely proud of him. His use of great balance and technique helped him accomplish his goal. Anthony was able to get some press time with Spike TV so hopefully they will put him on the labor day show. tightlines Glenn
Congrats to your son. I see he is still wearing his Pelagic Gear. Is that a 80W or 130 Tiagra he is using? Either one is difficult for an adult to handle standing up!!!!!!
Those were our custom "Team Bite Me" Pelagic gear shirts that were made for the tourney, the back is awesome. Now that he is on Pelagics Pro Team its all he wears The reels were all Tiagra 80w's. You are correct they are hard to handle but with the OTR harness and a safety tether he has perfect form. We just adjust the drag to suit what he can handle
I'm glad to see I'm not the only guy that will stand up with a bent butt 80W. I think it's great you have your son doing it. I really like the way you have a safety strap attached to the back of his harness. I hope the other end is around the base of the fighting chair. I wish my father would have thought of that idea. I was jerked overboard once as a young teenager when I set the drag to tight on a blue marlin. Thank God the hook came out after a few hundred yards of being dragged. I was strapped in like a stretch jacket. My tombstone would have read "Drowned by a Marlin". When the boat reached me, my Father was breathing heavier than me. He was white as a ghost when he yanked me into the boat. He just stood there looking at the sky for about five minutes. He was scared to death. I didn't know if he was mad at me or just plain scared. I know now he was just glad to see me alive. As years went by, the event got funny as my dad would tell this funny story. The highlight of the story was how his son left a bubble trail better than any marlin lure he had ever pulled. Gman, this picture below is why God put us on earth. Cherish it.
hey gunsmoke, how about starting another thread w/ your story about being dragged overboard, I like your writing style and need something funny to read at work
Thanks gunsmoke, thats exactly why i take those precautions. He has on a mate saver harness up top that has a heavy custom safety teather that is attached to either a fighting chair base or an outrigger base. The simple rule is if he wants to use the bucket harness he must be attached to the boat...no exceptions. He also has one of those hooked style safety knives on the harness as a fail safe precaution. Thats a scary story about you being pulled overboard untill you get to the bubble part LOL
Congrats to Anthony !!!!!!!! Way to go.. Most grown men can not standup fight large fish with a bent but 80W.. Its all about your skill level and obviously yours is very high... Dont forget to thank your father for making all this possible for you and keep us all posted on your pro fishing career..
Great pictures and that Anthony can smoke some fish! I'll be watching for the show on SPIKE! You stated Anthony reads this board, but I'd like to see him post too! It be cool to read his view of what happened and what he was thinking, etc!
Ragman, Thanks and that is a great idea. Anthony spearheads a junior angler board on another site as well. He would love to chime in his 2 cents ...he always has a different spin on things LOL I will post the details on the date and time of the show. Im really hoping they put the awards ceremony on or atleast the interview they made him do. You cant miss us we have the bite me shirts on
