View Full Version : Loco sevengills


Fred Elledge
08-14-2007, 09:03 PM
I'm usually not one to give reports on the internet, but I guess I can share an experience I had today during a dive...

Dove a spot today that usually sucks, well, always sucks but I had a first hand report of a nice fish that was just taken and wanted to see if any of his friends were still there hanging out. Anyway, I swam out to the first part of the kelp, the viz was shit, the kelp was shit, but the current and bait situation was good. I did a couple of dives and started moving along to the outside of the bed. I did a dive to about 15ft and was just kind of hanging out when a little 20lb YT swam by. It came from my right and proceeded to swim by me not interested, I swam to my left and kind of hung at a kelp stalk and then YT swam right in front of my gun and I blasted it. It took off, blah blah blah, usual fight with a fish in the kelp that ended like it always does, it tied up. I got everything situated and dove on it to find that it was tied up at the very bottom. I surfaced and started to breath up when all the sudden my line was taken down violently about a ft. I knew something was weird because the fish was tied up GOOD and I knew it could have gone anywhere its' self. I took my knife out and dove to the bottom where I found a nice ~7ft Seven gill thrashing around in a cave where it had scared my YT into holing up all grouper steeze...I then proceeded to try and "scare" the sevengill (violently swimming towards it, waving my arms, going crazy) to get it away from my fish. Well, it didn't like that much. He then rushed me in my chest like he was a football player trying to make a tackle. I gave him a little "poke" with my knife and he went back to devouring my fish. I surfaced, pretty freaked out, wondering what the hell I was going to do. I couldn't leave, my line was tangled in kelp right above a hole where my shaft was stuck in, and there was a shark who was not the biggest fan of me, to say the least. I ended up diving a couple times on it, where every time I got to the bottom, the shark would appear. about 30 min from when I actually shot the fish, I was finally able to cut the kelp, and free my now bent shaft from the hole.


So I came home with no fish, a bent shaft, and a new appreciation for some of our local seven gill sharks.

spinal tap
08-14-2007, 09:57 PM
Those sharks have become very assertive now. Not only the 7 gills but in the last two years the soupfins have started displaying the fin down, agitated swimming after I've shot fish. It's not just one pass either. They've followed me all the way back to the beach.

The 7 gills are a little more intimidating in that they're very thick shouldered and probably are a much more substantial fish.

Once it started munching on your fish there isn't much you can do to retrieve it.

One of my buddies was out this morning and he said he got harrassed by 4 soupfin after shooting a fish.

pedxing
08-14-2007, 10:08 PM
Time for powerheads?

Prodigal Son
08-14-2007, 10:17 PM
Holy smokes, that had to suck. It doesn't sound like you had many viable options. At least you're back on land in one piece. Thanks for sharing this encounter.

Freedro
08-14-2007, 11:37 PM
MMMMMM... Shark taste good. I like shark. I shoot shark by the rock.

Todd M Peterson
08-15-2007, 11:51 AM
Fred,
Great story! That's why you need Mark swimming shotgun with you to ward those bastards off. I still can't believe I got whacked on the head by one earlier his year chasing down a hali. See you at the SD Blue Water Meet.
Todd

undrH2Ohntr
08-15-2007, 12:44 PM
I have had a couple of run-ins with them as well. We should possee up and whack a few:BoomSmilie_anim:

NateSmith
08-17-2007, 02:05 PM
I have had a couple of run-ins with them as well. We should possee up and whack a few:BoomSmilie_anim:

That's an interesting idea, Eric. Hmmmmmm..... Go in Chuck style and kick some sharky ass. :chuck: :iagree: