We could send one of the tribes after it and they can gill net it. Or they could poach it if they prefer. They're pretty good at both. Seriously the changing ocean currents and global warming have placed fish in places they never would have been in the past. Some of you might remember the barracuda that a guy caught on the Duwamish. There was another caught that same year on the south end on Vashon Island. Then there was the huge Marlin that someone caught in that same time frame off Vancouver Island. I remember the white shark incident in Tacoma. I know they guy. He claimed he either hooked it and it followed his flasher up or it just followed the flasher and bit it. He showed the flasher and it was tough to tell a shark did it but it did look like something munched it. He’s an old salt and not the type of guy that would BS. There was also a Mackerel caught off the Point Defiance Boathouse dock also in that same time frame.

My guess is a Killer Whale or possibly Vladimir Putin in a Russian mini sub looking for another shirtless photo opportunity in the beautiful Puget Sound.

As I recall that would have been Andy's Boathouse immediately on the south side of the ferry dock. There were two on the north side as well (Edmonds and maybe Bill's).

Don't the Makah's still have a fleet of whaling canoes and trained hunters armed with Harpoons that could go after this mysterious beast.

It may even taste better than the whale blubber they are so fond of.

About 10 years ago I had a guest hook a shark on a 16oz lead head jig on a bottom rod with 80 Tuff-line. As soon as he hooked it it took off on a full speed run that my kicker couldn't keep up with, I quickly gave up on that and fired up the main. We chased it a long ways for about 10 minutes then it seemed to slow down and we got some of our line back. As soon as we started really pulling on it and tried getting it to start coming up it took off again, this happened 3 or 4 times and went on for about an hour. Finally we got over it and started getting it to come up, foot by foot, very slowly. About half way up from 370' of water the reel seized up and I hand-lined it the rest of the way, took about an hour. It ended up being an 9'-10' shark which I'm assuming was a salmon shark, had never seen 1 before or since.
The jig was in its mouth but the tuff-line was wrapped around its tail, fought like hell for over an hour then I think we drowned it pulling it up backwards.
Over 22 seasons up there I have hooked a lot of big fish, 300+lbs halibut, and skates but none of them compared to the runs this shark took. Only other things I could compare it to were porpoise, sealions, and humpbacks, hooked a few of those (briefly) over the years.

How about bottom during a big May tide?

Obviously a 4 salt brat.

Ok, here are the facts :

2 years ago while halibut fishing an open bow 20 ft boat comes
flyin by us at about 10 with a guy in the bow hooked up. We decide to follow him as we have heard of the beast from the year prior when one of the PSA members hooked up. We followed the anglers for about 1 mile in a straight path against the tide. Then he busted off.

Later in the year, at the same spot, I hook up to the beast with a Tanicum Bull. We got up to 13-15 mph and for over an hour I could not getn any control over the beast. Wore out the drags and spooled me.

Last year, I put a 50 wide with 80 pound mono and titanium leader on the boat and headed to the same spot. Low and behold I do not hook up but Kathy does on a new Tanicum Bull with 60 lb spectra.
I fished it like a blue marlin for well over an hour and miles and miles fighting. Got it into 60 feet of water with 60 feet on the line counter. Never had a head shake or control of the fish. Speeds up to just before planing the Fishtale 2 at 16mph. Just when we had it close, it got broadside in the shallow water and cut under the boat and cut the line.

This year we will jig two 50 wides in the same area. We have caught a lot of marlin on it to close to 500 pounds and also a 435 swordfish. The mono will extend the range and the battle time.
I think that after 3-4 hours we can get it up for a photo.

You can say use an 80 wide or a 130 wide, but jigging those is almost impossible for an hour or so.

I did talk to two NOAA scientists about it and they too were baffled.

The beast does not head shake, flutter and can change course at full speed line a type of snake. Never comes up to breath and never even gives you the feeling of any control ever.

I think , time of battle with be the key not force.......photos to follow.....

Spud, if you hook up with it this summer give everyone a shout on the radio...I'd take time out of my day to come and watch!

Fish on...

Todd

Yes, while we are flying around at 15 mph with 300 yards of line out the back we plan to warn everyone out there that we are hooked up with the plesiosaur .

Let's get real here. Knock it off with the mystical creature guesses......

if there is no head shakes, its not a shark... sharks tails are like salmon, and they go from side to side, and that contorts the body side to side, hence easy feeling headshakes...

whales tails, are turned sideways, so the headshakes you are used to, would not be there at all... Orcas can swim fairly fast, for long periods of time, but, can only stay under water for like 15-20 minutes max, usually way less than that... Sperm whales on the other hand, can stay down for well over an hour, and an animal that big, you wouldnt turn, couldnt stop, and likely will never see....

the Minke, Grey, and Humpbacks are all very large whales as well, but are baleen whales, so i suppose it could be a foul hooked one, but multiple people hooking up to it, indicates that its biting something, or there is a very large population of whatever it is, to get snagged so frequently...

im now going with a Sperm Whale, they eat Squid, Octupus, other fish, and Sharks... they can swim 15-25 miles per hour for over an hour, and have been recorded stayin under water for around 2 hours...

i might just have to rig up the Hali rod with the Penn 149 and 300# spectra and go chase after it, it sounds like way too much fun not to....

Moby Brat

And we had all been playing so well.

And this is why we can't have nice things.

Looks like I'll be cracking the whip again and warming up the time out chair.

<SIGH>

Willatuk?

That's what she said. I'm going to call him "Willy".

The plot thickens...

hahahahahah

Stantz: No! It can't be!
Venkman: What is it?
Stantz: It can't be!
Venkman: What did you do, Ray?!
Zeddemore: Oh, [Bleeeeep!]! [They all see a giant cubic white head topped with a sailor hat]
Stantz: [sighs, resigned] It's the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man.

A Penn 149?


That and a Sperm Whale... Kramer and Newman couldn't have come up with a string of logic like that! It read like your were talking yourself through a question on "Who Wants to be a Millionaire."


Yes. Sperm Whale. Final answer.

All this talk of sperm whales even drug MERG out from under a roll...