Big shark Huge haul includes 120lb blue
Three friends battle Celtic Deeps fish to a best of 125lb
“As soon as you get them to the surface they battle on down again up to three times – the fight from a blue shark is just incredible”
CATCHING a huge fish from a boat certainly gets the adrenaline pumping – so imagine how these three anglers felt after they caught FIFTEEN 70lb-plus blue sharks while fishing from kayaks.
Mike Burnett, Greg Bowes and Mark Kemble together form the members of ‘Yak Life’ – a team of kayak-fishing enthusiasts who target the UK’s coastlines in search of big fish. Once a year they head out to the Celtic Deeps off the Pembrokeshire coast in pursuit of giant blue sharks.
Speaking to Angling Times, Mike described the trip and the moment a group of sharks circled their craft. He said: “We were right on our limit weather-wise as the swells were quite high, but we knew the sharks would be there.
“On the day we set out from Swansea aboard Lady Jue 5 and headed 40 miles out to the Celtic Deeps with our kayaks on board.
“Once on location and aboard the kayaks we sat in the chum trail created at the back of the boat – it was just a matter of time before one of the floats went under.”
To help muscle the sharks up from the depths the three used strong rigs incorporating short 400lb wire traces and 10/0 size hooks, mounted with whole mackerel or Ammo squid.
These were fished to a depth of 60ft with a plastic bottle or toilet ballcock used as a floating indicator.
“The float would shoot under and line just blitzed off the reel,” Mike added
“The swells were massive, so we had to really concentrate to keep our balance during the fight.
“We put our legs either side of the kayak to do this, but it’s a daunting prospect as you know other sharks are swimming all around you.
“As soon as you gain line and get them to the surface they battle on down again, and this can happen up to three times – the fight you get from a blue shark is just incredible.
“At the end we had 15 between us, but we did catch 42 last year – although these latest sharks were much bigger.
“It was Mark’s first trip targeting the blues and he managed to catch the biggest one at around 125lb, which was a fantastic sight to witness.”
To watch videos of Mike, Mark and Greg battling blue sharks from the trip, visit the Yak Life page on Facebook.