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Cermele: Real Men of Genius Free-Gaff Giant Mako Shark
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October 08, 2009
Cermele: Real Men of Genius Free-Gaff Giant Mako Shark
By Joe Cermele
Okay. I'm about to get a little rowdy. This week, someone forwarded me a news article about a 748-pound mako shark caught in South Florida. My initial thought was "there's been a lot bigger caught this year," but I checked it out anyway. After watching the video below and reading the story, I have decided that these guys deserve the title of "Most Amateur Idiots on the Water." See for yourself. They didn't "catch" anything. They free-gaffed a hot mako.
What surprises me most is how fast the local news jumped to glorify these guys. The line that sums up the mentality of this crew is when "fisherman" Jamie Bunn says, "I vividly remember the quote 'we might as well gaff this thing, someone's dying today.'" Dude, you are an inspiration to anglers everywhere. Good work. I'm not the only one who thinks this whole dog-and-pony show is a disgrace. And guess what? This may have been illegal.
From the Los Angeles Times:
Florida anglers are being sharply criticized after apparently free-gaffing a 748-pound mako shark while fishing this week off South Florida...
Making note that no rods or reels appear to have been used in the capture of the mako, at least one shark conservation website claimed the anglers were in violation of state and federal law and implied it would follow through with authorities...
I've mentioned in the past that I'm very into shark fishing. Standards in practice when doing so is to have a rigged pitch-bait ready to go in case a fish shows up right behind the boat. This mako was eating a dead swordfish and these guys had plenty of stout rods onboard. So why not cut a piece of the sword, rig a rod, pitch it over and put your back into it for a couple hours? Then my hat would have been off to you. Not too mention, free-gaffing a fish like that is asking for death, lost appendages, or at least some boat damage. Genius. -- JC
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Comments (20)
A noble creature meets an ignoble bunch...it's a shame all the way around.
i'm surprised none of the guys got hurt. I was hoping to see all the footage, i guess it wasn't fit for the evening news though.
Well JC. You pretty much summed it up. WTF are they thinking and why was the news anchor glorifying the feat? Free gafffing is a term I've never heard of. We fresh water landlocked anglers call it snagging.
A disgrace to all of the anglers around the world. Gaffing a shark is not fishing!
Why would you do that to a fish, at least "Catch" it for real. Pathetic, who does that?
What a bunch of ******* losers.
The only thing that's dumber than free-gaffing a mako is calling the local TV station so the world can see what a bunch of neanderthals you are.
What was accomplished by this? There was no skill, or knowledge involved. I wish they would have thought their actions through.
Other than the danger involved, can some one explain to me how this is different than shooting a huge alligator gar or carp from a pool in which they can't escape? I bowfish and this seems a lot like that. Maybe I am missing something.
Boneheads.
dighunter,
Unless your shooting fish in a barrel I can't see how the two are even remotely similar.
If they had done it from a kayak, that would be sporty!
I forwarded that video to marine biologist Luke Tipple in Los Angeles after I saw it on cnn.com. Luke is the one shining the spotlight on it nationwide. Thanks for picking up the story!
I can't believe this is legal. I fish in Florida a bunch, my wife,s a native, and I sincerely hope the good people at Florida Fish and Wildlife put it to these yahoos.
These "fishermen" are despicable. They remind me more of drunk college boys. This is nowhere near bowfishing or any type of sporting means capturing fish. Regardless of the danger they many have been in, they would have deserved any injuries. I beleive in sticking together as hunters and fishermen but I hope these jerks face a stiff punishment for their actions and bravado.
maybe one of these good ole boy's sisters wasn't free for a stuffin' so they decided to bury their gaff into somethin' else.... manhood.... pure manhood....
Wow. What a bunch of idiots. From what I've read, this would be considered "spearing" in florida and is illegal for catching sharks. Not only is it unsportsmanlike but how stupid do you have to be to not even consider that I don't know... maybe free gaffing a mako shark might be illegal in some places...I hope the FWC strips their licenses. I'll say it again. What a bunch of idiots.
Let's hope they provided the DWC with enough evidence for an air tight prosecution.
One of the things that really needs to be done in situations like this is to charge the news crew who reports on this as accessories after the fact to discourage them from covering these stories. Idiots like this love getting their picture on the news.
I'm all for catching a Mako for sport, but it's obvious these brain surgeons had nothing better to do. Definitely a "hey ya'll watch this" moment.
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A noble creature meets an ignoble bunch...it's a shame all the way around.
Well JC. You pretty much summed it up. WTF are they thinking and why was the news anchor glorifying the feat? Free gafffing is a term I've never heard of. We fresh water landlocked anglers call it snagging.
The only thing that's dumber than free-gaffing a mako is calling the local TV station so the world can see what a bunch of neanderthals you are.
A disgrace to all of the anglers around the world. Gaffing a shark is not fishing!
What a bunch of ******* losers.
Why would you do that to a fish, at least "Catch" it for real. Pathetic, who does that?
dighunter,
Unless your shooting fish in a barrel I can't see how the two are even remotely similar.
If they had done it from a kayak, that would be sporty!
I forwarded that video to marine biologist Luke Tipple in Los Angeles after I saw it on cnn.com. Luke is the one shining the spotlight on it nationwide. Thanks for picking up the story!
I can't believe this is legal. I fish in Florida a bunch, my wife,s a native, and I sincerely hope the good people at Florida Fish and Wildlife put it to these yahoos.
i'm surprised none of the guys got hurt. I was hoping to see all the footage, i guess it wasn't fit for the evening news though.
What was accomplished by this? There was no skill, or knowledge involved. I wish they would have thought their actions through.
Other than the danger involved, can some one explain to me how this is different than shooting a huge alligator gar or carp from a pool in which they can't escape? I bowfish and this seems a lot like that. Maybe I am missing something.
Boneheads.
These "fishermen" are despicable. They remind me more of drunk college boys. This is nowhere near bowfishing or any type of sporting means capturing fish. Regardless of the danger they many have been in, they would have deserved any injuries. I beleive in sticking together as hunters and fishermen but I hope these jerks face a stiff punishment for their actions and bravado.
maybe one of these good ole boy's sisters wasn't free for a stuffin' so they decided to bury their gaff into somethin' else.... manhood.... pure manhood....
Wow. What a bunch of idiots. From what I've read, this would be considered "spearing" in florida and is illegal for catching sharks. Not only is it unsportsmanlike but how stupid do you have to be to not even consider that I don't know... maybe free gaffing a mako shark might be illegal in some places...I hope the FWC strips their licenses. I'll say it again. What a bunch of idiots.
Let's hope they provided the DWC with enough evidence for an air tight prosecution.
One of the things that really needs to be done in situations like this is to charge the news crew who reports on this as accessories after the fact to discourage them from covering these stories. Idiots like this love getting their picture on the news.
I'm all for catching a Mako for sport, but it's obvious these brain surgeons had nothing better to do. Definitely a "hey ya'll watch this" moment.
Post a Comment