Big Fish, Little Boat: Extreme Kayak Shark Fishing

Posted by Chris on October 15, 2007
Filed under: Alaska, Odds + Ends, Sidelines

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File this under: Things I’d Never Do #9726726. Right after glacial surfing. It seems the big new fishing experience doesn’t involve an outboard motor. Yes, hardy rowing folk have decided it might be fun to start hunting sharks … from fiberglass kayaks. No word on whether they also find it fun to have their limbs torn off.

Shark Fishing in a Kayak

According to the UK Daily Mail, fishermen from Alaska’s American Ocean Kayak Fishing Team went paddling amongst a group of some 300 salmon sharks, and hooked four of the nine-feet-long pointy-toothed critters (said to weigh up to 1000 lbs), later releasing two of them, presumably so the sharks could regroup and seek vengeance at a later date.

Shark Fishing in a Kayak

“We are all experienced anglers and kayakers so either as a whole or individually, we felt confident in our personal abilities and limits,” said the captain, Chris Mautino.

“The sharks were concentrating on feeding on the Pink Salmon and I really don’t think they gave us a second thought,” said Senor Insano. “We slow trolled the bait behind the kayaks with the rods laying across our laps … Our biggest concerns were staying upright in the kayaks and keeping from getting tangled up in the gear and pulled over as well.” One wonders if “not getting eaten” was another important concern.

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Comments

landy
October 17th, 2007 - 2:54 pm

okay that is one sport i will never be involved in…but hey why not? did you hear about the 844 pound shark they just caught? its wild…
check out this article on it!
http://newstrain.com/2007/10/1.....aco-shark/


chris
March 31st, 2008 - 1:40 pm

You guys should be ashamed of yourselves.People go kayaking to be immersed in nature, to see its beauty and to be be-littled by its shear enormity, and you guys are out there catching sharks for what seems like little more than a boost for your ego.

I am an sea kayak instructor and guide as well as an avid fisherman, but i eat what i catch, and would consider a 2-3lb fish to be ample for a couple of people.

Take a look at yourselves. Is what you are doing in line with current outdoor ethical guidlines? I think not.

I understand that kayaks were originally developed for hunting purposes, but the early Inuits hunted food out of necessity, not for sport.

Sharks play a vital role in the oceans eco-system, and as any kayaker should know, it is our role to do everything within our powers to protect the oceans.

i would be interested in continuing this debate, and hearing why you think that this practice is accpetable so please reply.


James Smith
March 31st, 2008 - 8:28 pm

Something about their brand new gear (rental?), and goofy grins make me think they are NOT experienced paddlers. Not to mention their choice of craft (sit-on-top), and activity while on the water. There are more idiots in this world than ever before.


jordan steimanis
April 2nd, 2008 - 9:55 pm

top stuff boys!! must have been a challege trying to land each of those sharks, i hopefully will be trying to do the same off my local reef sometime soon i was trying to resherch ways of catching sharks when i came across your pictures. if you could give me any pointers that would be grate!


myan
April 11th, 2008 - 7:49 am

This is fukin disgustin. Killin a shark for the fun of it then smiling for pictures i hope next time u try this the sharks win coz u deserve it.


lauren brooks
April 11th, 2008 - 8:00 am

i actually cannot believe that you could do this to the oceans creatures. its despicable. how you can actually catch a shark, kill it and thenn pose in front of a camera with a dead sharks carcus is hard to believe.

they deserve the chance to live. and yet with the shark population going down as it is in nature , we dont need you guys hunting sharks down and slaughtering them causing the sharks population to go down even more.

i hope your ashamed of yourselves.


Matty Cardwell
April 11th, 2008 - 10:23 am

LMAO..

you legends..

we all hate shark scum(h5)

calm down lauren lmfao, its abit of fun, who doesnt enjoy this kinda stuff! :D
Thats Mint!! =D


dude
April 17th, 2008 - 2:24 pm

What a bunch of fags … giving hand signals like a rock and roll concert.

Do a ‘one on one’ with the shark and see what the news story is then.


Stefanie
April 26th, 2008 - 6:15 pm

Oh my god, i’m scared SCARED to death of sharks, this would SO not fit my life style and fear…


samuel
May 7th, 2008 - 9:26 pm

that look like some great funny


Thomas
June 2nd, 2008 - 5:23 pm

looks like that tribe will be eating for awhile chris

im sure the inuite would not have turned down that meal


Thomas
June 2nd, 2008 - 5:27 pm

oh and james read the article
TEAM OCEAN KAYAK
they are sponsored
ofcourse its new
and myan learn to spell
before you post
and lauren
i bet you have never fished before in your life
its the most exhilarating experience you will ever have
especially out of a kayak :D


RWG
June 2nd, 2008 - 5:27 pm

Im a Kayak Instructor WAAAAAAAAA someone get ma a tissue I have an issue!

I kayak to commune with nature not slaughter it! Waaaaaaaaaa!

Stinking Tree Hugger’s keep you nose out of everyones business!


M.Sorg
June 3rd, 2008 - 5:58 am

Well, really “brave” douchebags! I’m shocked!

Are the vagabondish getting nuts, while bringing up such a bullshit, or just ignorant?
We face the eradication of porbeagle-sharks, and many, many other shark-species, and the vagabondish appoint these fun-killers as a kind of heros?

Don’t point on environtmental problems in China, where I life now. Because people, without any sensibility and general knowledge, like you, and these chuckleheaded smirking kayak-douchebag, are nothing better!

By the way: Don’t eat shark-meat. It’s poisoned with the neurotoxin ‘methyl mercury’.
But for the shark-hunters: Eat as much as you can of your kills. So we can get rid of you soon!


myan
June 3rd, 2008 - 3:56 pm

By the way, I can spell, really well actually, I just don’t think that scum sites like this deserve good grammer when the idiots that support this obviously can’t find the intelligence to do any activity that demands a braincell in order to participate in.

If you can kill something that has done you no wrong then what separates you from a murderer? Because in my opinion you’re all sick in the head if you can kill something for no reason, and may i add that the article says they caught four and released two. This shows that they obviously did kill the two they kept and they also released two injured sharks back into the water.

Also i am not a “Tree Hugger” simply because i care about the environment and the creatures within it. Thomas just so you know if the most exhilarating experience you have ever had is fishing then seriously you need a girlfriend.


Shark Hunter
June 24th, 2008 - 10:13 am

OMG…get a life myan. How could you call this murder. These two sharks will feed a lot of people. Fishermen dont just catch a fish and kill it and throw it away, they eat their catch. Share with their family and friends and even donate to food shelters…. Come on!!! Whats next boycotting Tyson for murdering chickens?


M.Sorg
June 25th, 2008 - 1:13 am

Well, Shark Hunter, you didn’t got the point.
Besides the fact, that many shark-species are facing extinction, esp. the porbeagle sharks, there are other problems.

So, esp.for your, as well as for other people information again:
Sharks are highly(!) contaminated with a dangerous neurotoxin, called ‘methyl mercury (MeHg)’.
Sharks, on land, are, at best case, hazardous and highly toxic waste!
If you eat shark-products, it’ll distroy human CNS (centrale nerveous system), as well as human brain and organs. And it’s devastating for unborn babies (down-syndrom, congenital defects!)

That’s the reason, why so many shark-eaters having monstrosities and/or severe health damages. The WHO, UNEP knows about the dangerous shark-food-& neurotoxin problems, but regional food-controlling authorities, fishery-industry and governments still burke evidence.

DON’T EAT SHARK PRODUCTS!
SHARKS ARE HIGHLY CONTAMINATED WITH VERY DANGEROUS NEUROTOXIN ‘MeHg’!

At least: Make everybody think, that the killing of the last species of porbeagles in the sounds is heroic, is more than anachronism. It’s just modern, human ignorance.
Kayak fans should be nature lovers, and should take care about our environment. This signal from ‘vagabondish’ is an totaly wrong input.


Awndi
July 2nd, 2008 - 2:41 pm

I love kayak fishing.


kingsley
July 4th, 2008 - 10:28 pm

Nice catch!

I’m a firm believer that there’s no harm in hunting animals for the necessity of fun (within the law)!


steven
August 5th, 2008 - 11:00 am

its a setup photo anyway folks. These freaks of nature have just borrowed some local big boat catch for the shot. How you supposed to do a high brace while you reel a shark in of that size anyway? Im a shit hot paddler and i reckon i would struggle, and that ‘tw*t in the hat’ in the foreground looks like he couldnt paddle in my kids inflatable pool?