Big Fish, Little Boat: Extreme Kayak Shark Fishing
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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.

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.

“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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October 17th, 2007
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/
March 31st, 2008
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.
March 31st, 2008
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.
April 2nd, 2008
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!
April 11th, 2008
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.
April 11th, 2008
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.
April 11th, 2008
LMAO..
you legends..
we all hate shark scum(h5)
calm down lauren lmfao, its abit of fun, who doesnt enjoy this kinda stuff!
Thats Mint!! =D
April 17th, 2008
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.
April 26th, 2008
Oh my god, i’m scared SCARED to death of sharks, this would SO not fit my life style and fear…
May 7th, 2008
that look like some great funny
June 2nd, 2008
looks like that tribe will be eating for awhile chris
im sure the inuite would not have turned down that meal
June 2nd, 2008
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
June 2nd, 2008
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!
June 3rd, 2008
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!
June 3rd, 2008
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.
June 24th, 2008
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?
June 25th, 2008
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.
July 2nd, 2008
I love kayak fishing.
July 4th, 2008
Nice catch!
I’m a firm believer that there’s no harm in hunting animals for the necessity of fun (within the law)!
August 5th, 2008
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?
September 15th, 2008
When I eat a hamburger I like to think about the innocent cows crying over all his family members he lost against the war with the humans. we should consider ourselves lucky that we farm animals for food and not each other. If you want to complain about the death of a shark you better be a vegan, then I will understand. Your values are being challenged. Thats great. I cant wait to see your values challenged when evolution catches up to you.
September 16th, 2008
Dear Bill Baxter, farm-cows will not face extinct, but the porbeagle sharks will soon be gone.
Cows on a farm are not necessary for eco-system, sharks are.
But, for guys like you: If you eat hamburgers, you might be shure not to eat dangerous toxine ‘MeHg’, means ‘Methyl Mercury’. While eating shark-meat, you can be shure that you destroy your health with high concentrations of these dangerous neurotoxin.
November 21st, 2008
Hate seeing the name Team Ocean Kayak used in this thread…reread the article..it says an .Alaska’s American Ocean Kayak Fishing Team …not Team Ocean Kayak…there is a Team Ocean Kayak located in Texas not Alaska…don’t confuse the two
January 5th, 2009
We eat Shark in Australia, not all Sharks are high in Mercury. Gummy Sharks are not endangered and are one of the best eating fish in the World. Great fun to catch by land, boat, kayak or if you are good enough spear fishing. Great photos, wish I was out there, the Salmon would of been fun also.
January 5th, 2009
I look forward to reading about you guys in the next Darwin Awards.
!!!
January 14th, 2009
why would u do that is terbuil then a pose for a pic like how udo u live with your self knowing that you are like going to make sharks like all die then it will be all your fault!!!!!!!!!
January 22nd, 2009
I love people who pretend to be non violent / humanitarians saying that they wish death on people. how backwards are you? you really need to examine your life and find out who you really are. I honestly feel sorry for you.
January 28th, 2009
Looks like a blast. I love to catch sharks (great battle)and have been eating them for years. if i hear one more thing about dangerous toxins i might puke. that is obviously your only gripe, and a way for you to get into a conversation that your coutch potatoe ass knows nothing about. wish i were there to take it all in. Nothing better than the catch of a life time.
January 30th, 2009
Shark fishing from a kayak is light years beyond the type of awesome that you bunch of thumb-sucking PETA sheep could ever hope to achieve.
Go throw red paint on a grizzly bear.
February 10th, 2009
[...] [Vagabondish] [...]
February 12th, 2009
i just have to say these are some bad fuckers, they have bigger balls than i do! and to all the fags that get affended just dont look at the damn picture! My pholosaphy is
KILL IT N’ GRILL IT!!!!
February 13th, 2009
“Tbone”, the way you write and show us your effort of thinking, is inadaequat for a modern, enlightened citizens and todays community needs.
Your are ignorant and a stick-in-the-mud.
Your attitudes shows us, like ‘jesse’ and other infantiles, that you might poisened your brain with neurotoxins allready substantially and irreversible.
Visit a doctor, who’s fit in toxicology and cerebral cases.
YOU need help!
February 20th, 2009
I love kayak fishing as well as kayaking for the pure fun of kayaking. What I get sick of is a bunch of self righteous enviormental nazis telling me as well as others that they arent true kayakers.
February 20th, 2009
c’mon guys lighten up. for people who seem not to like this sort of thing so much you spend a hell of alot of time on this site and probably other sites like this no doubt, if you don’t like it don’t look at it. guess you got nothin better to do
February 24th, 2009
I think the discussion here is funny. M.Sorg here is blogging for his life about porbeagle sharks and their fight for existence (which, by the way, this picture includes ZERO examples of). He’s also screaming about the MeHg. Well … good for you. So you saw the CNN report about it. Have you read the extensive studies?
By the way, M.Sorg, I find ironic the fact your chastisement of TBone and others for their stupidity contains has no fewer than EIGHT (8) spelling and grammatical (btw, myan, it’s grammar, not “grammer” … but you meant to misspell, right?) errors.
Who is the ignoramus?
The rest of you … well … your ridiculous statements of “eat meat” and “I am man” are just, well, funny. And I think that’s kind of the point.
What’s funnier is the ridiculous cries from people who actually thing that (a) you’re serious … and (b) they can change you.
Oh, I love blogs. They’re so … entertaining.
February 24th, 2009
I found this pic while researching for a report I’m doing on SHARKS! haha
I couldn’t agree more with jdonat! This was absolutely hilarious. I get a kick out of all the bickering on these blogs and everyone that doesn’t have a clue about what they’re actually saying!
M.Sorg are you some kind of psycho scientist or what? because you sure as heck seem to have all the “facts” down pat. Are you cutting and pasting off your news articles or what? And could you tell me one little thing? Where in this picture do you see one or ANY of your precious porbeagle sharks!? Take a midol you sally!
And Sarah!!! omg girl PLEASE just close your mouth because you sure aren’t doing yourself any favors! “you are like going to make sharks like all die” I had to read your post ‘LIKE’ twice to even ‘LIKE’ understand it.
I love fishing too, and I’m also aware that the overfishing of sharks is a growing problem, and they’re a big part of the ecosystem, but kudos to these guys for the challenge. And Salmon sharks are NOT endangered!
I’m sorry, but that’s horrible seeing the stupidity of the human race today. A bigger problem we should look at is the increase in the illiteracy rate of America due largly to texting
on cell phones.
PETA sucks BAWLS (yeah you dang right that’s spelled wrong!)
Good Luck and happy hunting/fishing!
March 3rd, 2009
Any coments M.Sorg???? Can not wait to read this!!!!!
March 6th, 2009
Wow…Soo This is Prolly The coolest things ive ever seen….Fishing sharks out of a kayak…kinda crazy but id try it….an wtfs the big deal with killen sharks there hurting as fuck anyways prolly like the rest of u tree huggin douch bags on here lol
March 6th, 2009
sooo fuck tree huggers….Power to the sharks hunters kill as many as u can put in your boat sharks all around suck anyways kinda like tree huggers
April 4th, 2009
Hey guys, just so you know, those aren’t real sharks. You can actually see the seam on the side of the rubber shark on the close up. I was watching these guys set up the photo op that day. And by the way, the guy with the big grin was just laughing at all the people he was going to trick. Nice try, buy you will NEVER fool this cat!
April 6th, 2009
well said, jdonat & jmiller…
don’t know how i got onto this site but this the posts are just funny…
April 9th, 2009
Se supone que eso eso divertido?? en realidad no se como pueden mantener una sonrisa despues de haber matado a un ser vivo, a un animal inocente!
April 20th, 2009
dude stop killing innocent animals,what would it feel like if u just got randomly murdered???!!!
April 21st, 2009
WAY COOL! These guys are sportsmen with balls. Anyone can sit in a huge powerboat fishing shark from a safe spot, these guys are playing more fair in my book. The shark has a chance to get them too and though I’d never do that, I see them as sportsmen. Like hunting a bear with a bow instead of a gun. Few have the balls to do that. Now lets see these guys go after the bigger sharks though. Wild stuff! Steve W
May 3rd, 2009
Looks an awful lot like Guy Kawasaki in the right hand side of the photo
May 26th, 2009
I hope some day, the shark eat you guys! ;D
June 3rd, 2009
LOL!!! Are you guys getting paid for this?
June 5th, 2009
Years ago this picture would have been cool, now it’s just an un-necessary kill. I admire the skill required to hook and land such a fish but if it isn’t for eating destroying it is such a waste.
I agree with previous correspondants, this is a set-up, the kit is too new and the rear cargo area is empty….must have had a bigger boat in support.
Love my fishing, love my sit-on-top, glad i don’t spend it with these guys.
June 8th, 2009
We used to kill people in the army but THEY did not allowed us to keep them or eat them.
Which should be the precondition on killing anything.
June 12th, 2009
Stupid hunters. Not ashamed to still hunt? Or do you not have the power to grow their own food or take a fat ass on the couch and do something for those who need help? If you really think is good, do something to those who need!