# Tiger Sharks are on FIRE



## OUTCAST (May 31, 2010)

I dont think I've ever seen the Tigers in huge numbers like they are now. 8 inshore trips...8 monster tigers, and its not even June yet. The smallest was around 200 pounds and the largest was on Saturday and it was over 700 pounds. Had a monster on Friday and another one was circling the boat while we were at chase. Pretty incredible. 
We've hit some nice cobia, but they mostly seem to be on the offshore reefs stacked on top of each other.


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## sea trout (May 31, 2010)

sounds exciting!


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## buckhunter2256 (May 31, 2010)

*pics*

u got any pics to post


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## OUTCAST (May 31, 2010)

I sure dont. I carry a camera with me, but I have more pictures of Tigers, Kings and Cobia than I need. My charters take a ton, but unless its a 1,000 pounder, I usually dont break out my camera. 

I'm interested to see where these monsters end up, I've been tagging the Tigers and Lemons with a NOAA shark tag that supposedly stays in the skin for up to 20 years.


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## OUTCAST (May 31, 2010)

By the way.....Saw a few tarpon rolling on Saturday and one on Sunday. Maybe this means we'll have a decent season.


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## Swamprat (May 31, 2010)

Even with your charters are you tagging and release. Not trying to say anything bad. Just catching a shark around 700 pounds or so is thrill enough.

I do commend you for tagging your sharks. Have you ever caught any you have tagged before. Just wondering cause I have heard sharks will generally follow the same seaonal pattern and return to areas that they have been in beofre.

Whole lot of things we don't know about sharks, especially the bigger ones.


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## OUTCAST (May 31, 2010)

Definitely releasing. Nobody should be killing a Tiger shark unless its a state record or worth thousands of dollars for a tourny. I kill a blacktip from time to time if my people want to throw one on the grill, plus, this side of the coast has so many blacktips its ridiculous. They almost become a nuisance when I'm targeting the tigers and hammerheads. 
I really started to get curious on where those Tigers go in the winter and what the survival rate is after the release. I've only killed one in my life, and it was for the Edisto Shark tourny, had to kill it to win it. Sad, but money talks sometimes. 
Yeah, I tag them with my customers on board. A little tough sometimes but the trick is to get prepared so when I grab the leader I can just grab the tag stick. 
I have caught a tagged tiger, an 11 footer, it was previously tagged by a biologist just offshore of Grays Reef in March, then I caught it off Hilton Head 27 days later. I havent had one of my tagged sharks show up yet, but I just started using the NOAA tags this season, I have about a dozen Tigers I've tagged this year, so someone HAS to find one or 2  soon. The NOAA shark tags are the way to go, its a thick piece of mono with a capsule on the end...not that thin little yellow wired ones that DNR gives us.

You are exactly right, tons we dont know about sharks. The Blacktips, Spinners, Bulls and Lemons are so easy to map out where they go which doesnt make it as interesting.....but the Tiger and Hammerheads are a mystery.  Those open ocean sharks could go anywhere in the colder months.


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## Sharkfighter (Jun 1, 2010)

Can you describe the rig you use for the Tigers ?  Pole, reel and terminal tackle?  I catch a lot of blacktips, sharpnose, finetooth etc but want to get into some bigger Sharks.


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## OUTCAST (Jun 1, 2010)

Sure..
The rod is just a generic outer banks 6 footer with all rollers, I go through alot of rods so I never get a high end one. The reel is awesome, I wouldnt trade it for anything...50W Shimano Tiagra. The drag is as smooth as glass and doesnt change through the fight.  
The leader is a 13 foot, 180lb single strand wire that goes straight onto a 8/0 Gamekatsu Live Bait hook. I've tried every hook on the market and that Gamekatsu is THE BEST....just make sure it says "heavy duty" on the package, the regular ones will bend with this much heat. 
My charters are always amazed with how small of a hook I use, but the smaller the hook the easier it'll penetrate the jaw.  Plus, you wont gut hook them with the live bait hook, it catches them in the corner everytime. Lots of people start out using those 12/0 Mustad J hooks...which is ridiculous. These big tigers, lemons and bulls dont chew on the bait like a king or cuda, they swallow it pretty quick, and if you use a J hook, the odds of you hooking its stomach are very high...which result in a slow death. Good luck..


Landed the biggest tiger of the year, so far, this morning.  Minimum of 12 feet, I was guessing the weight to be a little over 800. Wasnt a real long one, but wide as a horse. Still managed to get a tag in her and it swam away strong.  Had a nice cobia swimming with her but didnt have another hand on the boat to grab the spinning rod.
Tons of monster blacktips. I kept beefing up the bait size trying to keep them at bay, but it took us about 5 blacktips before the big tiger hit. Little roley sea, but still a great day on the water..


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## Parker Phoenix (Jun 1, 2010)

I have encountered some big Tigers in as little as 2 foot, not often, but they come in to chase cobia on the flats on occassions. Do you feel the huge tigers are pelegic, say following the  cobia bite? Also, are they more prone to be caught by a certain type of structure, or looking for them by water temps?

We saw a huge one in about 55 foot a couple weeks ago come cruising in like the movie "Jaws". First time in a long time, I saw the fin slicing through the water, it stuck out 18 to 24 from the water, it swam under a bait pod, and fish by the thousands became airbourne, then it was over. Huge shark, never seen one bust a bait pod like that before.


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## Buck Nasty (Jun 1, 2010)

I know if I hooked a 12 ft Tiger....my butt had better be on a cruise ship. Man that has to be a rush to catch one that big....gives me the heebie-jeebies though.


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## capt stan (Jun 1, 2010)

Heres a little Tiger action.. Not a big one about 9 ft...

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 About a 20 min fight then cut loose boat side. This was last year. They are out there just gotta have the gear.


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## OUTCAST (Jun 1, 2010)

Awesome video, Stan. Looks like a sheet of glass that day. I like that set-up you have, with the harness and fighting belt. 

Heres a 12 footer from last year. I normally dont grab the pec fin, but it was pretty worn down when boatside. The music is a little annoying, but the language was rough so I had to cover it up.
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## capt stan (Jun 1, 2010)

yep nice.. language is harder to controll then the fish...lololo believe me...I know.


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## new blood (Jun 1, 2010)

*Chip*

I'm glad to see the season is starting on a high note. I thought those MONSTERS usually didn't start rolling in til mid June and later when the water warmed up. 

I'm really going to try to plan a trip down there this summer to get on a "grander".  Not to say that I'm disappointed with the one I mounted. A 10 footer was all the wall space I had to work with. I still need to send you pics of that mount. I'll work on that tomorrow. 

By the way, how did you fair in the Edisto Tourny this year? 

Sidenote- I got engaged while down in P.C. so maybe me and my boys can charter a guys trip this season.


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## OUTCAST (Jun 2, 2010)

Congrats wild man, I knew you had it in you! 

The tigers are definitely on this year. Today was the first day of the year that we landed 3 on a 4hr charter, and we didnt even start targeting them till 9:45...only had to chase 1, weighed around 500. The other two were 250 and 350. Wish I had you on the boat yesterday, had one the size of a clydesdale...you would have went nuts.

The Edisto Shark Tourny is a week from this weekend, looking very forward to it. Hope all is well, amigo. I'll keep you posted, and congrats again!


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## Apex Predator (Jun 2, 2010)

We've caught plenty of big ones around here.  On one trip we tagged 14 big ones.  Only two were under 10'.  Over the course of many trips we only caught one with a tag, and it was tagged by us the week before.  My buds had an 11 foot monster get eaten beside the boat by one estimated to be 14', while I was deployed overseas.  We have it all on video.  Pretty incredible stuff!  Tigers are awesome, but really a push over on heavy tackle.  The most awesome fights always come from the giant hammerheads, which are the other big boy we have in my region.


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## Apex Predator (Jun 2, 2010)

Here are a few poor quality stills I took from one of our videos.

















Here is a 700 pounder.


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## OUTCAST (Jun 2, 2010)

Are those all the same shark? The last one looks more than 700.


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## Apex Predator (Jun 2, 2010)

Not the same fish.


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## OUTCAST (Jun 2, 2010)

Parker Phoenix said:


> I have encountered some big Tigers in as little as 2 foot, not often, but they come in to chase cobia on the flats on occassions. Do you feel the huge tigers are pelegic, say following the  cobia bite? Also, are they more prone to be caught by a certain type of structure, or looking for them by water temps?
> 
> We saw a huge one in about 55 foot a couple weeks ago come cruising in like the movie "Jaws". First time in a long time, I saw the fin slicing through the water, it stuck out 18 to 24 from the water, it swam under a bait pod, and fish by the thousands became airbourne, then it was over. Huge shark, never seen one bust a bait pod like that before.





You asked the question of all questions. I dont know why they invade all at once. My guess--Its the food source.  When the water temp rises the cobia move in, but so do the turtles, spanish, blues, cudas, sting rays, etc. I say they are just following food, but who knows for sure? As for where they congregate; its definitely structure over temperature. I have two spots where I can hit them 24/7...one is a wreck and the other is a ledge holding some live bottom. Got 3 today within 2 hours, each time I only had the bait out 10 mins before it got smoked...all on the ledge/live bottom. I'd be amazed if a temp break could produce numbers like structure can. I know up north they have to fish ALL DAY just for one, amazes me how many more we have than the northeast does.
The main reason I started tagging these guys was to try and find out where they go in the offseason. I dont think anyone knows for sure. Its a open ocean shark, so I would imagine some go to the middle of the Atlantic and some go south...but I have a feeling we'd be shocked if we knew the range on these local monsters that are here in the summer. I'd also like to know if its the same ones coming back every year, or different ones. Do they always return, like turtles, or are they cruising different coasts constantly? 

Ever hear of Frank Mundus? Famous Great White fisherman from NY. I took his old mate 2 years ago out on a shark trip and he was blown away by the tiger shark fishery we have. He said he's never seen anything like it in his life. I'd say that speaks volumes on the nest egg that we're sitting on...


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## Parker Phoenix (Jun 3, 2010)

I have read of Frank Mundus. With the closures in the South Atlantic, and soon to come to the Gulf you may be on to something. It's amazing to see one of these huge fish up close and personal. I can only imagine what a grander would like at leaders length.


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## Apex Predator (Jun 3, 2010)

The biologists don't know squat about these tigers.  When NOAH received our group of 14 tags they got really excited and called my buddy who had the tags.  We were both recruiting for the Navy at the time.  We had a conference call in the recruiting office that they set up with biologists from all over the country.  We knew far more about these sharks than they did.  

All the tigers that we caught were females.


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## OUTCAST (Jun 3, 2010)

Yeah, I spoke with a biologist this winter that was supposedly a SC shark expert....I felt like I was teaching him, instead of the other way around.


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## OUTCAST (Jun 13, 2010)

new blood said:


> I'm glad to see the season is starting on a high note. I thought those MONSTERS usually didn't start rolling in til mid June and later when the water warmed up.
> 
> By the way, how did you fair in the Edisto Tourny this year?
> 
> Sidenote- I got engaged while down in P.C. so maybe me and my boys can charter a guys trip this season.



Won it yesterday with a 520 pounder, 11feet. Caught 4 by 10am and even had 2 tigers on at the same time, that was a first. I really wanted to hit a 1,000 pounder, but I'll get that beast next year. 2nd place was 291, 3rd was 250.


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## Parker Phoenix (Jun 13, 2010)

OUTCAST said:


> Won it yesterday with a 520 pounder, 11feet. Caught 4 by 10am and even had 2 tigers on at the same time, that was a first. I really wanted to hit a 1,000 pounder, but I'll get that beast next year. 2nd place was 291, 3rd was 250.



Congrats.


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## new blood (Jun 14, 2010)

*Congrats*

2 years in a row! Nice Job Chip.  Lets see some pics!


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## OUTCAST (Jun 14, 2010)




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## new blood (Jun 14, 2010)

*Wow*

I saw the pics from my email. That side shot looks like this tiger just ate a sea turtle, bather or something. Once again, congrats.

How long was the fight? Did you have to pull anchor and chase?


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## Israel (Jun 15, 2010)

Most probably know this...but Frank Mundus was the man that Peter Benchley loosely based his character Quint on from "Jaws".


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## OUTCAST (Jun 15, 2010)

new blood said:


> I saw the pics from my email. That side shot looks like this tiger just ate a sea turtle, bather or something. Once again, congrats.
> 
> How long was the fight? Did you have to pull anchor and chase?



The fight was only about an hour. After we landed the 2nd tiger that we were battling at the same time, we ran it down. I actually thought it was going to be alot bigger, was fighting like a much bigger one under the boat.... we just couldnt move it to the surface. We were on the cusp of letting it go and going after a bigger one (wanted a 1,000 pounder), but it was BLAZING hot and didnt want to set up and weed out all the blacktips, bulls and lemons. 

Thanks again!!


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