Grrrrrrrrrrr

Yet again Des comes out with a blatent contradiction of his own thoughts.

Angling times, page Page 31. Under the heading "keep Carp Where they belong...." he clearly states that..refering to a 14 pond carp caught on 4 pound line..."...it was unfair to play the fish that long!"

He then says in another column "Sharks in my sights" that he is off to Namibia to catch shark from the beach using beachcasters. He then says to see the article about it on page 39.

Quote .."best so far is around 290 pounds (1 hour 45 minute fight).....estimated at 340 pounds (2 hour 30 minute fight).

Now, to my mind, this is bloody stupid fishing. As these sharks fight, the longer they show distress, the more likely it is that other sharks will attack them. Also, when returned, its not into a nice river or pond, its into an open sea, with very strong currents, surf and other sharks to contend with.Whats the difference between what he is away to do in a foreign country to what he is moaning about on his own doorstep.

Out of sight, out of mind maybe??

I wish Des had the bottle to face some of the questiones posed to him on this forum instead of hiding behind an editor and taking pot shots at us, the readers. Come on Des.

Forgive me if I'm wrong but I thought that a fight of that sort of time with a shark - of that size - would be about average. In really big game fishing it is not unusual for the fight to last at least double that or even more. That is using as strong a line as possible too. As I say I may be wrong as I have no first hand experience of this type of angling. If you think about it, coarse fish are in the same dilemna. A prolonged fight will mean an exhausted fish, which will mean easier prey for any resident pike.

Kevan

The Namibian coast has excellent fishing, but I truly can't understand why anyone wants to catch a blinking shark when there are lots of other "proper fish" along this coast.

I have caught shark from the African shore and quite frankly it's no fun at all.

Kevan, what i am trying to get at is that he says he fishes with a beachcaster. I have been lucky enough to fish for sharks whilst living in malaysia and Oz. Standard gear FROM THE BEACH was at least an 80 pound class rod matched to 80 pound line. We were taking fish to 200 pounds and fighting them for no more than 30 minutes.

A beachcaster is like fishing for pike on a float rod. Its not on. As the sharks patrol in groups, it is not unusual for a shark that is being played to be attacked by its bretheren.

You are correct when u say that big game fish take hours to land, but normally this is on 130 pound class gear. You also have the boat that helps you fight the fish, its always moving forward when u play the fish. Also, no matter what you read, many of the big Tuna and Marlin are killed. Seen it happen myself.

The point I am trying to make is that he says its wrong to play a carp on inadequate tackle, but he then promotes shark fishing with gear designed to take whiting and cod of the beach. Double standards u see.

Same guy who was up in arms about Adams Mill going syndicate, but is a member of several exclusive syndicates himself. Same guy who says summer piking is wrong, but fishes for spawn bound pike in scotland when his own pike were "out of season"..etc etc

Ron, I remember Bronze Whalers going airbourne when hit...good fun, but u are correct, there are some rather interesting fish worth catching.

Ron, you asked "why sharks?"

MATCHO-MAN, nuff said.

Del.

Del, you have a point, yet I truly do not understand anyone wanting to catch a shark. Some time ago features appeared of Matt Hayes and Des Taylor hunting Great Whites. Have you ever tried to tackle a dirty great shark with a gob full of teeth by yourself on a deserted stretch of beach?

I did once and it's not funny; and certainly not fair on the shark. Best way to handle it is to cut the trace or shoot the shark with a powerful revolver.

No there are much nicer species to catch in the sea. Species you can unhook and return if you want, or even better, eat them.

Ron, I couldn't agree with you more, BUT we are not talking about normal people like you and me and the vast majority of anglers(Ihope).

There will always be the odd 1 or 2 whose EGO is of paramount impotance. (To them that is).

Del.