As reported by the Sacramento Bee 9/12/02...

Redondo Beach fisherman catches 815-pound shark

Published 12:20 a.m. PDT Thursday, September 12, 2002
REDONDO BEACH, Calif. (AP) - A fisherman spent nearly six hours battling an 815-pound mako off Santa Monica Bay before he hauled in the shark with the help of a friend.

John Miller said at first he hooked the female shark alone. But during the hours he spent fighting, he placed a radio call to a friend for assistance.

Using a small boat, Mike McNamee sailed about 25 miles offshore to where Miller was to help him.

"We both held on for dear life," McNamee said.

Once they secured the shark, they tied it to the side of the boat and towed it back to a Redondo Beach yacht club.

Makos are rarely seen in West Coast waters, said Dr. Steve Strand, director of the University of California, Los Angeles, Ocean Discovery Center.

Why not just take a photo and let that "rarely seen" mako go?

Why would you want to kill it? I think mako meat is too acidic to eat. Tastes bad.

I guess the same could be said for the rarely-seen Lewis river hatchery summer steelhead! :p

Parker,

Soak the shark steaks in milk, in a covered container overnight in the fridge. I usually like 24 hours.

It usually does the trick, or you can mix a bit of lemon juice in there as well to help the milk get into the meat better.

I have no problems with them keeping it, as long as they plan on eating it. Shark, like you somewhat mentioned, isn't for everybody.

Hope the fishing's been good. Haven't landed one over 30lbs. yet this season, but have gotten many high teens and twenties so far. Hoping things will shape out like last year's salmon season. peace.

I've eaten Mako and it was great. One of the better eatin' sharks.

We used to get commercially caught Mako shark in our restaurant and believe it or not it was an excellent fish to cook and eat. I have cooked others like the common blacktip shark and usually these are tough, like getting a marlin that has gone through shock and released uric ??? acid into its system. Many fish do this if they die violently and it effects how they eat.

But then again who could eat a 815 pound Mako....I agree with Parker....they should have let it go.

Ng

Check this one out, 4salt. This one has a fin! First summer run native fish I've pulled out of the Lewis (this season)! Put up a great fight! Much better than any of the previous hatchery fish I've pulled out of that river.

I just loved the color and perfect fins on this fish. A beauty!



You so correct on the Lewis fish, though. Some days the fish taste great! Some days, the fish taste like mud.

Although summer runs are still being caught, they are not being kept. Yucky.