This trip found us headed East to Saco Maine to meet up with my close friend Chris Cobbett. This was going to be Tori's first offshore adventure and I was excited to share with her the joys of salt water fishing. First on the agenda was a quick "Hands-on" lesson about lobstering. She has always loved to play with them in the grocery store and has also enjoyed them as table fare, so now she was going to learn just what it takes to get them there. Strictly recreational of course so NO fancy winches for hauling, just good old Man power
We had a good haul and she learned to sex them and size them and luck for us we ended up with 8 nice ones for the box 
This one took a nice " Warn butter bath" later.....
Next we headed the well equipped Grady East and settled on top of Tanners ledge to do a little Cod fishing for some fresh bait. Tori made quick work of the Cod fish and told me it was just like walleye fishing "ONLY DIFFERENT" .... kids are so funny. She really wasn't happy when we told her it was time to go and I think if she had had it her way she would have kept at the Cod all day.
YUMMY.....
That behind us we once again headed East towards deeper waters and we had our eyes on a group of tuna boats anchored and working together. I have learned all that chum brings in more than just Tuna
We motored a good mile past the fleet and set up our drift and began to chum our selves. We use basic rod and reel set-ups with 80 lbs test mono. Shark set ups are simple. A big foam slip bobber then and egg sinker followed by a "Shocker" disc and then the swivel attached to a wire leader and hook. The bobber is held in place by a rubber band and the bait is usually set just out of sunlight penetration or 20-25 feet. Drift the bait back in the chum and wait.Well, lucky for us it wasn't long before the boat banter was interrupted by the screaming of the level winds clicker!!! Fish-On!!! We were going to try and get Tori onto a somewhat smaller shark around 5-6 feet hopefully. We never got to see this one first so I set the rod on the fighting belt engaged the reel and when the line was tight set the hook as if my life depended on it!!! GOD that's fun!! You just can't do it too hard!!
Instantly I realized this was no shark for Tori ass line peeled of the spool at an alarming rate. Turned out this first fish of the day was a nice 10 foot specimen. 
As usual the battle lasted about 50 minutes and the beast began to tire..... the shark was a little also!!
These Blue Sharks really are beautiful creatures and Tori was in Awe of her fist sightings of a wild shark.
After the shark was successfully released I immediately saw a small shark of Tori's caliber swimming up the slick!!! We quickly got her belted up and she had zero hesitation and was eager to battle her first shark. I was a little surprised actually. Now we had rod in hand and line peeling out against the clicker as the shark made of with the bait. I stood behind her and supported the forearm of the rod and made sure the butt stayed seated in the belt. I engaged the reel and told her when it felt real tight give it to him like he owes you money!!! She did JUST that and immediately I could tell she was intimidated by the power of his first run.
She was a real trooper and kept the pressure to him and reeled like a pro
These fish have a lot of power even at only 5 feet long. She was happy when we finally leadered him and set him free to swim another day.
That was a 20 minute battle and the longest she had fought a fish before. She instantly told me when we took her belt off that she was good for the rest of the day and that I could fight the rest. What a sweety
We drifted for awhile and had several close encounters with a group of Fin Backed whales..... The second largest to the Blue whale. Tori thought that was just INCREDIBLE as they cruised by at a mere 50 yards!!!
We hooked up with several more nice fish and then I found myself on the business end of a true GIANT!! When I set the hook the fish headed south and felt unstoppable! I was nearly spooled four times and we had to start the motor twice, which I have never had to do sharking. We were not sure what we had and then she showed herself. It was another Blue shark, but of 12+ feet and as round as an old whisky drum!! I was now over an hour into fighting her and my EVERYTHING was hurting!! This was the biggest shark we have ever had on and Chris was debating taking her aboard and was sure she was pushing the Maine state record. I don't have the experience he does, for he has hundreds of days at sea fishing for sharks and tuna. I had no interest in killing a fish I was not going to eat and it would have made everything just a bit crazy with kids aboard so I declined on the offer. Unfortunately we don't have good pic's either and next time I'm gonna bring a video camera, for I believe it is better suited to capture this venue.
Heres a pic of her rolling boat side.
And a pic of her HUGE face. Compare it to the skinnier face of that 350 lb 10 footer and you can see the difference.
1 hour and 25 minutes later we finally had her beat and Chris was able to remove the hook and set her free...... Clearly a specimen over 400 pounds landed on 80lb mono
I was VERY happy!!I could not have asked for a better first outing for Tori. Everything I wanted to accomplish happened and she can tell all her friends she caught a shark!!! Oh how I love the salt water. Once again I am grateful for the opportunity and can't thank enough all that were involved. If you ever get a chance to shark fish you should. The raw power of these animals is just amazing. Well until next time....
Tight Lines my friends!!!
