Bryan Beach 3/30-3/31

**fish-n-agg** · #1 04-04-2012, 08:35 PM

Well for one trip anyways. This was my first serious sharking trip since I moved away from the coast nearly 2 1/2 years. I left Fort Worth around 8:30 pm and met up with Jim around 1:00 am and decided to get a few hours sleep before we hit the beach. We arrived in Galveston around 7 am and started making bait and by 11 we figured we had enough bait to make the weekend. We arrived at a promising looking portion of sand on Bryan beach around 12:30 and had all our baits in the water by 1:30. Now the waiting game began and we just sat back and enjoyed the day waiting on the first run of the trip. After a few hours Jims 4/0 gets a screaming run and we are hooked up on our first shark of the trip. Looking out on the horizon we see the shark cutting across the surface and know we have a good shark on. After a good fight we get the shark in the first gut and see that it is a good sandbar around the 7' mark.
The first shark of the trip is a healthy 7'0" sandbar

After tagging a few pics and a quick measurement the shark is released.

After this I reel in my 6/0 and descover that there was no bait so I rigged up the 900 and got it deployed the Jim gets his 4/0 rigged back up and deployed. Once he gets back in I take my 6/0 back out. When I get back in I go to check and make sure the 6/0 is holding when a couple of women come by and ask if the rod at the other end is ours because it is making a clicking sound. When we get to it it appears that around 100yds has come off the reel. Im thinking I have just missed a good fish when it starts to roll again. I tightened the drag down and feel a feeling I havent in over 2 yrs, the pull of a big shark.

After a decent fight Jim goes out to leader the shark. He yells back to me that its a good sandbar, then I see him sprinting toward the shark. Its at this point I realize the shark has pulled the hook and i take off into the water to try to help Jim get him to the beach. After three failed attempts we finally get a good hold on it and get it to the beach and we get a quick measurement a tag in it and a few quick pics.
She measured out at 7'2" and was FAT!!

With it getting close to dark I re-rigged the 900 and get it back out. When I get back in I start getting camp set up and as the sun is starting to get low in the horizon the 900 gets smoked again. This time we see it and get to it to get the hook set on the first run. Again I feel that this is a good shark and it fights me hard all the way in, making long runs and refusing to budge on the sandbars.

After a 30 min fight the shark is in the 1st gut and is quickly on the beach. We again get a quick measurement a tag and a few quick photos.
While she was not as long as the first she was even fatter. She measured at 7'1"

**fish-n-agg** · #2 04-04-2012, 08:37 PM

And she is off to fight another day.

It is now dark and I get some dry clothes on and start getting camp ready. As im getting the tent set up I hear my 6/0 make a short run. When I get to it I see it is doubled over but not taking any line. I go ahead and tighten up the drag and feel that there is something on the other end. After a short fight we have the fourth shark of the trip on the beach.

This little sandbar measured out at 5'4" and is sent on its way.

After we get her released we finish setting up camp and get some dinner going.

The rest of the night goes by uneventful and I call it a night around midnight hoping the surf would stay down through the night. When we wake up the next morning we our pleased to see the surt is even calmer than it was the night before. We quickly rebait all the rod and get them ran out and the waiting game begins again. While we are waiting we get a little shade set up and enjoy the day.

After a few hours the 900 starts getting messed with and after 10 minutes of it I feel that there is something on it and reel in to see that there is a tiny 2' sandbar on the other end foul hooked.

Later our friend Chris shows up and after a short talk he heads back down the beach and sets up his camp. A few hours later we get a call that he has had a few runs so Jim heads down to see whats going on. When he gets there they talk and come to the conclusion that there is something on the end of the line.

After a short fight the shark is on the beach and better than we thought. Turns out it was a 6'6" sandbar.

**fish-n-agg** · #3 04-04-2012, 08:40 PM

The rest of the day goes pretty uneventful and around sundown I get some deer steaks on the grill and get ready for the night.

As is always the case as soon as the steaks go on the grill the 900 goes slack. I walk over to see whats going on. Every time I get the slack out the rod tip starts bouncing and the goes slack. After a little bit I decided the shark was on the other end of the line.

After another short fight I get the first bull of the season on the beach.
Around a 5 footer (didnt measure was trying to get back to the steaks)

The rest of the night goes uneventful and we reel in around 11 to call it a night and head on in to get a good nights sleep before I have to head back to Fort Worth first thing sunday morning. When Jim gets his 6/0 in it has the smallest sandbar I have ever seen on it.
Maybe 20" (sorry but the only pic I have of it)

After that we get off the beach and call it a trip. Im not sure when my next trip will be but it was good to finally get back on the sand after being off of it for so long.