The only way I saw the shark take was when the bright orange fly disappeared. After one long strip, the shark saw and engulfed the fly. Jeff grabbed the 16-weight and placed a large orange and red Mako Bomb a foot from the shark’s nose. We both jumped to our feet and watched as the shark patrolled closer to the boat. It was broad shouldered, olive-to-blue in color, and with a deliberate and cautious approach that large sharks possess when quartering-up on prey. We sat and waited and waited for one more mako, and then, like slow motion, a large fish appeared in the afternoon glare about a hundred feet from the boat, slowly moving up the chum slick. We agreed that Def Leppard was a great band, the new singer of Journey was unreal (even though I, for the most part, dislike the band), and Colin Hay (from Men at Work fame) is one of the greatest songwriters of our time. ![]() Jeff and I sat on the boat talking not about fishing, but about music. Good-sized makos and feisty blue sharks kept Jeff and me busy hooking, releasing, and talking about what a unique catch-and-release fly fishery we have only a few miles offshore from San Diego.Īs the afternoon grew late, the tides slacked and the fishing slowed to a halt. My instincts proved correct and within ten minutes of setting up on the “The Dong” (a canyon resembling a large donkey phallus running north-to-south for about a half mile), Jeff was casting to his first mako of the day, a solid 125-pounder that would jump and make a couple of long runs before succumbing to the release stick. The tides looked good, so we went for it. I had been guiding Jeff for a couple of days of pretty decent mako and big blue shark fishing, but the water conditions were shit-cool, green water is not ideal for makos in July, so we had to run to some Hail Mary spots (small, fickle offshore canyons that can make a guide a hero or zero). ![]() But in the back of my mind I knew I’d have an intimate moment with a smaller great white somewhere down the line. I’ve been plying the waters off the San Diego coast for the better part of fifteen years, searching for the perfect mako to catch on the fly, and during this time, I’ve seen two great whites-both were giants and not interested in what I was offering. On July 24, 2009, it just so happened it was Jeff Patterson and me. ![]() It was simply a matter of time before someone caught a great white shark on a fly in Southern California. We offer a platform for Conway’s perspective, because we believe it’s relevant. Recently, he and Jeff Patterson of Abel fly reels landed a juvenile great white shark on a fly, which simultaneously has garnered him praise (for the achievement) and scorn (for hooking an endangered species). Conway Bowman is a veteran shark captain and pelagic species conservationist from Southern California.
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