Norfolk Canyon

We ran out to the Norfolk Canyon yesterday. We went out to try new-to-us live-baiting for marlin. We started out trying to catch tinker mackerel. We caught the heck out of the sea bass and blueline tilefish. We struggled with the mackerel. We managed to catch a few, bridled them up, and started trolling them. It was the first time we had used the trolling valves on the boat, those things work really well. It was not long before we had our first hook-up that dumped all of the line on the TLD 30 but really, it was down to the knot before any of us even noticed that something was going on. Some quick backing down allowed Charles Southall to keep the line from breaking. They saw the fish in the distance and said marlin but they were not sure what kind. When it got close to the boat, a very large and agitated hammerhead moved in and we were sure it was going to eat the marlin. When we finally got the “marlin” up enough to see it, it was another big hammerhead. While leadering that fish, the other shark grabbed a mackerel dangling from the long rigger. With a 2nd shark hooked up, we quickly cut the leader on the 1st. Then, the second shark broke off while a 3rd big hammerhead came in and at our last mackerel dangling off of the other rigger. That did not last long. Out of mackerel, we went back to catching sea bass and tilefish and a single mackerel. Back on the troll for 2 minutes and that one was taken by another shark also. So back to the bait catching. Some of the tilefish and sea bass were too small to keep. We “released” a few that floated. The water erupted with multiple hammerheads attacking the fish. We managed one more mackerel, it was getting late, so back on the troll with it and some silver perch I had left over as bait for the Flounder Bowl.  A hammerhead came in on the mackerel and we cranked it away from it. Stan Simmerman had a shark rig ready and fed it out but the shark went and ate one of the little silver perch. I fought that fish and somehow the little circle hook and light leader held and I got that shark to the boat. So we ended up going 2 for 5 on hammerheads. We never had a chance at a billfish. We ended up with a nice catch of sea bass and blueline tilefish to 10.5 pounds.