Lots of Leopards

[Kam_Walsh98]

The last month has been really productive for surf kitties in SD. I found a spot they congregate in pretty regularly and nearly every outing has resulted in a hookup. All of the leos have been really good quality, with a 4-5ft average. Hooked one that was either an absolute monster or just really amped up that took me all the way to the knot and rubbed me off 20 feet away from the beach once I had gotten all my line back. Was thinking maybe a stray soupie but the fight was pretty leopard-like. I haven't had the time to fish for very long stretches at a time so my sessions have been anywhere from half an hour to two hours usually. Nice to be able to catch sharks without being out there all night!

I've mainly been fishing with leftover gear/rigs from last spring but with the reports of soupies being around it's time to get back in shape. Probably would have landed that monster if I had been using a 100lb rub leader instead of one I made by doubling up 50lb mono. Catching fish with old, scrapped together gear feels resourceful and satisfying but losing fish because of old, scrapped together gear makes you feel like an idiot haha.

photos are here (I posted some on the fb page): https://kamwalsh.smugmug.com/Leopard-Sharks/

[lightline21]

Nicely, done! Really cool pictures!

[vdisney]

Very nice indeed, I haven't caught a leo in almost 2 years   

[Latimeria]

Excellent Kitty Catching Kam!  Catching 4-5 foot leo's in two hour fishing windows is pretty impressive! I'd take that type of fishing any day.

[FISH86R]

Sick.. Leopards gotta be one of the coolest looking sharks.. Aye and honestly you never know about the one that got away.. The last Leo I caught fought harder the both soups.. The mystery will remain..

[Kam_Walsh98]

Very nice indeed, I haven't caught a leo in almost 2 years   

come down to SD!

[Kam_Walsh98]

Sick.. Leopards gotta be one of the coolest looking sharks.. Aye and honestly you never know about the one that got away.. The last Leo I caught fought harder the both soups.. The mystery will remain..

I agree that they can fight crazy hard, especially in that really skinny water. I've also noticed that they seem to release more easily than most other sharks; I've never had one that got disoriented or had trouble getting back out.

[FISH86R]

Sick.. Leopards gotta be one of the coolest looking sharks.. Aye and honestly you never know about the one that got away.. The last Leo I caught fought harder the both soups.. The mystery will remain..

I agree that they can fight crazy hard, especially in that really skinny water. I've also noticed that they seem to release more easily than most other sharks; I've never had one that got disoriented or had trouble getting back out.

Ya.. I definitely feel you on that one.. My releases haven't exactly been "graceful".. I think I need a mentor.. Haha..

[Kam_Walsh98]

Sick.. Leopards gotta be one of the coolest looking sharks.. Aye and honestly you never know about the one that got away.. The last Leo I caught fought harder the both soups.. The mystery will remain..

I agree that they can fight crazy hard, especially in that really skinny water. I've also noticed that they seem to release more easily than most other sharks; I've never had one that got disoriented or had trouble getting back out.

Best way I've found is to drag them backwards (quickly, as they can't breathe while they're doing this) outwards until you're in between knee and thigh deep water and swing them around. If they don't swim off then moving their tail back and forth in the water in a swimming motion usually does the trick. Watch out for sevengills, they'll turn around and be able to bite you!

Ya.. I definitely feel you on that one.. My releases haven't exactly been "graceful".. I think I need a mentor.. Haha..

[Pinoyfisher]

You've pretty much have had the most consistent luck in the surf Kam!