Got schooled and spooled today while sharking.

[shoresurfer]

Hit the beach early AM with my friend Jerry (Shark in the dark) today.
CONGRATS TO JERRY FOR HIS FIRST SOUPFIN!
Now that we have that out of the way here is my story.
After Jerry got his 1st Soupie and a Bat I proceeded to hook up on my first real shark.
It was crazy because it did not run initially, at least not hard enough for me to notice that he was on, What I did notice was my line which was headed north all morning had suddenly moved south but my line was just idle.
When I reeled on it my rod just bent over like the sputnick weight was stuck on a rock or something. I pulled to get it unstuck and we were off to the races.
And I mean off, this fish pulled so hard and so fast that I was caught off guard. The tail slaps on my line were almost non stop, I started to tighten the drag down because he was not stopping and all I could do was watch my line continue to disappear at an alarming rate. The drag was so tight that I thought the line would break, the spool was "HOT".
I finally got him stopped and could see the bottom of my spool, at least I thought I had him stopped. As I started to try and get some line back he ran again and that was it. 30 secs later I hear the "SNAP" and it was over. I got spooled. Just did not have the drag I needed to stop him.
I guess the lesson is that I am going to have to learn how to cast a conventional reel if I am going to continue to hunt these beasts.
Anyways it is always a great day fishing with Jerry whether we are catching or just fishing we always have a good time.
Any advice would be so helpful.
Thanks for the read.
This is the end result. Lol!

[LONGCAST JOE]

Unless you have an extremly large thumb, then that reel spool looks quite small for your target species. Whats your best guesstimate on how much line you had on your spool ,what kind of line was it spooled with and what is the max drag pressure rating for that reel? You don't nessarily need to go to a conventional but would have to at least upgrade to a heavier model spinner with more line capacty and more max drag rating. It does you no good to fish a 65lb braid if the reels max drag is only 15lbs, you might as well step down to a lower diameter line and gain some line capacity.
Getting spooled sure does make you come back for more though, huh?

[shoresurfer]

Thanks for the insight Joe.
I am difinitly going to upgrade.
What is a good drag to work with for these beasts?

[xjchad]

Sounds a bit more like a monster bat, but either way, that adrenaline rush is hard to beat!
Like Joe said, may want to look into upgrading. You don't nessesarilly need to go conventional, a good quality spinner can still work. 

[sasquatch]

Sounds like a nice fish for sure.

[Sharkinthedark II]

We'LL GET EM NEXT TIME BUDDY...

[lamnidae]

Yikes!

[Pinoyfisher]

Big bat spooled you. Will happen again until you upgrade. IMHO, you need a minimum of 300yds of 30lb line.

[Sharkinthedark II]

Rob has got a lot of bats on that rig...it was roasted ... The reason it was so foggy this morning...hahaha

[Latimeria]

That's a heart breaker... but as mentioned by Joe... I think you need a little more spool capacity. 

Oh well, as Quint says in JAWS... "You Lose One, You Rig One".

[LONGCAST JOE]

Thanks for the insight Joe.
I am difinitly going to upgrade.
What is a good drag to work with for these beasts?

I you want someting with at least a 25-30# max drag but 40#+ won't hurt.
Like pinoyfisher suggests as well, you should have at least 300yds of line on your spool of at least 30lb. An easy way to do it is 150yds of a 50lb braid (since 150yds is a standerd braid spool length) and then 150+yards of  30# or 40# mono top shot. Your braid will only touch water after a fish peels off at least 50yds on the initial run.
Here's 7 or 8 spinnig reels that all have enough line capacity and max drag listed from low to high price. Personally I think the Daiwa Emblem Pro is a good overall value, but I love the baitrunner feature on reels when I fish them from a spike in the sand also
   
Penn Conflict Spinning Reel CFT8000
http://www.amazon.com/Penn-Conflict-8000-Spinning-Reels/dp/B00EOTC934/ref=sr_1_1_m?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1465111387&sr=1-1&keywords=Penn+Conflict+Spinning+Reel+CFT8000

Daiwa Emblem Pro EX 5500 Spinning Reel, Silver
http://www.amazon.com/Daiwa-Emblem-5500-Spinning-Silver/dp/B00MUHD2NS/ref=sr_1_2?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1465110661&sr=1-2&keywords=emblem+pro

Shimano Baitrunner 12000D Spinning Reel
http://www.amazon.com/Shimano-Baitrunner-Spinning-Reel-4-8/dp/B005CSYVDM/ref=pd_sim_200_2?ie=UTF8&dpID=51dU-WBiEaL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160%2C160_&refRID=12VZEGQR7GP64D208M4B

Shimano Ultegra CI4+ 14000 XT-B Surfcasting Spinning Reel with Baitrunner System
http://www.amazon.com/Shimano-Ultegra-Surfcasting-Spinning-Baitrunner/dp/B00FZ0R37I/ref=pd_sim_sbs_200_5?ie=UTF8&dpID=51YkEQnvoUL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160%2C160_&refRID=1V3YXXKWGQYMZVQ88HSA

Shimano Aero Technium 12000 XTB Magnesium
http://www.amazon.com/Shimano-Aero-Technium-12000-Magnesium/dp/B0093N7BZC/ref=pd_sim_sbs_200_5?ie=UTF8&dpID=51sEhFnxxML&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160%2C160_&refRID=0XN4JVY6V6HSYZBJVSES

ZeeBaaS ZX2-27RS Silver Spinning Reel
http://www.amazon.com/ZeeBaaS-ZX2-27RS-Silver-Spinning-Reel/dp/B00820Z35W/ref=sr_1_1?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1465112956&sr=1-1&keywords=zeebaas

Shimano Stella STL 18000 SWB HG Reel 
http://www.amazon.com/Shimano-Stella-STL-18000-Reel/dp/B00BVB8ECI/ref=pd_sim_sbs_200_24?ie=UTF8&dpID=51UdbWLWt7L&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160%2C160_&refRID=1D40R78S8JKZAJC6NFPR

Good Luck on your upgrade hunt, let us know what you decide on...
JOE

[HalibutJoel99]

Great read Robert. I was gonna meet up with you guys, but the fish were biting and it was hard to leave. Next time you will be better prepared, now that you know what to expect. You will be fish on!

[shoresurfer]

Thanks to all who replied.
It may have been a big Ray but I am sure I felt the tail slaps in the line. You never know for sure till you beach the beast.

[vdisney]

Denny uses a Penn Spinfisher 7500, holds 325 yards of 50 lb braid and has 35 lbs of drag.  His is three years old and still works like new, plus they'e only around $150 on Ebay.  Just my 2 cents 

[shoresurfer]

I have found this reel I think may work.
It is a Penn Spin Fisher SSV8500LL
Here is the details.
Model   Mono Cap. (yds/lb)                         Braid Cap. (yds/lb)        Bearings   Max Drag      Gear Ratio    Line Retrieve       Weight
SSV8500   440/20 • 300/30 • 250/40   650/40 • 540/50 • 470/65   5+1              35 lbs           4.7:1         42(in)               31.6(oz)
Let me know what you all think.
Thanks for the help.