Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2023/01/20/twelve-year-old-goes-fishing-reels-in-great-white-shark-video.html
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“Let’s try something a little bit more low-key next time, like catching butterflies.”
[Child nets Mothra]
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Waiting for someone to say “we’re gonna need a bigger boat.” Disappointed.
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Question for the anglers out there: why are the loops that guide the fishing line positioned over the top of the rod and not under the rod? Does it matter at all?
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Typically for deep sea trollin g the rods are shorter and much stiffer and the guides and reel are positioned on the top of the rod for leverage against a heavy fish. The guides are also more like pulleys with little wheels to provide less friction against the filament which is typically a heavy nylon or even steel wire. Unlike stream or fresh water lake fishing, control over the rod (and subsequent casting and placement of the lure is less important).
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i believe it is a deep sea tro.lling set up - for dragging larger lures/baits way behind the boat at a higher speed. used with large drum reels not spinning reels.
edit: looks like @anon81034786 was quick. owe you a coke!
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What we need is smaller bait. Do not try this at home. 
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I had wondered what they did with the shark while watching the video that ended too soon, IMHO. ^____^
“A Kaiju?!?” <\squeaky Wil Wheaton voiceover>
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if the loops hung down below the rod then the line would be below the rod as well and the rod could obscure your view of the line
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forgot to add this:
sharks are cool!
glad they tagged and released!
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It depends on the rod. Conventional tackle, with reels that roll the line directly onto a rotating spool with an axis perpendicular to the rod typically have the reel, and thus the line guides, mounted on top. These reels don’t cast as far but have more torque for fighting big fish.
Spinning rods and reels are the opposite, with a reel spool that is stationary and an axis that is parallel to the rod. The reel has an orbital line guide that spins around the fixed spool, wrapping the line around it. The rod guides and reel are mounted below the rod. These combinations tend to be able to cast farther.
Fly rods and reels are different still. Reel and rod guides are mounted below the rod, but the line winds directly onto the moving reel spool, which has an axis perpendicular to the rod.
One view of a fly reel is that it’s just a place to conveniently store line, and that the angler mostly fights the fish by holding the line directly. That works because fly line is thick and soft, so it provides good grip without cutting your fingers like the braided line used on the above reels. OTOH, for big or fast/strong fish like bonefish, tarpon, or salmon, the reel is critically important for fighting the fish. No way you can successfully fight an adult tarpon hand-over-hand.
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The problem is, when you hook a smaller fish, it becomes the bait for a bigger fish.
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Ah, I see the problem.
When you chuck a pre-teen in the water, you just gonna hook a bunch of teenagers, and who wants that?
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I’ve only been open sea fishing once. Of our small group, I got the largest, a barracuda, and the prettiest, a fish with an iridescent green tail that I am not sure I ever knew the name of. It is a little foggy in my mind what it looked like.
Anyway, others caught some red snappers which we ended up eating.
I’m sure this kid won’t forget this fishing trip!
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You got that right!
Last year we took my nephew out fishing for Blue Fin about 20 miles off the coast of San Diego. He got a 75 pounder! Bringing that thing in was pretty crazy as they fight like hell.
I used to ocean fish quite a bit (mostly for king salmon) when I lived in northern CA. Every once and a while, a blue shark would get hooked going after the salmon and they always let it go.
When we would go, I would fish with my 7 foot Ugly Stick rod and a baitcast reel. Was more fun that way than using heavy tackle.
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Was it a dorado? (aka dolphin fish or mahi mahi) They are iridescent green coming out of the water. We hooked a 50 lb off the coast of Costa Rica a bunch of years back. Fed our group of 12 with enough meat for a week. Absolutely delicious!
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I know it’s being reported everywhere as Boston, but it appears the kid/family is actually from Southampton which is on the other side of MA:
"Instead, the 12-year-old from Southampton, Massachusetts, "
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ah, yes! what we call “paying the taxman”. you hook a good size grouper or mutton snapper and as you fight to bring it onto the boat - along comes mr. shark, who takes his cut before you can. you got sharked, you paid the tax.
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It was some fish that the guides said wasn’t good for eating. I remember most of the body being sort of a purpley brown, but the colors shifted in the sun, and then the tail fin was long and had more colors like the green. I think the dorsal fin had some orange on it, and it too was longer. Like those ornamental gold fish where the fins seem longer and ribbon like than they need to be. This was outside of Cancun, FWIW. ETA and it was only like a foot and half long.
This was 20 years ago. My ex wife might have pics of it from our trip somewhere. It back when we use those water proof disposable cameras.
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