The Tail of Two Makos
On May 17th 2013 a mako shark appeared out of nowhere circling Key West captain Billy Delph’s 40’ SeaHunter while he was on a charter drifting along in the Florida Straits. The frustratingly lazy behavior of the shark was captured on video and etched in the minds of Captain Billy and his clients prior to the beast slipping away into the blue. As Captain Billy made his way back towards Key West and into cell phone range the video was sent to FishMonster Magazine from his phone by text without any words. He knew we would know what it was and how special the video would be. This was the beginning of a strange set of events that would come to be known as the day that Captain Billy Delph caught two mako sharks on two separate charters in the month of June - something that has never happened before. Interestingly, another video was sent in to us a few weeks later featuring a large mako shark that had beached itself on a Key West flat while another Key West captain by the name of Jared Cyr tried to save the fish by dragging it into open water. He did what he could but the shark was in bad shape and eventually expired. The mako shark buzz began to grow.
Shortfin mako sharks are known to travel in waters generally above 60 degrees and are on occasion caught and legally taken along the Florida Straits by anglers from the Florida Keys. Mako shark has been compared to swordfish as far as table quality and in the South Atlantic Federal Waters, there is no size limit and a one per angler or two per vessel bag limit - provided the vessel has an Atlantic HMS permit. In the Florida Keys, sharks are considered a catch and release species except for makos. They are the shark most commonly harvested and here at FishMonster we may see a maximum of five reports a year total.
These sharks feed by first disabling their prey from an underside approach and will eat anything from porpoises to turtles to swordfish and sometimes even sea birds which causes a real conflict within the conservation front. What would you rather save? A shark or a porpoise? Tough question for sure. The non-discriminatory feeding nature of these sharks makes them especially effective predators of just about anything in the water that moves. They are killing machines. Mako sharks can cruise at speeds anywhere from 5-20 knots with quick bursts in excess of 40 knots, sometimes flying out of the water as high as 20 feet. These creatures are well equipped to take care of their caloric needs any time the opportunity presents itself. Nomads by nature, they travel to eat and eat to travel.
Along with summer come the welcoming calmer seas that allow more days to fish further out into the Florida Straits comfortably than any other time of the year. With the kids out of school, many of us that fish for a living bring our sons or daughters along to help mate the boats and to be part of the daily operations. Captain Billy’s nine year old son Daniel decided to skip golf camp and join his dad on this particular morning charter, a very good move for various reasons including the encounter with the first mako shark.
News of the first mako came to FishMonster at 9:29am on June 13th by way of text from Captain Billy’s wife Piper Delph alerting us of the landing by angler Matt Hurt and told us that the shark would be arriving at Key West Harbour early that afternoon. We then received another update that the 40’ SeaHunter would arrive by 12:40 PM. “Shark Free Marina” signs are noticeable along the sea wall at Key West Harbour near the filet tables. Recently there has been an upwelling of protest against the world wide practice of shark finning for the shark fin soup industry and the wasting of the resource prompting the erection of these reminders. Ask anyone in the Florida Keys that spends time on the water if the sharks are scarce and most will tell a story of multiple muggings by sharks eating everything that moves. The shark extermination problem is not centered around the local fishery of the Florida Keys.
One of our most common species is the lemon shark. Ironically the lemon shark is listed on the endangered species list yet it’s not uncommon for angler’s on a charter to catch and release anywhere from 5-10 a day within view of many more circling and looking for something to eat. In fact some of the captains who witness the frantic final run of a permit or a bonefish ended by this double dorsal demon have offered to send live sharks to other places where they are more wanted in an effort to help re-populate the globe and ease the concerns of shark eradication. As I walked into the ship store and announced the imminent arrival of the first mako shark, you could have heard a pin drop. Everyone working in the marina knew it was not something that followed the shark free marina rule book for sure, but how do you tell a four decade old Key West charter company that is within the legal bag limit not to bring the shark back to their home dock? Ultimately the staff shared in the excitement as the first mako was lifted out of the SeaHunter by the Key West Harbour Marina forklift and onto the dock. The crowd gathered as General Manager Richard Horn proudly snapped shots for the marina website and newsletter. Now for round two. With news of the first shark, eleven year old David Delph was at the dock waiting and ready to go on the afternoon charter trip with his dad Captain Billy and nine year old brother Daniel. The excitement from the very rare landing of a mako shark was infectious.
Running at speed to the south not long after leaving the dock is when it happened. “What’s that?” the young Delph asked. Captain Billy saw it too, another mako shark. In 800 feet of water south of Key West Harbour after a morning trip that yielded a rare trophy mako shark and here was another one much bigger than the first swimming close to the surface. Within a matter of minutes, Captain Billy Delph fed the large shark a rigged bonito filet which was quickly consumed. He handed off the rod to his client, twenty-two year old recent college graduate Josh Robert. Josh had been treated to a Key West fishing trip by his family in celebration of his recent accomplishment.
Piper Delph’s next series of texts came to FishMonster Magazine at 2:44pm claiming that the trio of Delphs and recent college grad Josh Roberts were engaged again with another mako that weighed over three hundred pounds. This had never happened before to anyone in all of our collective memories in the Florida Keys, ever. The college courses Josh completed hadn’t included “Stand Up Tackle Hooked Up To Mako 101” so professor Billy started the crash course prior to firing up the Go Pro. He was quickly fitted into the stand-up harness and the rod was attached to the lucky angler. Josh quickly became engaged in a position that allowed leverage against the large fish and also mimicked a walking crab. The mako shark had enough power to yank Josh and the entire apparatus into the glass calm water of the South Atlantic at any time so great care had to be practiced until he gained comfortable control. The majority of the battle was captured on video including a dramatic sky high launch of a mako missile that can be viewed at FishMonster.com.
At 3:20pm the fish was landed and at the request of the paying customers, loaded into Captain Billy’s boat. Their estimated arrival time bak to the dock at Key West Harbour was 5:00pm. Déjà vu kicked in as spectators again gathered to see another large mako shark. General Manager Richard Horn directed his staff to help unload the unique catch with the same forklift used to lift the first mako shark earlier in the day. Captain Billy’s dad Captain Ralph Delph stood in the crowd and as the fish came to rest in front of the filet table he estimated the weight to be around 325 lbs. Piper Delph was also at the dock along with Billy’s brother Captain Rob Delph who had also just returned from a charter. The days events were big news in Key West and the news traveled quickly throughout the town. Two mako sharks landed the same day on two completely separate paid charters is an unprecedented set of events in the Florida Keys and Captain Billy Delph was the one to do it.
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