The Threshers are Back

I had the opportunity to run the Tail Chaser, a 41 Viking, out of Oceanside the last few weeks in search of the first Thresher flag for the Oceanside Anglers Club as well as the Oceanside Anglers Club Thresher Shark Tournament. On my birthday, April 30th (hint, hint), I was fortunate enough to take the owner, Jim Dragoo and his son Jesse out in search of the first flag for the club. With some good dope from the day before, we headed south out of Oceanside with re-rigged Rapalas and Bait-O-Matics and a tank full of mackerel. With a start time of 8:00am, we weren't exactly the first guys on the water that morning. As I was nearing our starting location on the inside near La Jolla, I got a call on the radio from Jack on the Osprey and he informed me that they were on them pretty good and suggested I pay them a visit on the outside near the north end of the nine mile bank. As luck would have it, once we reached the area it would take no longer than 30 minutes to produce the first hookup. The Bait-O-Matic on the short corner came through and it was game on for Jesse to secure the first flag for the boat. After an hour and fifteen minutes of hard pulling and maneuvering, the decision was made to take the first fish of the season and make the run back to Oceanside to weigh her in and claim the first Thresher flag for the Oceanside Anglers Club. She weighed in at 283 Pounds and to my surprise, word had gotten out on the dock about our catch and there were between 10 and twenty friends and family there to meet us and help with the cleaning and bagging of the fish in record time.