Saturday
Jul252009
Great White on the Fly - The Video
Saturday, July 25, 2009 at 12:05AM Here is a video clip of the great white Jeff Patterson of Abel caught on the fly.
Give it a few seconds to get rolling.
Saturday, July 25, 2009 at 12:05AM
Reader Comments (21)
no props to conway?!?
yeah, noticed that too..
Something is just not adding up about this story.
dont know what it is about that guy, but I just don't like him. douche bag comes to mind
Yep he definitely fits the D-bag profile.
So... he was "Targeting" Mako's, a non-threatend species, and just happened on this "small" un-assuming GW. News wires are saying it was a "mistake".
The IUCN Red List shows Carcharodon Carcharias (Great White Shark) as "Vulnerable" and are protected in South Africa, Australia, and California.
http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/3855/0
This may sound a little stupid but isn't a shark a shark? Mako or GW? I don't see what the big deal is.
California F&G Regulation 28.06. White Shark. White shark may not be taken, except under permit issued by the Department pursuant to Section 1002 of the Fish and Game Code for scientific
or educational purposes.
Sounds like a targeted take to me. It's not like he was blind casting.
He might have some 'splaining to do.
Right,
A Shark is a Shark (with 453 different kinds worldwide), and like other species on the planet, some are more endangered than others, some more exotic, some a dime a dozen. Just because a particular species turns someones crank, doesn't give them Carte Blanc to go out and hook/shoot/trap said species.
There's a ton of Bluegills on the planet...but not that many Wild Steelhead, yet both are fish.
Wait until Abel is auctioned off to pay back some of the madoff debt.(abel is now owned by the madoff brothers) They make a great reel and I have owned a few but come on they are way overpriced. Bout time someone finally caught a GW on a fly though, but I agree he is a DB. They knew what the were targeting come on Conway!
I reckon if I "accidently" caught a protected species I would be apologizing and not celebrating. I will have to vote DB for this guy.
actually he is a great guy , friend as well and very genuine .. I think the only DB' are you pack of wankers ...even I know there is a defense for immediate release ...half wits go back to noodling with your Ma and Pa
Yeah Al,
Jeff's a big boy and could come right here to the Chum and defend his actions himself. See, there are legit questions here and all over the FF community...and I say a guy who professes to hooking into the first GW is open to some scrutiny. Also, your painting with a broad brush by calling all here "wankers". I have concerns and issues with this as do others, but I never badmouthed the guy.
He posted the vid...did he expect everyone just say "ho-hum" and roll over?...yearight!
I'll go one better with the immediate release defense...does he have proof the animal swam away un-harmed?
There's flags all over the field on this one Bro...I want to see some instant replay footage.
Sorry guys. Another question from the newbie. Is being a "wanker" bad?
I will never own another Abel reel ever because of what the Madoff's did to all those people life savings. The brothers will be seeing there day in court very soon. Have fun in the pen.
I never understood why you would buy Abel when you can buy Tibor for the same price.
Patterson could have become fly fishing icon, if he promoted the fly fishing, not his Super 13.
I would love to see the talks such as:
- "Damn the great white! That's not the fish I wanted to catch. I'm going back for my mako!"
- "This, is my secret 12" XXXX fly tied on wire which worked the beauty"
- "Hey, camera dude. Show my fly. Not my reel"
- "We are gonna need a bigger boat"
Should have tied up an Antelope imitation and tested their reel on a Cheetah.
Douchebag? Sweet. I don't think I've ever been called a douchebag before.
Conway and I have known each other for years, and I was stoked to finally get out and fish with him for a couple of days. After one day of not seeing any makos, we went back out the next day and saw one 15 minutes into our drift. We landed a couple more that day and I finally got to see the mako acrobatics I've been after for almost 20 years. The last shark sighting of the trip was what we thought was the biggest mako of the day, and it turned out to be a great white when we got to the boat. We had no clue it was a great white. How could we at 25 feet away from the boat while rushing in at us?
The silly minute and half interview you see was edited from over 20 minutes of media people cramming into my office. I mentioned Conway (and his website) numerous times, but it was cut from the released final version. Do you really think I had any say on what would air? Knowing Conway, he doesn't really care anyways.
My greatest hope is that this story brings awareness to saltwater flyfishing, and helps give the flyfishing industry a much needed shot in the arm. It's terribile seeing how many friends at fly shops and industry manufacturers are struggling right now.
Those that know me, know better about me being a bs'er...or I guess a douchebag. You won't see that I've personally posted this story anywhere. I've been at Abel for over 17 years, and love/respect the sport as much as anybody. I realize this not an incredibly amazing act of angling skill, it was was just chance, but hopefully a chance that can be used to promote saltwater flyfishing. The greatest skill involved was Conway getting us to the right place, at the right time for the makos.
And of course I showed my reel, I'd be an idiot not to promote the reel I was using.
Jeff
Right on, Jeff.
You guys are a bunch of jealous whiners, nice fish Jeff. Targeted take or not, it’s f-ing SWEET!