Article by Larry Jock
On Thursday night, the crew on the “NonTypical” arrived with the first mako shark of the season... AGAIN! I know that Capt. Terry Layton has a really sweet boat, and likes to keep it that way, so I asked him how he keeps thrashing makos from destroying his cockpit.
Terry told me that Jim Hughes, Tim Maguire and himself came up with an idea to keep sharks from not only tearing up his cockpit, but also prevent one from biting an angler.
The crew came up with a cool, easy-to-make bucket that they slide over the sharks head before they hoist it into the cockpit. The 8 gallon bucket shown in the picture is one of three sizes that they use depending on the size of the mako. You want the bucket to be short enough so there is room between the rim of the bucket and the fish’s pectoral fins.
Their invention is nothing more that a bucket with cleats bolted onto each side. Capt. Terry likes to use plastic cleats so they won’t damage the boat.
After they have subdued the shark boatside, and have tail and head ropes securely fastened, they slide the bucket over the sharks head making sure you don’t get the rim of the bucket into the shark’s mouth. Each rope gets looped around the fish’s pectoral fins. Makos have a little notch in their fin, making it easier to keep the rope around the fin. They then take the bitter end of each rope and attach it to the cleats. Terry said you want the sharks nose to be right against the bottom of the bucket.
With the bucket securely over the fish’s head, it can thrash around all it wants, but won’t be able to tear up the cockpit or bite an angler.
This is a great idea one that is very easy to make. Nice work, guys!
