Corpusfishing.com

crab_n_fisher

I'm on Yahoo Messenger with my elderly mother.....My dad helped land that "world record" Sawbill shark off of Bob Hall Pier in 1956 or 1957 ...Can we find some pics?

More details from my mom:

The boy that was on the rig.....his Dad had to shoot it in the head because he was fighting it from 10 am until around 9:30 pm.

They beached it but couldn't get it to the weigh scales, it was 19 foot 4 inches.

From my Mom and Dad: "The boys name was Ira Loveday. He and his Dad were big time fishers in Corpus."

crab_n_fisher · Last edited by crab_n_fisher on Fri May 05, 2006 4:46 pm; edited 1 time in total

Ok, posting chat now:

mom: The reason the boys Dad had to shoot it was because the fish was about to hurt the boys.

Me: Oh?

mom: they had beached it, and it was going about to hurt them.

mom: The darn thing was bigger than the boys were.

me: that doesn't make any sense!

mom: Dad ( crab here: my step-father, mind ya this is my mother speaking) said it was trying to bite them.

me: kill it before it bit them?....to remove the hook to get it up on the scales? I'm lost here

mom: Yes killed it so they could safely get it to the scales.

mom: They could not get it to the scales without getting bit, so the Dad shoot it in the head.

me: and what happened then?

mom: Took it to the scales and it was the world record Sawbill.

me: How did Pop's help?

mom: Helped pull it in. They were both little and it took the two of them holding the pole to get it in.

me: WOW!!!!!!

mom: Just a second I'll ask him to be sure.

Mom: Nope that was wrong.

me: oh?

Mom: The boy got it to shore by himself then he helped trying to get it to the scales, they wrestled with it onshor for a long time before the Dad shot it.

me: Kick A@@!!!!!!!!!!

mom: Onshore*
.

crab_n_fisher · Posted: Fri May 05, 2006 4:44 pm Post subject:

me: pics may show up!

mom: Pop's would love to see them

me: i've seen some 13-16 footers before,way back in the day of flashbulbs and polaroids, but the Corpusfishing archives are now wiped out!

mom: If they show up, let us know so he can see them.

me: ok

FINS · Posted: Fri May 05, 2006 5:30 pm Post subject:

Pretty cool to hear your dad was part of history......Cant wait to see the pictures if anyone has any. Maybe one day i will get to witness or even help out with a world record, and who knows maybe it will be me that cathes it!!!! Yeah Right!

crab_n_fisher · Posted: Fri May 05, 2006 5:45 pm Post subject:

If anyone who is into historical accuracy, or a member of historical group or even an offical TPWD employee, please message me privately....I'll give you my dad's phone #, to verify his 50 year old witnessing.

crhfish · Posted: Fri May 05, 2006 5:48 pm Post subject:

http://www.floridasawfish.com/FLrecordsawfish.html

I found this site. They talk about a 31 footer. That can't be true. They don't get that big do they?

crab_n_fisher · Posted: Fri May 05, 2006 6:03 pm Post subject:

I know these pictures will show up -- somewhere....For those who can spot a French-German American, a few generations passed, this is what my step-dad would look like in the picture, helping to haul in this monster behemonth of a shark :

http://img323.imageshack.us/img323/8098/pops19607fm.jpg

(His eyes are not naturally squinted. He is naturally blonde-haired and has big blue eyes.) ...So any shark pictures may show a similarity, if he were squinting into the sunlight, or a camera bulb flash.

crab_n_fisher · Posted: Fri May 05, 2006 6:11 pm Post subject:

Tyler · Site Admin Joined: 06 Mar 2006 Posts: 12865

No doubt from me on that. A wise person who knows a lot about fishing out there once told me that some of these huge shark stories involving large reels such as 12/0 and up could have been large sawfish.
Here's one of the last pictures I have seen of one from Bob Hall Pier.
I know people who knew Ira Loveday

The parks and rec office downtown has some great old photos of sawfish down there.

crab_n_fisher · Posted: Fri May 05, 2006 6:18 pm Post subject:

crab_n_fisher · Posted: Fri May 05, 2006 6:21 pm Post subject:

Tyler,

My step-dad knew Ira Loveday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!! .....Small world!!!!!!!!!

crab_n_fisher · Posted: Fri May 05, 2006 6:28 pm Post subject:

tyler, if you can drop some names....my step-dad may know them. You do not have to do it here in the forum, mind ya.

My dad used to race Caroll Street title for title back in the day, and he had quite an income by age 19! LOL .... He also taught for nearly 9 years at Del Mar College.....

CopanoCruisin · Posted: Fri May 05, 2006 6:43 pm Post subject:

Ira Loveday, a good friend and what a legend.......A couple of other names that fished Bob Hall back in those days are Wayne McBee and Norman Howard. Norman use to have numerous early photos at Howards B-B-Q. I don't thinks he owns the place anymore. I am to sure about the photos now.

crab_n_fisher · Posted: Fri May 05, 2006 7:10 pm Post subject:

from my mom:

"Course the kid could have been the man that owned Howards BBQ, but I remember the guy that owned it to be old enough to be my father.

Mom: was *

Me: Wow!!!!!!!

Mom: Great BBQ joint.
Mom: Sweved ice tea out of quart jars.
Mom: served*

crab_n_fisher · Posted: Fri May 05, 2006 7:12 pm Post subject:

mom: Can you imagine drinking out of a quart jar ?

me: no, unless we were hillbillies

mom: Laughing