Fishermen surprised by Great White shark fighting for same catch!

"Rockcod fishing off the Central Coast has been better in the last two years than ever before."
That was the assertion by Santa Maria's Paul Domingos after a fabulous two days on the water last weekend. Charlie Cabassi of Arroyo Grande echoed Domingos' sentiments.

"Twelve of the 14 halibut brought in last Sunday weighed over 20 pounds," noted Tammy Schuyler from her post at Port Side Marine.

Domingos, a fourth- generation Santa Marian, has been probing the ocean for healthy, plump fish for 29 years.

Domingos' dad, Carl, 62, and Don Vierra of Paso Robles had a "great white shark experience" to punctuate their Saturday.

"My dad had a nice red rockcod hooked but it was devoured by the shark," Paul Domingos said, "who proceeded to swirl slamming its tail against the stern of my boat and knocking it at a
45-degree angle."

There was a reward for the trio — 18 red rockcod that weighed between 5 and 10 pounds and topped by lingcod weighing 23, 15 and 12 pounds. That's a spectacular day of fishing.
"We used 7- to 12-inch artificial lures and caught nothing but big fish," Paul Domingos said.
Trolling netted halibut weighing 35, 24, 22 and 18 pounds. The fish were weighed on Paul Domingos' certified digital scale.

"The fishing is phenomenal," he said. "I don't have any problem getting a limit of rockcod."
Charlie Cabassi of Arroyo Grande and his son, Mike along with Rich Zeilenga of Oceano and his father, Bob, of Arroyo Grande, shared an angling bonanza, too.

"We stopped seven fish short of four limits of rockcod because our large ice chest couldn't hold any more fish," Charlie Cabassi said.

The catch included a 13-pound cabezon, reds between 8 and 10 pounds in addition to 31.6-pound halibut.

"I've never seen rockcod fishing any better than it is right now," said Charlie Cabassi, 68, who has fished coastal waters for more than 30 years.

"Four years ago I bought a boat with a 120 hp diesel. It's fuel-efficient and only costs me $30 for fuel to go fishing. Some of my friends are spending $2