SHARK

Once upon a time, in 1979, in a city called Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, a young 18 year old man was fishing on “Anglin’s Pier” at the end of Commercial Blvd, in a community named “Lauderdale By The Sea”.The young man had been there MANY, MANY times since he was a small boy of 8 or 9 years old. He had caught many different species of fish over the years, but only 5 or 6 SMALL sharks, mainly Spinners or Blacktips, but never anything to REALLY “brag about”…………Until, one day, just after Sundown, his 9/0 went off

The 8 or 10 lb. Bonito he had been swimming live earlier, probably now long since deceased and lying on the bottom, had been “PICKED UP!” Upon hearing the SCREAM of the clicker, he raced to the rod, turned off the clicker, and silently counted to 30, as line continued to flow off the reel! He threw the reel into gear and waited for the line to come TIGHT and set the hook three or four times with as much force as the 10 ft. heavy “Shark Rod” and 80 lb-test “Ande” line could deliver! He began to gain line quickly and thought to himself, “Another Spinner”………….SUDDENLY, ALL HELL BROKE LOOSE ! ! !

The rod bent and flexed VIOLENTLY and line began STREAMING off the 9/0 against an ALMOST “HAMMERED” DRAG, which he QUICKLY LOOSENED, both to save the drag washers and prevent himself from being “LEVERED” over the pier railing ! ! ! It seemed like the fish COULD NOT BE STOPPED OR TURNED ! ! !

The bait had been placed out about “Half-Spool”, approximately 200 yards, so there was only about that much line left to “PLAY” the fish… He thought he would be “SPOOLED” for sure and decided that he would “HAMMER” the drag, if it looked like the reel would be stripped, brace himself against the rail and wait for something to “GIVE” ! ! !

FINALLY, the fish turned or was turned! No one will ever know which it was and, over the course of the next 2 hours or more, that was repeated at least twice. Doubt came and went in the young man’s thoughts repeatedly, as fatigue began to set in…!

“A GIANT RAY?”, he thought, but “NO!” Someone with a Q-Beam Spotlight said they had seen a dorsal fin! “What could it be?,” he thought. The idea that he had “Foul-Hooked” or “Snagged” the fish came to him. That would make the fight VERY HARD and LONG, indeed!

It seemed like the fight went on all night to the young man, but FINALLY, somebody yelled, “There, He is!” and ropes and gaffs appeared, as if by “MAGIC!” One of the others lowered the gaff on a stout rope to snag the “MONSTER.” After several misses, the huge hook was sunk home and twelve, or more, onlookers began hauling the fish up over the pier railing, hand over hand!

The young man hadn’t even seen what he had caught yet and had slumped down onto the pier, EXHAUSTED! By the grunts and cursing, he could tell that whatever it was, must be pretty heavy! As the fish reached the top of the railing, a Police Officer, who had become concerned by the noise and commotion, had come over to investigate what was going on. He shot the fish twice in the head at point blank range with a .357 Magnum!

After VIOLENTLY THRASHING for a few seconds, the fish went limp and was hauled over the rail onto the pier deck! For the first time all could see what it was and it shocked the young man! Lying on the pier, at the young man’s feet, was a HUGE SHARK!

“HAMMERHEAD!” exploded in his brain as he took in the size of his catch! SUDDENLY, the SHARK REVIVED and all scattered for their lives! A few minutes later, the fish was dead. “How Big?” 9 foot 10 inches! “Weight?” Unknown, as the Pier Scales only went to 250 lb. and it was clear the shark weighed more than that!

What to “do” with it now?

The young man carved out the jaws and sold them to a man who offered him $25.00. One of his friends filleted and steaked out the shark, dividing it up among everyone, as the young man had asked him to do. Then, several of them, including the young man, dumped the carcass back into the water with a HUGE SPLASH ! They watched it slowly sink below the surface and come to rest on the bottom in the reflected light of the spotlight!

The young man felt TRIUMPHANT & PROUD….. and then a “SADNESS” came over him, which he has never forgotten to this very day!

I was that “Young Man!” Since that day, I never killed another Shark I caught and began to encourage my friends to do the same. I never ate the Shark Meat and simply threw it away…WHAT A WASTE ! ! !

Eventually, that “LESSON” crept into all of my fishing. As a result, I developed this philosophy, “Unless it is going on the plate or out for bait, it will be released to fight again!”