Muses

“Perhaps I should not have been a fisherman, he thought.”

“But that was the thing that I was born for.”  Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea

 

SharkWeek is the one week my entire family gathers around the television.

Spontaneously.

Sure there are the rare snow days with possible school closings and my edicts for mandatory attendance at the family Christmas Movie Festival, but this is the only voluntary, all family member watch in.

But we like sharks around here.

My son is quite the shark fisher person. And has been for years.

Today having lunch downtown, I saw a local resident and pro-grade fisher person. I got up, interrupted his lunch and pulled out pictures of my son from a few weeks ago at the beach.

 

Jake at three. Jake who will turn 22 this year.

Jake had a Shark Party for his 5th birthday. We made shark stick puppets and played Pin the Fin on the Shark.

One time long, long ago, running out of shark videos to watch, we headed up to Blockbuster. The helpful employee handed me children National Geographic sealife videos with cartoon fish swimming and singing on the cover.

My then three year old disagreed. “No mama. Angry animals. I want angry animals.”

So  . . .

In celebration of the Ides of July and SharkWeek, I decided to interview my favorite “angry animal” lover.

(Just to let you know all these fish said “cheese” and were promptly released.)

 

 

 

When/what was your first attraction to sharks?

I truly have been fascinated by sharks for as long as I can remember and have always had a special love for the sea, and naturally had a fascination with its apex predator, the shark. From the time I was able I have been watching and reading anything I can about sharks and why they behave the way they do.”

From his teen years on, while there was still frost on the ground, he would order fishing gear for summer. Sitting on the couch, reading and watching YouTube. I lamented if only he could get that excited about school work.

 

When did you decide to start catching them?

The summer of my 7^th grade year.I always wanted to catch the largest fish that I possibly could. At that point in my fishing career, I was limited to shore fishing. I asked myself what was the biggest fish I could catch from the beach and that’s when I decided to target sharks.

 

Jake pulling in a bull shark a few summers ago.

 

What were your trials and errors?

The first few years of shark fishing seemed to be nothing but trial and error. It seemed that I could do nothing right. I couldn’t catch bait consistently, couldn’t set my bait correctly, couldn’t get a hookup when I got a bite, and when I did finally hook a shark, I could never successfully get it in to the beach. What I didn’t appreciate at the time though, was every time that I failed I was learning something new. Every summer I was more prepared than the last.

 

I’m sure some readers are concerned about the well-being of the fish. What precautions do you take to ensure a safe release?

The first time that I caught a large shark (one that was over 5 feet) it died. I was completely unprepared. During the fight, I traveled several hundred yards down the beach. By the time I landed the shark, I was several minutes away from crucial gear such as pliers. Despite my best efforts to get the blacktip back on its way, it died. From that point on I made it my goal to not keep any shark out of water for more than two minutes. Since that first large shark I have held to my goal, and have not lost another shark.

 

With all the recent attacks in NC what would be your advice to people who are afraid to get in water?

I would tell beachgoers in NC that you can’t let sharks dictate your actions. Even with the recent attacks, you are still much more likely to be in a severe car accident heading to the beach than to be attacked by a shark. 

However, there are warning signs. Never go swimming when there are bait fish in the water. Baitfish are what sharks are eating, and if there are baitfish around there are sharks not far behind and they are in feeding mode.

Evidence of baitfish are splashes on the surface and birds diving close to shore. It is also not advisable to swim during the hour after sunrise and the hour before sunset. During these time sharks are the most active.

 

 

With the increased regulation of shark fishing, what do you see in the future?

Unfortunately, I see continued regulation. The most likely being time limits on when shark fishing can be done on crowded beaches. Many beaches in South Florida have already introduced such ordinances.

Ordinances such as these are all done by county regulators trying to keep their beachgoers from being scared away by the ocean’s apex predator being pulled up on the beach. They are acting from a purely economic standpoint.  

Spoken like a true Accounting Major.

 

What was your greatest thrill shark fishing?

There is nothing like the thrill of being hooked to an animal that is much larger that you are. There is also the thrill of getting to pull these creatures up on the beach. There is nothing like being up close and personal with these large predators.

 

 

 

Are you interested in another fishing challenge?

I really want to get into big game offshore fishing. The costs and time that are required to participate in big game offshore fishing are immense, however, the angling experience it provides is like no other. It is on my bucket list to catch a large blue marlin.

And how about a plug for your new business venture.

I would really like to get into the business of selling fishing leaders, including shark leaders. When I first started shark fishing, I found very few leaders for sale on the internet. Not knowing how to make my own, I made a lot of mistakes in my early years of shark fishing that could have been avoided had it been for premade shark leaders for sale.

By making shark leaders, I could make a profit while helping others get into the sport.

 

Any other thing you want to mention?

I would just encourage anyone that is looking to get into the sport bring lots of patience and always practice catch and release so that we will all have sharks to catch.
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As a mom, it is more than fun to watch your son come alive doing something he loves.

 

Jake uses offshore tackle and heavy line so that he can get the fish in quickly and prevent exhaustion. For him and most importantly, the fish.

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I get the thrill of fishing. I loved to fish growing up.

And centuries ago, my ancestors from my father’s side settled St. Augustine in the 1600s.

Before that, they were fisherman off the coast of Minorca, Spain.

I like to think some fishing magic trickled down to me. And then to my son. Who knows?