Sharks

I took the dinghy back to my secret spot up in Everglades National Park today.  Pam went to Winn-Dixie and took two of our boat neighbors with her who don't have cars.

I opened my fishing excursion with Jacks.  Pound for pound, not many fish fight harder than Crevalle Jacks.  So catching a bunch of them was great fun.  Then, I raised a shark.  Also a very strong fighter.   It's hard to hold the fishing pole in one hand while digging out the camera to take a photo.

Several years ago, when I first caught a shark, I was in our 16' center console fishing boat with my brother-in-law, Tracy.  When we got the shark close to the boat, Tracy wanted to cut the line.  I thought we could at least get it in the landing net for a photo.  Reluctantly, Tracy got the shark in the net, and held it over the boat.  In a flash, the shark bit through the line, and slashed the net and was free inside the boat.  Now we had a mad shark thrashing around at our feet.  Tracy and I both jumped up on the seats to avoid the shark.  (No truth to the rumor that we were screaming like little girls.)  I think Tracy finally sneaked up behind the shark and grabbed his tail and got it out of the boat.

A similar situation got me a shark bite on my ankle.  I had caught a shark and it was thrashing around in the boat.  Pam said that the shark was making a bloody mess of the boat.  Turns out it was me not the shark--he had bitten my ankle.  So, I don't bring sharks into my little rubber boat.  I'm able to grab them with my Boca Grip, remove the hook, and set them free.

I've heard that when you go fishing in Canada, you sometimes stop at noon, build a campfire, and cook up some of the morning's catch for a "shore lunch."   Here's a photo of my "shore lunch" today.  Not exactly my morning's catch--but it is fish. 

As I was raising the anchor to head back, I didn't pay any attention to the line, or the man-of-war entangled in it.  The wind made those blue tentacles go everywhere--sort of like a spider web.  I got most of them off before doing any real damage, but I could feel a tingling in my left hand for a while.

I saw several more pink birds again.  Couldn't get close enough for a good photo.  Too shallow for the motor and too windy to row.