Out. Way out.
That’s where you have to take the bait for the sharks. The water is really shallow at Alligator Point, FL and the sharks don’t come in real close. Usually. The water is clear and the sun makes is sparkle but as shallow as it is we don’t get much surf.
Wading out past the crab traps, past the sand bars, past everything. Out to where the boats go by. Deeper. Drop the bait and make sure it’s settled and then walk back to the beach. Then you wait.
Sharks can be small, like a foot long or bigger, like 3 feet and about 40 pounds or big, like 6 feet and over 150 pounds. All of them are fun but the bigger ones make mom anxious.
“Watch out”, she yells, like I needed coaching to stay out of those teeth. But I’m not going to lose another hook if I can help it. This one’s big. About 3 feet long and 40 pounds. That’s good cause I can grab it by the tail, flip it around and straddle it in the mild surf.
He put up a good fight. It went on for almost an hour. The hook was set really good and he pulled, rested and pulled some more. The line was strong enough if you did not get in a hurry and I didn’t. Back and forth. Along the beach but relentlessly the line returned to the reel, bringing the hook and the shark closer.
Somebody said a gun was maybe the only way to get my hook back but he had not seen me do this before. You can eat shark but I wasn’t in the mood. I just wanted the adrenaline, not the shark. Oh yeah, and my hook back.
Flipped around, straddle him in the surf and I was able to remove the hook with my hand and still keep all those teeth mom was afraid of from removing a finger or two. Get up, flip him back around and into the surf. I watched him swim away. I also watched several people get out of the water.
It’s late anyway and time for a cold beer. See you again tomorrow.
I just got back from Alligator Point and I was not the shark catcher. I was the guy who talked about the gun. Vacations are great and I had a good time. No WiFi, almost no cell coverage and good people watching my business while I unplugged. I hope you have a great summer and get some down time yourself. Working too much makes you crazy. I enjoyed watching the kid catch the shark, I enjoyed reading a couple of books and napping on the beach.
Sanity restored (or at least as sane as I get) and I’m back to work. Call me if you need anything.
I’ll help.
Thanks for listening,
Jerry Robertson