I have a good one for you.

I was doing a presentation at Hamlin's Marine when one of the fisherman showed some video of a friend trying to land a good sized Thresher. The fight had been on for well over an hour. When the Thresher hit, it was late afternoon. The guys were already tired from landing four other sharks that day. As the fight ensued, Joe was getting fatigued. He was wearing a harness that held the pole to his body.

As the video ran, you could see the Joe rocking back and forth as he tried to reel in line. Then, the Thresher would make a run, and Joe would loose all the line that had been so hard to gain. So....he tightened the drag. Mind you he was wearing a harness, but he was not tethered to the boat. The shark made a short flip of its long tail. Joe was yanked right over the side of the boat. You could barely see what was happening as the camera operator dropped the camera. I believe the camera operator was attempting to rescue Joe who was tied to the pole.

Get this. Man in water. Rod clipped to man. Lined hooked to a Thresher. Not a good thing!

The next thing you see on the video is a completely soaked fisherman assuming the cranking position he had been in before. His stance was a little lower now. Then, the person showing the video told us to take a closer look. He said "see those sunglasses Joe is wearing, they had lenses in them before he hit the water." Sure enough, the fisherman had hit the water with such force that it had popped the lenses right out of the frame.

These guys were quick and lucky. Morale of the story? If you are tide to a shark via a pole which is tied to you, make sure you are tied to the boat.

E-mail this entry to a friend