Most fishermen (and women) have that one story they like to tell, the one that blows all other fishing stories of theirs away and one that over time goes from a three minute recollection to an epic tale between man and animal. I don't fish very much and definitely do not call myself a fisherman at all. Im just a guy who is lucky enough to do what he loves and that happens to involve fish and when I am extremely fortunate, fishing. Today I got to go fishing...today I got my fishing story.
Instead of staying on the ship to help with the normal plankton tows I was asked to help out on the smaller boat fishing surveys. It is bottom fishing that is focusing on a species of snapper, opakapaka. Other large bottom fish are sampled as well but that is the main catch. We got lowered off of the main vessel and took off in our 16' speed boats with twin 90 Hondas on the back. Once we found our spot we put in and waited to see if any fish were around. I caught the first two fish of the day, two Uku. Things then started to die down for a bit as a dolphin was checking things out and even stole a fish from us.
We moved away from the dolphin and eventually we started to get going again. I let my line down and after a few minutes or so felt a tug. I hit the auto reel and anxiously awaited my mystery catch as it travelled the 500+ feet to the surface. Just as we started to see the catch a silvery sheen appeared to be following it. This shiny blur started to take shape into something we all started to recognize. And even though I was trying to concentrate on the fish coming up I couldn't take my eyes off what ended up being a ten foot tiger shark chasing after my catch!
"It's a tiger shark!," I yelled. "Get the fish, get the fish. Grab the line! Don't let it get the fish!," is all I kept hearing. I grabbed the line and pulled up as fast as I could as the shark swam up only a couple feet from the boat. It wasn't swimming very fast and I'm pretty sure that if it wanted the fish it would have taken it. The enthusiasm that had been building up inside all afternoon finally erupted as I couldn't believe what just happened. My initial thought was how much I couldn't wait to tell my dad. I expressed these feelings to the other guys on board and the captain then proceeded to pull out his cell phone. "Call your dad. Tell him what happened," he said to me as he handed me the phone. So I called my dad and told him about my insane afternoon and he was the first person to hear my fishing story.
And that was just the beginning of one of the best days I've ever had...
Instead of staying on the ship to help with the normal plankton tows I was asked to help out on the smaller boat fishing surveys. It is bottom fishing that is focusing on a species of snapper, opakapaka. Other large bottom fish are sampled as well but that is the main catch. We got lowered off of the main vessel and took off in our 16' speed boats with twin 90 Hondas on the back. Once we found our spot we put in and waited to see if any fish were around. I caught the first two fish of the day, two Uku. Things then started to die down for a bit as a dolphin was checking things out and even stole a fish from us.
We moved away from the dolphin and eventually we started to get going again. I let my line down and after a few minutes or so felt a tug. I hit the auto reel and anxiously awaited my mystery catch as it travelled the 500+ feet to the surface. Just as we started to see the catch a silvery sheen appeared to be following it. This shiny blur started to take shape into something we all started to recognize. And even though I was trying to concentrate on the fish coming up I couldn't take my eyes off what ended up being a ten foot tiger shark chasing after my catch!
"It's a tiger shark!," I yelled. "Get the fish, get the fish. Grab the line! Don't let it get the fish!," is all I kept hearing. I grabbed the line and pulled up as fast as I could as the shark swam up only a couple feet from the boat. It wasn't swimming very fast and I'm pretty sure that if it wanted the fish it would have taken it. The enthusiasm that had been building up inside all afternoon finally erupted as I couldn't believe what just happened. My initial thought was how much I couldn't wait to tell my dad. I expressed these feelings to the other guys on board and the captain then proceeded to pull out his cell phone. "Call your dad. Tell him what happened," he said to me as he handed me the phone. So I called my dad and told him about my insane afternoon and he was the first person to hear my fishing story.
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| This was the fish I pulled up! |
Excellent!
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