Fish's Revenge!

[jbhp]

This is one guy I wouldn't want to be about then!! [shocked] [center][/center]
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[TubeDude]

[cool][size 2]Hey, Diamond. Aintcha ever heard the song "Sharks just wanna have fun"? Most people do not realize that these big fellas are very playful.[/size]

[size 2]When I used to live in California, I played with them all the time...in my "Shark Donut". Here's a pic of one of the small ones. I had to release him since he was under the slot limit.[/size]


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[jbhp]

LOL! I bet you'd crap if that was real!! I bet the guy in the water below that helicopter was! LMAO!! [laugh]
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[TubeDude]

[cool][size 2]You're right. Ever since the movie Jaws came out, most people have both a fascination with and a fear of sharks. Even a hint of a shark in the area can keep people out of the water.[/size]

[size 2]But, what most folks don't know is that sharks can turn up almost anywhere, including some spots you would never expect them. Here are a couple more pics from my archives to illustrate that.[/size]
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[jbhp]

LOL! Those are good! [laugh]

Did you know that those sharks that attacked so many people last summer (or the one before) Only attack in 2-5' of water and have even been found migrating into fresh water (like the Mississippi River)?!?

I just about died when I watched a t.v. special about them! Fresh water sharks! Yikes! [shocked]
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[TubeDude]

[cool][size 2]Yes, there are more attacks by those "bull sharks" around the world than by the dreaded great whites. For one thing, they are infinitely more numerous, being found in all the warm waters of the world. And, as you point out, they have both the urges and the ability to go far upstream into major fresh water rivers.[/size]

[size 2]In Africa the "Zambezi River shark" is a bull shark. It kills quite a few folks annually. And, in central America, bull sharks go upstream to Lake Nicaragua, where they take a toll on animals and humans too.[/size]

[size 2]I have experienced bull sharks off Florida, while trying to fish reefs and wrecks for the numerous species that congregate around them. In many cases you have to leave because you can't get a hooked fish to the boat. A small school of bull sharks will immediately zoom in on any hooked fish and either bite a big chunk out of it or take the whole thing off your line. A big hungry school of bull sharks will bump the sides of the boat and stick their heads out of the water...inviting the fishermen to come play with them. [/size]

[size 2]There are quite a few instances every year along the Atlantic coast of Florida where people are mistakenly munched by small bull sharks chasing forage fish in murky shallows. Those bites are seldom fatal, but can be, if a major blood vessel is cut and the trip to a hospital takes too long.[/size]

[size 2]I have float tubed all over the country and in the salt waters off most coasts. The one area I would never consider dunking a donut is the Florida Coast. Mainly because of the bull sharks, but also because of the tigers. They get huge and they eat anything that doesn't eat them first. Tigers are the ones reponsible for most of the shark attacks in the south seas.[/size]

[size 2]Ain't sharks a lovely subject?[/size]
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[cat_man]

In fact, the sharks in Lake Nicaragua live there year-round. They have learned how to survive their entire lives in fresh water. To my understanding these are the only fresh water sharks in the world that actually LIVE in fresh water! (I lived in Nicaragua for two years, unfortunately I never got the chance to see Lake Nicaragua, although I only lived a few miles from it for over a year!
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[BEARCLAW]

Ok shark experts! What do you think? Shark -or- Dolphin???
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[FlyFishingMoose]

BIG FREAKING FISH!
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[southernman]

and florida fresh water lakes are full of gators . . .

sm
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[TubeDude]

[cool][size 2]Hey, Bearclaw, I have also had that pic in my files for awhile, as I have the one attached. It has been debated on several fishing and diving sites, and the "scientific set"...who look at fin shape and placement...have concluded that it is a dolphin. They play in the surf in many places around the world. Sharks do too, but they don't "hang ten".[/size]

[size 2]Southerman, I assure you that my mama drowned all the dumb ones. I have done enough boat fishing in Florida that I would never feel comfortable tubing even in fresh water. And, it ain't the gators that worry me. It's the water moccasins and those big eastern diamondbacks...that get up to eight feet long. They all swim in the swampland and if you are an "island" for them to crawl up on, you will have a guest you didn't invite. And like most uninvited guests, they can get cantankerous when you try to get them to leave.[/size]

[size 2]I did a lot of flotation fishing in the brackish water canals of the Mississippi River delta region, south of New Orleans. But, I went out only during colder weather, when the reptiles were most likely to be huddled up in a hole somewhere. I never saw any snakes in the water, during the winter months, but there were a few moccasins that came out to sun on the bank as the day warmed up. If they do that in the only place you can get your tube out of the water it can be "nerve-wracking". And, they are so well camoflaged when laying on downed reeds that it is easy to step on one if you don't watch every step.[/size]

[size 2]Nope. Florida is a great state for fishing, but you gotta have some freeboard between you and the water hazards. A six foot gunwale is about right.[/size]
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[southernman]

when i lived there i always worried about my dog getting snatched from the waters edge, and the damn snakes too . . . she's still living down there with my bro . . .

sm
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[TubeDude]

[cool][size 2]Yeah, since the gators have been protected they have really increased the populations. They get out of the water at night an hike cross country to other ponds and lakes, especially during "courtin' season". One day you can walk your dog around a golf course lake and not see any gators. The next day there goes Rover in a big splash. There have been more and more attacks on humans too.[/size]

[size 2]We have a different problem in Arizona. The coyotes down here adapt very well to humans moving in on their former habitat. They come back in at night to eat pet food...and pets. Almost anyone living near the desert edge has lost dogs or cats to coyotes. There are more than a few stories of them charging in and grabbing small dogs right off a leash, while the owners are taking them for walks.[/size]

[size 2]Had a friend who almost got divorced because of coyotes. He didn't like the cats his new wife brought into his household. She caught him pushing one of them out the door one night saying "Remember, the coyotes are your friends." At least that is the story they tell.[/size]
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[releaseit]

Dolphin. Pacific Bottle nose probably[]
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[BEARCLAW]

I kinda thought it was a dolphin. The photo came in an e-mail from someone else and it was named Shark (just like the attachment shows). I figured it was probably a dolphin due to the horizontal tail fin. Thanks for the confirmation. Hope all is well with you..[] Happy Holidays Everyone!
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