First shark bite...

[bigscoop]

...happened yesterday afternoon, just as the tide was starting to come back in. Small shark with light colored fin and dorsal tips hit me just as I was raising my left foot off the bottom toward the scoop. Little guy came in with a small rush of water and grabbed hold of my big toe. Hurt like heck, but I was amazed at how fast it all happened. I saw everything clearly because I was looking right at the back of my scoop and could easily see it all. I'm guessing he was about 12 - 16 inches, hard to say when they're in the water because they look bigger then they really are. Place was full of small baitfish so I figure he thought my toe was a fat little mullet. Now I know why they call it the shark bite capital of the world. (This happened in the mid-afternoon daylight but no more surf hunting for me at night, or at dawn or dusk!)

 

[herb n surf]

Yes they certainly hurt someone. I'm amazed at those that detect in the water@ night thinking the sharks are not going to be in shallow water. I've seen large (really large) bullsharks in 3 feet of water in Tampa bay . Happy yours' was a small one >Take care.

 

[bigscoop]

I spend a lot of time in the small tidal pools and I had been seeing a lot of baitfish and a few larger fish chasing them around. When this happened I was at the mouth of a small pool where the water was starting to enter again. This little guy came in with the flush of surf water, hit me, and departed just as fast as he arrived. From what I understand it happens more often then people realize, most assuming they were just cut by a passing shell in the surf, etc. And from what I understand from the people who should know, if the cut is in a half-moon shape it probably wasn't a shell. But at any rate, "once bitten, twice shy", as they say. I'll still do my thing in the surf during the daylight, but I think I'll pass on all the surf hunting at low light hours.

 

[lookindown]

Glad you still have all your little mullets...are you going to start wearing shoes when your in the water now?

 

[Da Sand Crab]

Those Florida sharks are sure protective of their gold.
Nah, all kidding aside I'm glad it wasn't worse of a bite.
In Hawaii the Moray Eel's will do the same if you get to close.
I had one bite my coil once.

 

[dc426]

Wow that's crazy. Thankfully it wasn't a big one. Saw on the news last night about a Great White off Ft. Pierce!

http://www.floridatoday.com/article...-friends-encounter-big-shark?odyssey=nav|head

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Was that through your shoe or barefoot? Considering what I have pulled up in my scoop I never hunt barefoot any more...

 

[Surfview]

Sorry you got bit. Glad it was a small overachiever. Wading yesterday knee deep when lifeguard called everyone out for shark siting. Didn't see it. It to must have been following bait fish. They were everywhere. For every shark we see there are probably 10 we didn't see.

 

[Crispin]

If the shark had bitten Herb and Surf then we could change his name to Surf and Herb and charge fifty dollars a plate.

 

[jesse09]

Jeez glad it didn't take your toe off ! I don't know what i fear worse now a shark bite or a stingray sting with a broken barb in your flesh. Sometimes i wish i was aqua man so i could control the ocean creatures to search for sunken treasure :P

 

[cdv1]

Dang, I just did something stupid, I read this to my wife.... now she doesn't want me in the water at night...... No wait, maybe I was doing something stupid down there in the water with a light on, attracting small baitfish to my light at 1am.... duh.... might have to rethink my night hunting!

 

[bigscoop]

I was bare foot, and will probably keep hunting bare foot a lot, was back at it again today. However.....it has sure shaken my future night hunting ideas/notions all to pieces.

 

[bigscoop]

If the shark had bitten Herb and Surf then we could change his name to Surf and Herb and charge fifty dollars a plate.

Gold napkin rings?

 

[search and recovery]

I was at Virginia Beach weekend before last and the coastguard pulled up in the middle of the afternoon, got on their bullhorn, and ran everyone out of the water because of two hugh sharks just outside the sandbar. They moved on and twenty minutes later and everybody started going back in swimming. Not me until a few minutes later when a pod of dolphins came through. That made me feel a little safer. I waded out to grid an area out to about chest deep. On the fourth pass I found the nicest ladies diamond ring set of my life. 14k white gold and around 2 carrats of diamonds. I have not had appraised yet. But every time I got out over waist deep I was watching for shark fins. Just kind of keeps you destracted once you have seen them for the rest of the day. After finding that ring I called it a day. No need to push my luck and only about an hour of daylight left anyway. Night hunting I never go out over knee deep.

 

[badkittystt]

I would love to know what it is about the sharks up north that causes so much trouble. Are they really more aggressive? I can promise you if there is a shark in the water I will be scrambling for my snorkel or dive gear to get closer but if there's a dolphin I'll be miles away. Those guys terrify me.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Les West Central Fl]

My wife gave me a bottle of herring oil , said to rub it on for good luck, then she called my insurance agent and increased my life insurance. ( just kidding)

 

[Hag730]

On average, there are about 65 shark attacks worldwide each year; a handful are fatal. You are more likely to be killed by a dog, snake or in a car collision with a deer. You’re also 30 times more likely to be killed by lightning and three times more likely to drown at the beach than die from a shark attack, according to ISAF. Consider yourself lucky.......I think?

 

[BEACH-HUNTER]

wow!! glad you still got your toe!!!!

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

On average, there are about 65 shark attacks worldwide each year; a handful are fatal. You are more likely to be killed by a dog, snake or in a car collision with a deer. You’re also 30 times more likely to be killed by lightning and three times more likely to drown at the beach than die from a shark attack, according to ISAF. Consider yourself lucky.......I think?

Florida is also one of the shark captials of the world, especially the area by Tampa Bay.... They migrate north up the west side of florida some times there are hundreds that can be seen from the air...... On the east coast of florida there are bites quite often on the surfers.............. Better chance being bitten by a dog, yes, being eaten by a dog ....NO

 

[austin]

...happened yesterday afternoon, just as the tide was starting to come back in. Small shark with light colored fin and dorsal tips hit me just as I was raising my left foot off the bottom toward the scoop. Little guy came in with a small rush of water and grabbed hold of my big toe. Hurt like heck, but I was amazed at how fast it all happened. I saw everything clearly because I was looking right at the back of my scoop and could easily see it all. I'm guessing he was about 12 - 16 inches, hard to say when they're in the water because they look bigger then they really are. Place was full of small baitfish so I figure he thought my toe was a fat little mullet. Now I know why they call it the shark bite capital of the world. (This happened in the mid-afternoon daylight but no more surf hunting for me at night, or at dawn or dusk!)
View attachment 655500View attachment 655501

You realize that he let you go when he figured out you were not a baitfish. Good thing you had clothes on.