Ever Seen a Shark?

[EmotionallyUnstable]

Once on a FL beach, caught by a fisherman wading in the water about 100 yards from us. Was about 4ft long. Last time I’ve been in the ocean. 

[Augie]

 

When we lived in Hilton Head, SC a buddy was fishing at South Beach. A nice young family on vacation walked by and asked Joe “what are you fishing for?” He responds truthfully “sharks”. The next sound is “Billy, GET OUT OF THE WATER!!!”

 

When we lived in Sarasota I was flying home next to a college girl visiting her grandmother for spring break and looking out the window as we were about to land along the coast. She was enjoying the lovely view of the white sand beaches and the aqua waters. I asked her if she had a guess what all the little black dots were moving in the water near the shore. Hint: they are NOT dolphins.  I doubt she got into the wet sand on that trip. 

 

Because of where we lived for so many years, I’ve seen a lot of sharks. They usually want nothing to do with you, but there’s always a chance. In the Atlantic I hated things brushing up against my legs I couldn’t see in that brown, murky water. In the Gulf of Mexico I could often go in up to my chest and still see my toes. I’d at least like to identify what got me, but I’m more of a pool guy! (Even then, alligators could be in your pool in the morning in Hilton Head, look first!) 

 

 

 

.

Edited October 9, 2020 by Augie

[Nextmanup]

I live in SE FL these days and I've seen many sharks in the water, sometimes pretty darned close to the shore.

 

 

[US Egg]

Houston 1978.

 

Went there for work, good paying labor jobs in WNY were hard to get then.

 

A dentist with mucho properties hires my friend and I. He takes us fishing on a charter out of Galveston.

 

My friend catches something that is reeling off line. The deck hands takeover.

 

Seemed forever, but its finally landed. A six foot sand shark.

 

We ate it.

[SinceThe70s]

On my honeymoon in Tahiti.

 

Wife-to-be was somewhat of a thrill seeker. Bungee jumped off a hot air balloon, went parachuting, all before I met her. I'm risk averse, so when we were planning the honeymoon and she mentioned swimming with the sharks I was like wtf. But she was all in and male pride being what it is there was no way I was gonna sit on the boat.

 

So the day comes and we circle Bora Bora on our excursion stopping a few times along the way. At one stop we got inundated by rays, but no sharks. My wife hated the rays. She had gotten slimed by them in a previous trip without me.

 

As we come full circle and it appears there will be no sharks, we make one last stop and lo and behold the sharks make an appearance. Rays too. They were black tipped reef sharks which are supposedly docile. To be honest, as sharks go they weren't very big so I jump in. As I'm watching the sharks swim maybe 10 feet from me - which was cool as hell - I notice wifey is still on the boat so I wave her in. She's having none of it. Says she doesn't want to get slimed by the rays. And I'm like, trust me the rays will be the last thing on your mind, but she doesn't budge.

 

Around this time to enhance the experience the tour operator starts throwing chum in the water to draw the sharks closer. The sharks start doing the aggressive tail swing thing and I nearly sh!t myself. Seriously can't remember when I've been more scared (maybe on the altar). I know they were relatively small, docile sharks but I got back on the boat as fast as I could.

 

Little did she know that the biggest risk she'd take was marrying me. Little did I know the true terror that lied ahead after I married her. 

 

Good times.

Edited October 9, 2020 by SinceThe70s

[sherpa]

Kind of an odd encounter, but I saw some from the hangar deck of the USS Kitty Hawk aircraft carrier.

We were heading towards Guam to operate in those waters. Ship had a day off prior to spooling up operations.

We were over the Mariana Trench, and the ship's captain authorized a swim for any fifty sailors that wanted to, I guess for bragging purposes that they had swam in the deepest part of the Pacific.

They set up a rope ladder from one of the elevators on the hangar deck, and about thirty or so guys went down and in the the water.

Evidently, someone had been throwing trash off an aft sponson on the ship, and somebody reported sharks.

 

Captain gets on the ships internal com and yells not tp throw anything off.

Sharks had moved closer to the swimming sailors. Fortunately, they had a few Marines from the Marine security force that all carriers have aboard and they had their weapons and kept the sharks at bay while the frightened sailors scurried up the rope ladder.

We watched the thing from from the hangar deck.

Only time I ever saw any swimming from an aircraft carrier.

 

 

[ChevyVanMiller]

For those in WNY, you can now see and touch sharks without going to the ocean.

https://www.wivb.com/news/local-news/niagara-county/niagara-falls/aquarium-of-niagara-cuts-ribbon-on-new-shark-and-stingray-exhibit/

[shrader]

34 minutes ago, ChevyVanMiller said:

For those in WNY, you can now see and touch sharks without going to the ocean.

https://www.wivb.com/news/local-news/niagara-county/niagara-falls/aquarium-of-niagara-cuts-ribbon-on-new-shark-and-stingray-exhibit/

 

 I was going to say "every time I've gone to an aquarium".

[KD in CA]

One time while snorkeling in shallow water, a baby shark (~ 2 ft long) swam right in front me.

 

[GoBills808]

several

 

some small some big

[BillsFanNC]

Yes. 6 foot reef shark within 20 feet of me while scuba diving on the great barrier reef.

[Uncle Joe]

21 minutes ago, GoBills808 said:

several

 

some small some big

I saw some islanders on the dock in Oregon last summer. They asked me how the fishing was.
I gestured and told them I caught four shark. They laughed.

[Punching Bag]

In Hong Kong I saw a milk shark in bay there.  It was attracted to a boat which was cleaning fish and throwing parts overboard.

 

In Hawaii they have these glass submarines you can pay for trips in and saw many of them under water.

 

In Hanauma Bay, Hawaii I saw some reef sharks swimming with me and they are more likely harmed by humans than harming humans.

 

 

[Johnny Hammersticks]

Fishing off the pier in Myrtle Beach, you have to reel in your catch as quickly as possible or the sharks will get them.  I’m not sure what species...I think maybe Black-tip?  They range from like 3-5’ in length.

 

It’s kinda wild because there are kids boogie boarding 30 yards away!! 🦈 💀 🏄 

[SinceThe70s]

46 minutes ago, Johnny Hammersticks said:

Fishing off the pier in Myrtle Beach, you have to reel in your catch as quickly as possible or the sharks will get them.  I’m not sure what species...I think maybe Black-tip?  They range from like 3-5’ in length.

 

It’s kinda wild because there are kids boogie boarding 30 yards away!! 🦈 💀 🏄 

 

The mention of Myrtle Beach reminded me of this from a few years ago:

 

 

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

Snorkeling in st. Croix, saw a very small reef shark by us— a safe distance. That didn’t scare me as much as the many barracuda out there, which have bad eyesight mistakenly bite all kinds of things. 

[Augie]

13 minutes ago, Miyagi-Do Karate said:

Snorkeling in st. Croix, saw a very small reef shark by us— a safe distance. That didn’t scare me as much as the many barracuda out there, which have bad eyesight mistakenly bite all kinds of things. 

 

Went on a trip where several barracuda were caught. Nasty teeth got MY attention! I’d rather NOT catch one of them again!  “Look, I’m sorry, I’ll just throw my pole in the water and you can keep it. Maybe a friend can help you get that hook out? I don’t trust you!” 

[Keukasmallies]

I use one twice a week.

[LeGOATski]

I've been in a shark cage. Pretty fun. Off the coast of Oahu we had 8-12 footers. I forget what kind they were.

[LewPort71]

My SIL caught this while fishing off the coast of NC a couple of years ago.

 

[Shamrock]

Surfing in Warrnambool Victoria. Port Fairy down the coast is more sharky. Lady Julia Percy Island is a seal colony. Plenty of whites. They sometimes come to the near shore on patrol, possibly getting O2 loading in the surf zone. I remember paddling back out whilst surfing “the Cutting”, glanced to my left, saw a shark, then it disappeared. Didn’t look very big. Possibly a whaler, looked brownish.

Was out at Granny’s in Warrnambool. Me and a mate. Sitting about 15m apart and a fin broke the surface between us. We were facing open ocean and it was heading shore. We paddled in very carefully. Often the young White’s come chasing the salmon in the gutters parallel to the shore. We talked about whether it was a little shark and that was all it’s fin showing or a big shark with just the tip!

They’re just there, invisible until the last moment & can disappear as quick. 
Had a fishing boat chase one near us once, or chasing something in the water. Didn’t realise that they’d chased what ever it was to our area. But there was a guy yelling at us At the bow, from a good distance away, convinced us to get out quick. That was at ***** Beach, Southern Whales come there to fatten up before the trip south. Swam with lots of dolphins there.
Saw plenty swimming and snorkelling off Mana Island in Fiji, mostly White/ Black tips and Grey Reef. Place called Supermarkets!

Dived with 7 Gills- they’re weird as well as Whalers, Nurse and Leopard Sharks at Melbourne Aquarium. 

[JÂy RÛßeÒ]

Diving at Molokini crater off Maui - white tip reef shark.  Very cool.

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

Is that what they call the clippers that Gronk is shilling for; the one that put Rapoport in the penalty box? 😁

[Captain_Quint]

On 10/9/2020 at 4:24 PM, Johnny Hammersticks said:

Fishing off the pier in Myrtle Beach, you have to reel in your catch as quickly as possible or the sharks will get them.  I’m not sure what species...I think maybe Black-tip?  They range from like 3-5’ in length.

 

It’s kinda wild because there are kids boogie boarding 30 yards away!! 🦈 💀 🏄 

Yeah those are black tip or sand sharks. Some small hammerheads swim around the piers too.

Charleston is the same way. If I take people out to fish and we dont catch much, I'll stop by some of the shallow spots on the way back and you can almost always catch a few shark. 

 

Biggest I've brought in was a hammerhead, about 11ft long. We got him in the dark around 3am so even with the lights on, we had no idea how big it was until it was on top of us. Just me and another guy, out about 40 miles. We took turns shooting it with a 9mm and then ended up cutting it loose anyway. 

[Nextmanup]

1 hour ago, Captain_Quint said:

Yeah those are black tip or sand sharks. Some small hammerheads swim around the piers too.

Charleston is the same way. If I take people out to fish and we dont catch much, I'll stop by some of the shallow spots on the way back and you can almost always catch a few shark. 

 

Biggest I've brought in was a hammerhead, about 11ft long. We got him in the dark around 3am so even with the lights on, we had no idea how big it was until it was on top of us. Just me and another guy, out about 40 miles. We took turns shooting it with a 9mm and then ended up cutting it loose anyway. 

Quint, if you ever get a generous offer in the $10,000 range to catch and kill a great white off Amity Island, do yourself a favor and don't accept the job.

 

Trust me.

 

 

[thenorthremembers]

Found one washed up on the beach in the Outer Banks little over a year and a half ago.  Stunk to holy hell, but seeing it that close you get it.  Didnt go back in the water on that trip.

[Steve O]

No, but I did stay at a holiday inn express last night (someone had to say it)

[Captain_Quint]

44 minutes ago, Nextmanup said:

Quint, if you ever get a generous offer in the $10,000 range to catch and kill a great white off Amity Island, do yourself a favor and don't accept the job.

 

Trust me.

 

 

[Logic]

Lived in St John, USVI for a few seasons.

Saw nurse sharks regularly when snorkeling.

Only once, when snorkeling by a rock formation further out at sea known as The Indians, did I see a "legit" shark, and I'm not gonna lie, it put a chill up my spine.

It was too far away to know exactly what kind it was. My guess is a reef or bull shark. In any case, I was far enough out at sea and it was big and swift enough that I kind of went "oh *****". Luckily, it was swimming in the OPPOSITE direction as me and quickly disappeared out of view.

[shoshin]

13 hours ago, Logic said:

Lived in St John, USVI for a few seasons.

Saw nurse sharks regularly when snorkeling.

Only once, when snorkeling by a rock formation further out at sea known as The Indians, did I see a "legit" shark, and I'm not gonna lie, it put a chill up my spine.

It was too far away to know exactly what kind it was. My guess is a reef or bull shark. In any case, I was far enough out at sea and it was big and swift enough that I kind of went "oh *****". Luckily, it was swimming in the OPPOSITE direction as me and quickly disappeared out of view.

Also saw a decent size tiger shark at the Indians. It showed no interest in us so it was just pretty to see. And What a place to see beautiful fish and nature. 

Biggest one I ever saw was off the shore in Ocean City NJ. I was just hanging off my surfboard teaching my wife to paddle board out past the breakers. She got up right away and off she went. She then reports a shark sighting and I was like come on. Sure enough a decent size shark of 10 ish feet probably a white checking her out then me too. Definitely not super happy hanging off my board that little stretch of a few minutes, though his dorsal was in view the whole time so I knew where he was. 
 

Seen plenty of nurse sharks snorkeling in the Caribbean. 

 

[The Avenger]

On 10/9/2020 at 8:14 AM, SinceThe70s said:

On my honeymoon in Tahiti.

 

Wife-to-be was somewhat of a thrill seeker. Bungee jumped off a hot air balloon, went parachuting, all before I met her. I'm risk averse, so when we were planning the honeymoon and she mentioned swimming with the sharks I was like wtf. But she was all in and male pride being what it is there was no way I was gonna sit on the boat.

 

So the day comes and we circle Bora Bora on our excursion stopping a few times along the way. At one stop we got inundated by rays, but no sharks. My wife hated the rays. She had gotten slimed by them in a previous trip without me.

 

As we come full circle and it appears there will be no sharks, we make one last stop and lo and behold the sharks make an appearance. Rays too. They were black tipped reef sharks which are supposedly docile. To be honest, as sharks go they weren't very big so I jump in. As I'm watching the sharks swim maybe 10 feet from me - which was cool as hell - I notice wifey is still on the boat so I wave her in. She's having none of it. Says she doesn't want to get slimed by the rays. And I'm like, trust me the rays will be the last thing on your mind, but she doesn't budge.

 

Around this time to enhance the experience the tour operator starts throwing chum in the water to draw the sharks closer. The sharks start doing the aggressive tail swing thing and I nearly sh!t myself. Seriously can't remember when I've been more scared (maybe on the altar). I know they were relatively small, docile sharks but I got back on the boat as fast as I could.

 

Little did she know that the biggest risk she'd take was marrying me. Little did I know the true terror that lied ahead after I married her. 

 

Good times.

 

My wife and I did the same trip on our honeymoon to French Polynesia - in Bora Bora.

 

I thought it was pretty cool but I was expecting  little more than a rope to hold onto that separated us from the sharks, and that was only so you could avoid drifting too close. In the end I rationalized that this guide dude did this almost every day and that if the sharks wanted something more than the chum he was closer to the sharks than I was, as were other small fish. Being in a group and being near the boat I figured I'd also be OK - I didn't have to be the first back into the boat, just not the last..... 

 

I managed to get some really cool pictures and a story to tell...

[WEATHER DOT COM]

On 10/11/2020 at 12:09 AM, LeGOATski said:

I've been in a shark cage. Pretty fun. Off the coast of Oahu we had 8-12 footers. I forget what kind they were.

 

My wife and I were signed up for that excursion but the day we had scheduled there was a storm that cancelled the trip.

 

A couple weeks later we randomly saw a reef shark snorkeling off Kauai when we were looking for turtles.

[SinceThe70s]

5 hours ago, The Avenger said:

 

My wife and I did the same trip on our honeymoon to French Polynesia - in Bora Bora.

 

I thought it was pretty cool but I was expecting  little more than a rope to hold onto that separated us from the sharks, and that was only so you could avoid drifting too close. In the end I rationalized that this guide dude did this almost every day and that if the sharks wanted something more than the chum he was closer to the sharks than I was, as were other small fish. Being in a group and being near the boat I figured I'd also be OK - I didn't have to be the first back into the boat, just not the last..... 

 

I managed to get some really cool pictures and a story to tell...

 

Ours was actually in Bora Bora as well. They didn't have a rope for us. We went on an outrigger canoe and I had to hook my arm around the outrigger to keep from drifting. Kind of a pain. The other thing I remember was where we stopped was within eyesight of our hut. The next time I went snorkeling from the hut was a bit different knowing what might be out there. 

[EmotionallyUnstable]

That’s twice the teeth!

[OZBILLS]

On 10/12/2020 at 6:53 PM, Shamrock said:

Surfing in Warrnambool Victoria.

 

Went to Phillip Island when I was a kid (late 80's) and was hanging around some sort of rock structure a fair way out when i was circled by a shark.

Not sure what it was, but vividly remember the fin and the quick circling of the rocks and then me trying to bolt back into the beach.

[K-9]

Back home, we gotta taxidermy man who’s gonna have a heart attack when he sees what I brung ‘em.

[Punching Bag]

2 hours ago, EmotionallyUnstable said:

That’s twice the teeth!

 

Over fishing could cause problem?  Please.

[BillnutinHouston]

On 10/9/2020 at 2:29 PM, KD in CA said:

One time while snorkeling in shallow water, a baby shark (~ 2 ft long) swam right in front me.

 

 

I had the same experience off the coast of St. Croix.

 

[Nextmanup]

On 10/12/2020 at 3:13 PM, Logic said:

Lived in St John, USVI for a few seasons.

Saw nurse sharks regularly when snorkeling.

Only once, when snorkeling by a rock formation further out at sea known as The Indians, did I see a "legit" shark, and I'm not gonna lie, it put a chill up my spine.

It was too far away to know exactly what kind it was. My guess is a reef or bull shark. In any case, I was far enough out at sea and it was big and swift enough that I kind of went "oh *****". Luckily, it was swimming in the OPPOSITE direction as me and quickly disappeared out of view.

The speed/power of a reasonably large shark in the water is frightening.

 

Evolution has designed them to be unbelievable athletes in that environment, compared to the clunkiness of a human, especially if he's wearing scuba gear.

 

Sharks are so freaking fast and quick in directional change.

 

 

[frostbitmic]

Went out on a charter boat to swim with the sharks off Belize a few years ago. We got in the water and they started throwing chum in, plus one of the deck hands brought some chum into the water to feed the rays.

 

The chum brought in a half dozen or so Nurse Sharks which were about 6' long. They came close enough to us that we reached out and touched them.

 

After that we went to a place just off Cay Caulker and hand fed some Tarpon.