That old sharky feeling is back. I’ve experienced it numerous times in my life, and I know it means they are near.
It always begins with the old shark bite scar tissue on my left hand beginning to itch. That is a sure sign my captain’s sixth sense is kicking in and warning me.
That old shark bite (which is another story for another column) is as healed up as it will ever be and has been so for many years. But the ol’ captain’s instincts bring on the itch when the source is nearby.
I recall one of those times it began with noticing the absence of sea lions where they should have been gathered in large over-populated throngs. That tells me the “Landlord” (white shark) is around, the sea lions sensed it and wisely decided to self-evacuate.
Another time at Santa Rosa Island, it was a five-mile-long section of the shoreline completely devoid of sea lions in an area where there are typically thousands of them. I had that sharky feeling then, too.
Increased catches of thresher sharks in the past few weeks fed the feeling, and over the weekend a much bigger shark was hooked and broke off while drifting live mackerel baits off of Padaro Lane in about 40 feet of water.
The wild-eyed feller who fought that shark was shaking with excitement.
One day recently, while setting up for a drift over a fishing area called the 1-Mile (It should be easy enough to deduce how far from the harbor that is.), I scoured the water carefully as I always do and there it was … a shark fin sinuously cutting the surface of the water.
The spooky phantom shape below was about eight feet long. Reflections from the sun prevented me from getting a good look at the fin and the shape, so it could have been a blue shark or a mako shark. Those two critters have decidedly different dispositions.
Blues and makos are both fun to catch, but the mako is exponentially better table fare than blue sharks, which taste gamey to me. Mako has a light and savory taste. I love to sauté steaks in butter and diced onions.
To me, sea conditions feel right for sharks. I’ve got a long lifetime at sea, intimately involved in the food chain, and it just feels right for sharks right now. Besides, this shark-bite scar tissue it itching like crazy.
I’ll believe that symptom all on its own even if those other symptoms of sharky water were not clear and present. Be careful out there, don’t be on the menu.
