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Did somebody say ‘shark’?
A different angle to fishing in the Florida Keys
After reeling in one fish after another — redfish, sea trout and catfish — Richard Stanczyk quietly announces that it’s time to go after “something bigger.”
We’re a one-hour boat ride from Islamorada, Fla., drifting somewhere in the Florida Bay, and it’s difficult to imagine that our 16-foot vessel can accommodate anything much larger than the gamefish we’re catching and releasing.
Stanczyk, a veteran fishing guide, slices a live ladyfish in half, hooks it, and casts the line in a wide arc alongside a sandbar. He chops the rest of the baitfish into smaller pieces and tosses the bloody remains overboard.
“Time to catch a shark,” he says.
Did he just say what I think he said? Shark, as in, “Jaws”? As in, the underwater killing machines that attacked helpless swimmers this summer? As in, “If you see that fin in the water, swim for your life!” Charlie, who flew in from Boston the previous day and is still getting used to the idea of wearing a short-sleeved shirt during the winter, almost drops his fishing pole.
“You’re kidding, right?”
But Stanczyk, a man of few words, gives us a knowingly smile, like a parent about to send a kid on his first roller-coaster ride. “Hold on to this,” he orders, handing me the rod with shark bait. “If you feel a bite, I’ll show you what to do.”
A minute goes by. Two minutes. Ten. We see nothing except the blue-green waters of the bay, stirred by a warm wind blowing in from the Everglades. In the distance, terns and pelicans hide among the mangroves growing along a nameless key, making occasional fluttering sounds. Otherwise it’s perfectly calm.
Suddenly there’s a tug on my line. It doesn’t feel the same as the other ones — not jerky, but deliberate and powerful. The filament spools out effortlessly.
“OK — now!” Stanczyk yells, motioning me to stop the line. I set the hook and begin reeling. The rod immediately bends to a 90-degree angle and whatever is on the end of the line just keeps going. Stanczyk pulls the anchor and turns the boat around, following the fish into deeper water. The rod buries itself in my thigh.
This is probably as good a time as any to mention that shark fishing is perfectly legal (Florida is trying to ban shark feeding, not fishing) and for the most part, safe. The recent set of shark-attack books and frenzy of news reports did little to dispel the popular myth that these creatures are underwater terrorists that kill for the fun of it. In fact, even the most antagonistic shark species are normally shy and avoid human contact.
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