Spearing near sharks

    in my personal opinion....just respect the ocean oldest surviving predator....it doesnt make you macho man randy savage diving among sharks...but if you want to do it go ahead its your life...i have seen big sharks...i have learn about sharks in my study career..just respect them as the predator he is...dont come later to the forum crying cause a shark rip off your arm...haha..in the water we are at there enviroment so we are part of the food chain too.they r mistaken for killin machines...they arent...like i said we are just invading their territory so food chain thats all...peace among us...bless...

    Edited 2 times, last by Guest ().

    i hear all this about sharks taking advantage of fear,, which may be true,, but i remember when that guy near elliot key got all messed up by a bull while retrieving his fish, which is not something a scared person does.. and alan getting chased up by a bull while ascending after doing the same,, and theres no way he was scared cause from what i remember he didnt even know the shark was there, and hau was shadowed with a hammer a few weeks ago and he fears nothing (except crazy women). ive got no right to have input on sharks but it seems like they can get crazy and unpredictable at times and id stay aware of that.-- if i recalled any of these stories wrongly feel free to call me out


    also sharks are awesome and interesting, but when typing there opinion online it seems like people are losing touch with common sense,.. it almost sounds like if a shark atttacked youd say take me baby im yours woohoo natures come full circle.
    sharks do need defending as a keystone species but in the water your self needs defending first.

    Scupper Pro Gives You Wings!

    Quote from monster slayer

    And the kid would probably say: "I have been harrassed by a big bull shark, and believe me, they are sweet hearts and bla bla bla," I´m not buying your ludicrous statements. :nono:


    Listen dude... i dont know what your problem is. But i was trying to have a perfectly normal conversation maintaining a level of respect for you and your opinions. However, if you want to act like that, i'd be more than happy to go a few rounds with you.


    The point of my statements was to try and reason with that ridiculously thick head of yours that people shoot fish in the presence of sharks all the time and its not that big of a deal. Ask any spearo down here who has shot a cobia off a bull. Or a grouper near a blacktip. They survived! :@


    And yes, like Judah said, I have been charged by a bull. They are not sweet hearts. I sure as heck didnt like the experience. BUT from that experience and every time I see a shark, I know that when people like you who freak out around sharks are in more trouble than me.


    I'm not trying to portray this blase attitude towards the dangers of sharks, but you're blowing it out of proportion. You think just cuz i'm a " kid" that I dont know what i'm talking about and you can talk down to me? Keep it up and i'll give you a shit storm that will outshadow your fear of sharks.

    Quote from sdeisen

    i hear all this about sharks taking advantage of fear,, which may be true,, but i remember when that guy near elliot key got all messed up by a bull while retrieving his fish, which is not something a scared person does.. and alan getting chased up by a bull while ascending after doing the same,, and theres no way he was scared cause from what i remember he didnt even know the shark was there, and hau was shadowed with a hammer a few weeks ago and he fears nothing (except crazy women). ive got no right to have input on sharks but it seems like they can get crazy and unpredictable at times and id stay aware of that.-- if i recalled any of these stories wrongly feel free to call me out


    also sharks are awesome and interesting, but when typing there opinion online it seems like people are losing touch with common sense,.. it almost sounds like if a shark atttacked youd say take me baby im yours woohoo natures come full circle.
    sharks do need defending as a keystone species but in the water your self needs defending first.


    I totally agree steven that sharks can be crazy and unpredictable. They are after all wild animals. Im not sure about the circumstances that you were describing with alan and hau, so I can't really comment on them. I 'm not a shark expert, and like I said in my previous post I dont want to portray a blase attitude in favor of sharks.

    egh what i was talking about them is kind of a side note,, jsut that while im sure showing timidness and fear to a shark puts them in even more control, at the same time lack of fear and confidence doesnt make a person untouchable

    Scupper Pro Gives You Wings!

    Quote from sdeisen

    egh what i was talking about them is kind of a side note,, jsut that while im sure showing timidness and fear to a shark puts them in even more control, at the same time lack of fear and confidence doesnt make a person untouchable


    That is true..just be aware and alert when they show them self...don't ignore them, just don't fear them...they will sense it..Your heart rate will change your whole movement and everything change when you get worried underwater..and sharks can detect that.. and make them even more curious...I call it unwanted attention. If you get used to it and learn how to deal in their presence you can control and make an accurate assessment.


    Dan that is what i meant. Either give them the shaft. the pike, or the PH:thumbsup2:. Even when you go hunting. remember you are always armed...same in the water so always be ready to defend yourself. And i have faced sharks without a speargun. I have used my fins as a method of protection. :confused1:, was a hairy situation :laughing3:

    Quote from sdeisen

    .. and alan getting chased up by a bull while ascending after doing the same,, and theres no way he was scared cause from what i remember he didn't even know the shark was there

    Alan is an exception, I can tell you as someone who dives with him, that for whatever reason sharks find him very attractive. They will appear in places you wouldn't expect and reveal themselves to him and him alone :laughing: I would seriously not recommend Alan to dive in waters where sharks as a rule are more aggressive.


    Ben, you didn't answer my question?

    Quote from Dan

    Do you mean this literally or figuratively, smell fear?


    What I meant by it is what was said previously and so I didnt want to repost something lol. Sorry for not getting back to you. I think that they can sense a heart rate going up. But I also think that there are other things that they can sense when fear overtakes our body. So maybe smell wasn't the right term, but sense would be more appropriate.

    In this case I agree. But I'd like to offer something else. I don't think it's so much the presence of fear that motivates a shark to investigate closer, but rather lack of a predatory mind set. The presence of fear automatically means you're no longer acting like a predator, so in the end it boils down to the same thing. But if you want to get down to the crux of the matter I think the shark quickly recognizes predatory behavior, especially when directed to itself, and the presence or lack of this behavior is sometimes key to having close encounters or not.


    I'll give an interesting example. On the last trip I shot a rainbow runner, a fish that I really wanted to keep. A big cuda separated itself from a school and went straight for it, thrashing and cutting off about half of it. I wanted to keep the rest and while it was swallowing one half I quickly reeled in the remaining half. I had half the fish in my hands when the cuda finished gulping down its piece, and came right back at me. Then we had a little dance, where I tried to reload the gun and string the shooting line as fast as I could, while the cuda would circle and make tentative lunges at the fish half. As it would start it's approach I'd forget about loading the gun, take out the spear, and poke at it, which is when it would back off again. Needless to say I felt inadequate with a hand spear and wanted nothing more than to load the gun already, and not only shoot the bastard, but also gut it and recover the other half of the rainbow runner. Anyways I really felt this fish sizing me up, and I didn't like it. At some point I managed to load the gun and string the line with half the fish still on the shooting line. The instant I gripped the gun handle and turned towards the cuda, this time giddy with anticipation, it took off full bore. Make your own conclusions.

    Monstruo: Maybe you are not used to, but in some waters, if you don´t like to dive with sharks, you better stay home. I know that in your waters there are great whites and I don't know if I have the balls to dive with one, but with reef and bulls, you must get used to.


    We only move out if there are too many and become too confident. Normally the just steal your catch from your stringer at the float.

    Marco Melis

    A bad day fishing is ALWAYS better than a good day at work.

    very interesting story Dan...i think you are on to something..the act of hunting is different than even pretending to hunt...I have another silly story that supports that...I was diving a while back and using my camera as a speargun, by that i mean, i was doing everything just as I would but shooting a picture instead of a spear and the fish knew...I got closer to schoolmasters and mangos than i ever have before, inspite of having basically the same mindset as when I am hunting. there is a subtle but apparent difference when you are really hunting

    i like to spear fish

    Quote from Dan

    Do you mean this literally or figuratively, smell fear?


    I'll answer for Ben while he Googles the answer...



    It's quite literal. Believe it or not I have dove among sharks in the Gulf....but more notably I have spent alot of time around big predators most notably black bears.Black bears are very much like sharks in many ways.


    But, I'll digress.....When someone is in 'fight or flight mode' their heart rate rises , pupils dialate, and sensory awareness becomes heightened.



    All thanks to a hormone.....adrenaline.And adrenaline has an olfactory prescence.


    Think about it ,Dan. I have been on patrol with a dog and all things are coming together for something really bad to happen, all the sign are there by MY REASONING for a bomb or ambush,whatever....and the dog begins to become agitated even though I haven't changed my behavior. I am convinced it's the odor of adrenaline.


    Secondly, I have used dogs in game recovery when no blood trail was present. What was it that gave up the animal being trailed despite being part of a herd ? Why ws the dog able to single out the one ?


    BTW, what makes a dangerous animal dangerous isn't it's capability to kill ya ...it's the when they decide.The unpredictability.Like bison. I hunt in a lot of areas that have bison on pasture there, and you always have to have one eye on 'em. A cow placidily grazing one minute may decide she doesn't want you there anymore . Or a bull 2 pastures may decide to take a nap before he plows thru fences to rid the world of ya.Or not. It's the unpredictability , and the complacency that it breeds that'll get ya killed.

    very interesting points Aaron, reminds me of a comment you once made that really stuck with me....it was the conversation about that SWAT raid where they killed one or two dogs of contested breed....


    you said something to the effect of, 'it is not the barking dog that I am afraid of, it is the dog that is crouched, ears back and quiet....'



    i have always thought that this applies to people too



    In my opinon,with sharks, the less cerebral and the more primal you are, the better your chances of a good end to the interaction. I don't try to think about not being scared, I just direct all my energy into "MY FISH"
    i have always felt that in order to prevail in any confrontation you must be only a little smarter than your opponent. The shark is not thinking at all, so I shouldn't be spending my time pondering either.

    i like to spear fish

    Quote from Aaron Proffitt

    I'll answer for Ben while he Googles the answer....


    If you look two posts back, i answered dan's question. But the smart ass remarks are always appreciated too. Just make sure you get your facts straight next time. It usually helps with the effect of the smart ass remark...:nono:

    I want a foot tapping Dog,a non barker.waits until your half way in the yard.Then does his job.:D
    You gotta luv this forum,

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