I Caught a Shark! A SHARK!!

I Caught a Shark! A SHARK!!

I have been fishing on the beach numerous times in my life. And, while I have caught countless fish from boats and piers, and while two of our kiddos have IGFA Junior World Records (that have since been broken), I have never managed to hook a fish from the beach. Not once in my entire life. UNTIL NOW!!

Armed with some dead fish from the bait shop, hearty lines, heavy weights, and all that other fun stuff, I walked into the ocean to cast, got walloped by a wave, got bumped by a fish (which made me yelp and dance an embarrassing jig for a second), got my line pretty far out, kept the bail open while walking back, closed the bail, put my pole in the pole holder, and plopped down on my lawn chair. And, I watched…

I watched as the tip of the pole wavered with every breaking wave, and with the retreating surf. Some waves were bigger than others. Is that a fish? No, just a wave… Was THAT a fish? No, just a bigger wave. I watched as several beachcombers ducked under my line. I watched the sun begin to set. And, I continued to wait, very patiently.

It only took about 30 minutes for the pole to bend over. Yep, that was no wave! I jumped to the pole holder, grabbed the pole, set the hook, and started reeling. People stopped to stare. I reeled while relaxing the pole forward, stopped, pulled the pole back against the invisible adversary, and did the same thing over and over. He ran once. I could tell it was big! He was a fighter! Oh, MAN! I was SO EXCITED!!! Was this the trophy fish I’d been dreaming about my entire life? Would I be able to land him all by myself?! How many dinners would this monster make?! Whoo HOOO!!!

I finally got him up on the sand and…this was his actual size:

I got the hook out, put him back in the water, and sent that cute baby blacktip on his way while humming the Baby Shark song. I didn’t catch any more sharks but I did catch two saltwater catfish (we call those hardheads). But, I didn’t care. I just wanted to catch fish, no matter what kind. I got to talk to people passing by, including a couple from Illinois. I got to watch for sea turtles (didn’t see any of those). I watched a ghost crab repeatedly tossing sand out of his hole. And, I got to commune with God for awhile, staring out at his massive, brilliant beauty as the galaxy became more vivid and bright from that darkening stretch of sand.

I spent the rest of my sitting time (waiting for the pole to bend) by re-applying insect repellent countless times. Each time I had to go into the water to cast (getting slammed by waves), I had to spray myself all over again. The no-see-ums were having a field day with me. I must be very tasty. I literally have hundreds of bites on my ankles, legs, and arms. I woke up scratching like crazy this morning but I didn’t care because I CAUGHT FISH ON THE BEACH FOR THE FIRST TIME!!!

🙂

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Angela Hoy lives on a mountain in North Georgia. She is the publisher of WritersWeekly.com, the President and CEO of BookLocker.com and AbuzzPress, and the author of 24 books.

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3 Responses to "I Caught a Shark! A SHARK!!"

  1. Cheryl Tuskes  July 30, 2019 at 7:50 am

    YOU GO GIRL!

  2. By Angela Hoy - Publisher of WritersWeekly.com  July 29, 2019 at 9:40 am

    SUBMITTED VIA EMAIL:

    Angela,

    I love you, Girl. I was blown away when I got a Facebook post that you “caught a shark”. Then I went to the site, and saw the “far away shot” and I fell on the ground laughing…

    Sorry, but remember “crocodile Dundee,” when the guy pulled a knife on him and he said, “That’s not a knife.” Then he pulled out a 30-inch Bowie knife….??

    “That’s not a shark…….. ((insert photo of Great White))….. THAT’S a shark!”

    CONGRATS!! I know it had to be thrilling regardless. I was gonna post something about coming to dinner to have “Shark Steaks”, but now I know, we’d have to go fishing again to accommodate……..

    LOVE YOU! Thank you so much for making my day!

    Samuel Hill
    Six Days to Zeus: Alive Day (Based on a True Story)
    https://booklocker.com/books/9817.html
    “Six Days to Zeus: Alive Day” is currently optioned by Phoenix Pictures to become a blockbuster movie. Watch for the rest of the series as it becomes available!

  3. Pamela Allegretto  July 27, 2019 at 5:22 pm

    Cheers to you!