- Now That's A Big Shark

This is one for all the outdoors-men who read this blog. I talk a lot more about hunting than fishing, but in terms of total hours since my birth I've probably spent more time on the latter. I also have a fair amount of experience with the Sea of Cortez, where I've had a number of fishing trips. And every one has been a placid, sun filled event filled with catching tons of Bonito and Mahi Mahi.

But my buddy Tim once got caught in a storm there in a 36 foot sailboat - miles from the nearest port. He described it as being the scariest night of his life, and there was more than one time when he was moments away from going over the side in a raft.

Had he seen this, he might have felt differently.

There are sharks there of course, I've seen them snorkeling, along with truly monstrous Manta rays who use it as a breeding ground. I once saw one of those which was about 25 feet across. But they're harmless, and even a little curious. Nothing like the monster above.

I had a 6 foot long black tip reef shark give me a little trouble once while snorkeling. It appeared out of the distance with unbelievable speed, came within a few feet of me, looked me over very closely, and then disappeared with the same speed. The thing was so fast that had had it wanted to take a bite of me there was literally nothing I could do to prevent it except never go in the ocean again.

I prefer not to think about monsters like this being down there at all. The fear is simply too primal.