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-   -   Bumped by shark- Fort DeSoto (http://www.fksa.org/showthread.php?t=505)

Eagle 05-04-2005 08:56 PM

Bumped by shark- Fort DeSoto
 
Last Sat evening I was walking in from the sandbar at East Beach after gear failure, the tide was unusually high and I was in mid waist to chest deep water.
I did not see anything, but something really big bumped into my lower legs knocking me down, feeling like sandpaper rubbed across my leg I knew without a doubt that it was a shark.
Reading somewhere that sharks often "bump" before they bite, I thought this is it and did what any reasonable fellow who is scared of shark bite would do, screamed like hell and slapped the water with my board.
I had that feeling you get when you come close to getting into an acciedent times 10.
Luckily good ole Swingin Steve was upwind and observed the commotion and frantic arm motion, rode down wind and gave me a lift back to the beach.
This was the second shark encounter I've had in recent weeks, the other was at West Cypress, early evening and involved a spooked shark boiling in my wake then following me a short distance.
The common denomenator seems to be the evening.

Eagle 05-04-2005 08:56 PM

Bumped by shark- Fort DeSoto
 
Last Sat evening I was walking in from the sandbar at East Beach after gear failure, the tide was unusually high and I was in mid waist to chest deep water.
I did not see anything, but something really big bumped into my lower legs knocking me down, feeling like sandpaper rubbed across my leg I knew without a doubt that it was a shark.
Reading somewhere that sharks often "bump" before they bite, I thought this is it and did what any reasonable fellow who is scared of shark bite would do, screamed like hell and slapped the water with my board.
I had that feeling you get when you come close to getting into an acciedent times 10.
Luckily good ole Swingin Steve was upwind and observed the commotion and frantic arm motion, rode down wind and gave me a lift back to the beach.
This was the second shark encounter I've had in recent weeks, the other was at West Cypress, early evening and involved a spooked shark boiling in my wake then following me a short distance.
The common denomenator seems to be the evening.

TheChosenWon 05-12-2005 02:52 PM

Another common denominator would be ... being in their environment :wink: .

Seriously, that's good info, since this is a prime spot.

Last time I've been to the Tampa Aquarium, I thought I saw something about a shark migration season from KeyWest going north once a year. I'll look into that and post some info if I find any.

TheChosenWon 05-12-2005 02:52 PM

Another common denominator would be ... being in their environment :wink: .

Seriously, that's good info, since this is a prime spot.

Last time I've been to the Tampa Aquarium, I thought I saw something about a shark migration season from KeyWest going north once a year. I'll look into that and post some info if I find any.

ricki 05-13-2005 07:28 AM

Re: Bumped by shark- Fort DeSoto
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Eagle
Last Sat evening I was walking in from the sandbar at East Beach after gear failure, the tide was unusually high and I was in mid waist to chest deep water.
I did not see anything, but something really big bumped into my lower legs knocking me down, feeling like sandpaper rubbed across my leg I knew without a doubt that it was a shark.
Reading somewhere that sharks often "bump" before they bite, I thought this is it and did what any reasonable fellow who is scared of shark bite would do, screamed like hell and slapped the water with my board.
I had that feeling you get when you come close to getting into an acciedent times 10.
Luckily good ole Swingin Steve was upwind and observed the commotion and frantic arm motion, rode down wind and gave me a lift back to the beach.
This was the second shark encounter I've had in recent weeks, the other was at West Cypress, early evening and involved a spooked shark boiling in my wake then following me a short distance.
The common denomenator seems to be the evening.

The conventional wisdom would have it that you were being tasted prior to an attack or no further action.

Some questions, do you remember any unusual activity (e.g. shoals of bait breaking the surface, diving groups of seagulls, etc.) and when was this in regard to sunset? Was there anything else out of the ordinary that you can recall aside from your sand paper session?

Some general ideas about sharks and possible means of reducing the odds of a negative encounter appear at: http://fksa.org/viewtopic.php?t=555

The ideas may help, then again, maybe not. It is there place after all and we're just visiting and getting the hang of things there in this new, fairly noisy activity.

Glad you are ok,

ricki 05-13-2005 07:28 AM

Re: Bumped by shark- Fort DeSoto
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Eagle
Last Sat evening I was walking in from the sandbar at East Beach after gear failure, the tide was unusually high and I was in mid waist to chest deep water.
I did not see anything, but something really big bumped into my lower legs knocking me down, feeling like sandpaper rubbed across my leg I knew without a doubt that it was a shark.
Reading somewhere that sharks often "bump" before they bite, I thought this is it and did what any reasonable fellow who is scared of shark bite would do, screamed like hell and slapped the water with my board.
I had that feeling you get when you come close to getting into an acciedent times 10.
Luckily good ole Swingin Steve was upwind and observed the commotion and frantic arm motion, rode down wind and gave me a lift back to the beach.
This was the second shark encounter I've had in recent weeks, the other was at West Cypress, early evening and involved a spooked shark boiling in my wake then following me a short distance.
The common denomenator seems to be the evening.

The conventional wisdom would have it that you were being tasted prior to an attack or no further action.

Some questions, do you remember any unusual activity (e.g. shoals of bait breaking the surface, diving groups of seagulls, etc.) and when was this in regard to sunset? Was there anything else out of the ordinary that you can recall aside from your sand paper session?

Some general ideas about sharks and possible means of reducing the odds of a negative encounter appear at: http://fksa.org/viewtopic.php?t=555

The ideas may help, then again, maybe not. It is there place after all and we're just visiting and getting the hang of things there in this new, fairly noisy activity.

Glad you are ok,

Eagle 06-04-2005 07:09 PM

Rick-

It was close to dusk when I got bumped. The only thing unusual I can recall was the tide, Spring high, no bait other than an occasional mullet jumping.
I damn sure bought some lottery tickets on the way home that night !

Eagle

Eagle 06-04-2005 07:09 PM

Rick-

It was close to dusk when I got bumped. The only thing unusual I can recall was the tide, Spring high, no bait other than an occasional mullet jumping.
I damn sure bought some lottery tickets on the way home that night !

Eagle

Jake 06-08-2005 04:11 PM

Eagle,
Another alternative to a shark would be a large cobia. If you were walking and stirring up the bottom, stirring up crabs or whatever, cobia are attracted to that type of action just as they follow rays that stir up the bottom as they are looking for food. I had one hit me pretty hard several times in the back of my legs while walking in shallow water. I was pretty scared until I realized what it was. Also, as they look like sharks they are often mistaken for one.

Jake

Jake 06-08-2005 04:11 PM

Eagle,
Another alternative to a shark would be a large cobia. If you were walking and stirring up the bottom, stirring up crabs or whatever, cobia are attracted to that type of action just as they follow rays that stir up the bottom as they are looking for food. I had one hit me pretty hard several times in the back of my legs while walking in shallow water. I was pretty scared until I realized what it was. Also, as they look like sharks they are often mistaken for one.

Jake


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