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That kind of treatment of sharks ended decades ago.
In Florida and much of the Gulf and Atlantic, sharks are a game species now with very strict regulations on size limits, method of take and even specific handling requirements.

Here's a couple of screen shots:
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I bear no ill feelings towards them or the goliath that constantly steal catches.

I love and totally respect watching nature do its thing.

Is it aggravating to lose a dozen keeper sized grouper or snapper in a day? Absolutely it is, but sharks and goliath gotta eat too. They are opportunistic feeders just like most fish.
Example:
This small gag grouper was eaten right as the fish was being lifted from the water.
Note the bite radius...
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A couple of years ago I watched a guy hook into and fight a tarpon that easily broke the 200lb barrier. We stayed about 150 yards out (fishing is crowded and normal distance etiquette is different down here)
so we wouldn't be in the way during the fight. When he got it near the boat an extremely large hammerhead breached the surface with the tarpon in its mouth.
That was it. Over and done with. Blood was everywhere and the tarpon was gone. The hammerhead was big enough to consume the entire tarpon in its own.

It's a daily occurrence at Boca Grande and also along the north tip of Anna Maria Island at the mouth of Tampa bay.

BTW, if the FWC caught someone shooting at sharks, they would spend plenty of time in jail.

Just go to ewetoob and watch the idiots that dragged a shark behind their boat at 50mph. AFAIK, they are still in jail.

Are the sharks learning to exploit the fishing to eat kind of like bears around campgrounds and kills? If so I can see this becoming a big problem as the sharks get bigger and more aggressive.
 
If your crew shot sea lions or seals you were violating Federal Law, MMPA 1972 and in serious trouble, if caught. I crewed on fishing boats and they were a PIA.

Yep. On the commercial boat we carried shotguns and pistols to shoot larger catch before boating but not rifles for this reason. No one wanted even a hint of an issue with violating the law. Definitely a PIA when they take bites out of fifty fish in the net and ruin the catch.. but nothing said you could not harass them back. No season is complete without a sea lion caught in the net and dumped on the deck..
 
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Are the sharks learning to exploit the fishing to eat kind of like bears around campgrounds and kills? If so I can see this becoming a big problem as the sharks get bigger and more aggressive.
Sharks have been exploiting the food from fisherman for centuries. As all other animals interactions with humans through out history

Get you granny panties out of a wad.
 
You can shoot sharks, while diving, that is legal in CA. Sharks are very sensitive about damage to their nose. If I was in the water and had a problem with a shark getting too close, I would try to hit or cut the nose. Next choice I would spear it through the gills. Last choice, if I had a sharp knife, is if it made a pass at me I would try and slit it's belly as it passed.
I Kicked them in the nose as a young kid fishing the sand bars offshore in the Gulf. We’d be waist or chest deep and could see them coming. That was forty plus years ago. We rarely saw the behavior posted above. Seems like sharks are far more aggressive now.
 
Are the sharks learning to exploit the fishing to eat kind of like bears around campgrounds and kills? If so I can see this becoming a big problem as the sharks get bigger and more aggressive.

^^^^^ 100000% correct.
6' Spinner sharks
Blacktips of all sizes.
10-12' Bull sharks
13'+ Hammerheads
Big Goliath grouper.

All of them do it.
What is hilarious is goliath eating sharks. Check Eeeewww-toob for grouper eats shark.
 
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My civilian dive instructor was fishing with spear guns with his buddy off the California coast during a very warm spell as a young man. They got some good catches and thought nothing about the struggling fish on their belts. He lost track of his buddy in the kelp forest for a bit and went looking for him. A great white had his buddy pinned on the sea floor. This was part of his lecture about how sharks don’t give a crap and even if you don’t send a lot of time turtlebacking they will go into the kelp forest and find you if they want you.

Interesting in that there have been studies some sharks, great whites in particular, will generally avoid kelp beds. They even fashion "shark deterrent" strips to mimic the appearance of kelp to keep sharks out but allow normal passage of other sea-life through.



Although with the right motivation:
 
I Kicked them in the nose as a young kid fishing the sand bars offshore in the Gulf. We’d be waist or chest deep and could see them coming. That was forty plus years ago. We rarely saw the behavior posted above. Seems like sharks are far more aggressive now.

There are a lot more sharks now because they aren't killing every one that's encountered.

Because of the high numbers, they have to be more aggressive or they don't survive. Or worse become something else's dinner.

The most awesome thing to witness is when all of the fish to include sharks dolphin and other predators have some sort of unspoken truce going on and they work together for hours on the bait balls.
Everything, from the spanish mackerel and up get into the mix.

I've actually stopped fishing for a couple of hours just to watch it.
Blew my mind the first time.
 
pop corn.jpg
 
Are the sharks learning to exploit the fishing to eat kind of like bears around campgrounds and kills? If so I can see this becoming a big problem as the sharks get bigger and more aggressive.

I live on the east coast of FL and was born and raised here. Lived on the water for the majority of my life.

The shark problem started getting 100 times worse when these shark feeding outfits started doing multiple day trips for tourism. They go just out of state waters to do it, so it is legal. They are also rabid environmentalists. They got caught cutting a research boat's long-lines that was shark fishing for NOAA lol.

Sharks started associating feeding sessions with the sounds of boats. When you pull up on the ledge now you will have multiple sharks swimming around the boat within minutes. Getting anything you catch to the surface is a struggle. Once the sharks realize that if they hang around the fishing boats long enough, they will eventually bring food up too, the habit was only reinforced. They are becoming super aggressive too.

We used to spear cobia off the bull sharks when we were younger and dumber. No one really does it anymore... Many of us grew up and had kids. But also bc how aggressive the sharks have become.

I know, less talk more video... This isn't me, but it's some people I know and grew up with. Way better freedivers than I will ever be*

 
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The shark problem started getting 100 times worse when these shark feeding outfits started doing multiple day trips for tourism. They go just out of state waters to do it, so it is legal. They are also rabid environmentalists. They got caught cutting a research boat's long-lines that was shark fishing for NOAA lol.

Sharks started associating feeding sessions with the sounds of boats. When you pull up on the ledge now you will have multiple sharks swimming around the boat within minutes. Getting anything you catch to the surface is a struggle. Once the sharks realize that if they hang around the fishing boats long enough, they will eventually bring food up too, the habit was only reinforced. They are becoming super aggressive too.

After series of fatal shark attacks in Sharmel-Sheikh (Egypt) and recently an area just adjacent, as well as clusters in NC, there is always increased debate on the "why". "Humans aren't on the menu" - we'll usually not, but lately more so. But the chumming for tourists often come up as a big issue, esp. when chumming off piers or where people are snorkeling. Increase in water activities including spear fishing and sport-fishing, have also been blamed. Change in prey availability due to overfishing, algae growth with el nino cycles, and of course "climate change" all blamed too. What's interesting is how attracted they are just to certain electrical frequencies of boats- that's the theory why they sometimes nibble on motors & props as well as the Pavlovian response to "treats". But it does seem like there are more cases of "not much left of the victim" indicating they are predatory biting.
 
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After series of fatal shark attacks in Sharmel-Sheikh (Egypt) and recently an area just adjacent, as well as clusters in NC, there is always increased debate on the "why". "Humans aren't on the menu" - we'll usually not, but lately more so. But the chumming for tourists often come up as a big issue, esp. when chumming off piers or where people are snorkeling. Increase in water activities including spear fishing and sport-fishing, have also been blamed. Change in prey availability due to overfishing, algae growth with el nino cycles, and of course "climate change" all blamed too. What's interesting is how attracted they are just to certain electrical frequencies of boats- that's the theory why they sometimes nibble on motors & props as well as the Pavlovian response to "treats". But it does seem like there are more cases of "not much left of the victim" indicating they are predatory biting.
It's a more complex problem than people want to make it for sure.

Anyway... check this gem out.
 
Catfish anyone !?

Local brother & sister have some work in front of them.
Better have a couple of sharp knives and pliers …..Cut around the fat , should be good eating. 👍

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Nice flathead! I used to catfish 3-5 nights per week. Personal best of 55lbs on our local small river.
 
Nice flathead! I used to catfish 3-5 nights per week. Personal best of 55lbs on our local small river.
Theres two different Cats. The brothers weighed 45 lbs. , sisters was between 40-45 lbs. They were caught at a local lake. I live on the Arkansas River , used to snag them below our Lock & Dam. Used treble hooks , rubber bands for skirts ( making them artificial lures) ….spark plugs for weights. Used a Garcia Deep-Sea Reel. The Corp of Engineers shut that down , reckon people were having to much fun. Largest I caught was around 40 lbs.
 
theyre a special kind of stupid, theyre everywhere over here, mostly asian or indian
One road trip, I made a stop for gas and food. While gassing up I saw a woman wandering around a car with a blue mask on. Finished putting the gas in, look up, and now she has a stainless steel pot on her head. I was totally dumbfounded... :oops:
 
Nice flathead! I used to catfish 3-5 nights per week. Personal best of 55lbs on our local small river.

We used to use builder's twine and 1/0 hooks baited with mullet. Tie to a tree limb so it dips a couple inches under the surface. Around sunset we would drift down river tying them as we went, motor back upstream and start checking. Continue until sunrise. Never weighed, but caught quite a few longer than my leg. Have to stay moving or the snappers tear them up.
 
We used to use builder's twine and 1/0 hooks baited with mullet. Tie to a tree limb so it dips a couple inches under the surface. Around sunset we would drift down river tying them as we went, motor back upstream and start checking. Continue until sunrise. Never weighed, but caught quite a few longer than my leg. Have to stay moving or the snappers tear them up.
We call that “setting bush hooks”
 
We call that “setting bush hooks”

Snagging was fun , with the strong currents of the River , you felt like you caught something reeling in after a cast regardless ! A state record ( at the time ) alligator gar was snagged below the Dam. Think it was 215 lbs.
One day in the late 1960’s we were below a bridge over the Arkansas and saw a large gar trapped in a pool feeding on Shad. Went and got a Colt Woodsman and a garden hoe. Shot it way to many times , then beat on its head until it perished 🫣 Took 4 of us to get it out and in a truck. Weighed 186 lbs , little over 6 ft long. Didn’t know wtf to do with it so we dumped it. Went back a hour later and two Black dudes were loading it up. 🙈
 
Interesting in that there have been studies some sharks, great whites in particular, will generally avoid kelp beds. They even fashion "shark deterrent" strips to mimic the appearance of kelp to keep sharks out but allow normal passage of other sea-life through.



Although with the right motivation:


Yeah that’s what they say. They said that about shallow water too. I don’t see seals in the water when a large shark or killer whale is around even if it’s heavy kelp or shallow water. They run like hell. I can see how very thick kelp would deter even divers but many forests are quite open and easily navigable.
 
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Back in the day when waste and litter weren’t bad for us , once a Navy ship was like 12 miles offshore, the Fantail was open , meaning ANY & EVERYTHING could be tossed off in the ocean. I remember off the coast of California W of Catalina Island , the mess cooks were throwing old/freezer burned meat Into the water. Wasn’t long before the plane guard Helo noticed it was working as chum.
Heard them clearing their guns , heard It was a mess. 😕
 
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