Four Things Fishermen Hate

When you’re on the water often, you see things. And these things tick us off.

1) Getting Your Catch Eaten by A Shark

The old maxim about death and taxes applies as much to fishing the flats as to everyday life, because at some point, a shark preying on your hooked fish is inevitable. One last-ditch option is to open the bail, allowing the fish to swim free and potentially outmaneuver a shark, but there’s no guarantee that it’ll escape or even stay hooked. About all an angler can do is shed two tears—one for the fish that just became shark sushi and the other for himself.

Unfortunately, getting sharked is not something we can predict, so we fish. Of course, if we see a big lemon or bull or hammerhead swimming circles, then we either wait or move, preferring not to pay the flats tax.

But no matter how careful you or your guide are, you will lose fish to sharks. At such times, a good cry might just make you feel better. —Doug Olander