I have always wondered what I was going to do if this ever happened. Here is my story and I hope this never happens to any of you!
We were filming a show targeting goliath groupers and bull sharks. Johan, the host of the fishing show (KanalGratisdotse) hooked a bonito on the bait rod. He managed to get the bonito to the boat before the sharks and porpoises ate it. I quickly put a hook into the bonito and dropped it in the water. Within a few seconds, there were 5 big bulls sharks (all over 400lbs) circling the boat. We could see the bull sharks and goliath groupers fighting over the bait. Something grabbed it and spit it out. Then another fish grabbed the bait and I reeled tight on the hook. The fish was hooked! I then slipped on the blood from the bonito and lost my balance. At the same time, the fish did a violent head shake, which ended with me going in the water.
When I was in the water, I was actually very calm. I opened my eyes and slowly backed the drag lever down on the reel. I started thumbing the spool and slowly swam up with the rod. When I got boat side, I unclipped from the harness and handed Johan the rod. I lost my hat, glasses and shoes and I had no desire to go back in the water after them. There were too many sharks under the boat. Johan tightened the drag and continued fighting the fish. Eventually the fish snapped the 200lb line and it was over. We had the fish hooked for several minutes after I got out of the water. I believe that I hooked one of the bull sharks circling the boat.
How could I have prevented this from happening? I should have washed the blood off the deck of the boat before placing a bait into the water. I also should have secured myself with a rope attached to the boat. I now always make sure that the deck is clean and safe before any bait goes in the water and also that the angler is always attached to the boat.
Here is the video:
"He that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life: but he that openeth wide his lips shall have destruction" (Proverbs 13:3).
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Wow. Glad you kept your composure, you were calm, cool and collective the entire time. That gives a true new meaning to the expression head over heels. Glad you were ok, and I am sure that reel got a nice cleaning when it got home. Too bad your 200lb mono broke as it would have been cool to land the shark that pulled you in but hey that's life sometimes. Thanks for posting.
I love the title of the post 
This is why I hate boats. It's hard enough trying to throw a cast net on a slippery deck let alone hold your footing on a big fish. You did everything exactly right though, staying calm and backing off the drag. Thankfully you didn't hit your head on the way in after slipping. Plus with all the excitement going on, wiping up blood from the deck must have been the last thing on your mind. Pretty cool adventure though.
And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?
John 11:26 KJB 1611 AV
You are one lucky guy… How does the rod and reel look? What type of maintenance are you doing to it? Did you get hurt?
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TEAM GETCHA GETCHA SHARKON
That's crazy!