Shark Fishing Chapter from my book.

Ft.Myersjack · 2016-04-09T18:56:09Z

I'm not doing this in anyway a a promotion. I just thought that I would post the 4th Chapter from "Devil in the Grass", which has just been published. I was inspired to write a Florida book in a lot of ways by my buddies and our nights on the beach pulling in the odd shark. I just had to fit in a shark fishing chapter. It feeds the story and adds some interest. I hope you enjoy! Chapter 4 Fishing Jack paddled the kayak into a warm wind that blew steadily off the Gulf of Mexico. It was one of life’s simple pleasures, as far as he was concerned; it gave him a sense of freedom with a bit of daring. The water was slightly choppy, and a large full moon hung almost orange in the July night sky. Shark fishermen called it a hammer moon. The odds of hooking a great hammerhead shark were higher, because the shark was better able to see its favorite prey in the moonlight—the stingray. Jack removed the plastic-coated wire leader from between his teeth as he reached what he guessed to be about three hundred yards. He looked back toward the shore where his friend Perry waited with the rod. He could see him waving a flashlight, a small speck of light compared to the multitude of lights in the high-rise condos that loomed behind him. Jack took the leader, weight, and the bait, half a cow nose ray, and carefully dumped it into the water. He felt so peaceful, he didn’t hurry back to shore. He leaned back in the kayak seat and opened a can of Coors. It was a difficult feeling to explain. Friends would ask him, “Aren’t you afraid out there? Dropping a bloody bait, aren’t you going to get attacked?” It didn’t work that way, at least so far. Once a shark had circled him, but that hadn’t bothered him. He was fatalistic out here. If he was going to go that way, then so be it. He had the big-game hunter mentality. Before heading out, he didn’t like the idea of dragging a bloody bait into shark-infested waters, but once on the water he seemed to forget his fear, and the thrill-engaged adrenalin took over. It wasn’t as easy to catch a shark as everyone thought. They weren’t the mindless, meat-eating beasts that most people believed them to be. They were actually quite skittish, and would only bite if conditions were right. A big, bloody piece of fish could be dropped out into the ocean and it might sit there for a day without as much as a nibble. Crabs would do a better job some nights. He’d dropped bait hundreds of times, it wasn’t a big deal and he was still alive. He feared the waves and the storms that circled southwest Florida in the summer more than he did the fish. He finished his beer in one long gulp and ventured back to shore. As the bow touched, Perry helped him pull the kayak onto the sand. “Took your time, bro.” “The summer wind off the Gulf is just gorgeous, and the sound of the waves lapping up against the side of the boat was too nice to pass up.” “True enough, true enough. We got three baits soaking, let’s chill for a bit.” He sat down in his beach chair and cracked open another Coors. Perry slumped into his chair. The two had bonded and formed a strong friendship through their deep of love fishing. “Things okay over at the restaurant?” “Same old. Pretty dead in the summer, but we’re keeping our heads above water. The boss has some pretty good specials going, and a lot of the locals like our shit. You?” “Job’s going okay, don’t love it. I met this girl, works at the same place, a different office though.” “C’mon, so?” “Well, she’s different, but I think in a good way. She’s pretty cool.” “Pretty cool? Bro, you must be serious. You usually say yeah, she’s a good fuck, or she’s stuck up, or it ain’t workin’. What the hell does pretty cool mean?” “Um, we’ve only had a couple of dates, but I’m pretty sure I’d like to pursue it a bit more.” “Two dates? Pursue? C’mon…” Click, click, click. “Something’s nibblin’ on the twelve ought.” ZZZZZZZ… Line started ripping off the huge Penn reel, a sound like no other. Then it stopped. Both men were on their feet staring at the rod. Perry reeled back a few feet. “Let ’em chew a bit. Jackson, I know you better. You are the slumdog football hero. Tell me more.” Both men fell back into their chairs. “Well, we went for lunch the other day. I tell ya, I was so hot for this chick, Sarah. Anyway, halfway through lunch I thought I was gonna have to go whack off in the restroom. Then she mentions religion. Bam, there goes the hard-on. Thought she was a religious nut—we’ve both dated them, waste of time. But man, was I wrong. Well, it was all nicey-nicey and then she says she has to leave and get back to her job. “Next week, she calls me up at work. I thought she’d forgotten about me. Comes and drags me out. Says she needs to talk to me. So I clear it with the supervisor and we go for a drive. We talk for a bit, and she says she’s a Satanist.” “What the fuck, bro!” Perry stood up looking down at Jack. “I have to say I was taken back. But then she explained that what she did wasn’t ev...

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