Last week, on June 14, 2013, my nephew and a group of friends, traveled to South Padre Island, for a guy’s day out fishing. One of their favorite passtimes is to ride on kayaks into the ocean and fish deeper in the water.
I am told by this group of young men that they planted a rod on the sand by the shore as they let the reel go. One of them led the reel -with stingray bait- deep into the ocean riding on a kayak. Before they knew it, they noticed the rod bending strongly, that’s when the two hour “fight” began.
According to them, it was about 10:30 p.m. when the shark took the bait, and after pulling for two hours they were finally able to reel it in. As they reeled the shark in, its body was coming forward towards them. Noticing the fin, they suddenly realized what the catch was, and were excited, but shocked as well.
Before giving up, the shark kept pulling and swimming to the left of them, or towards the north. They believe another shark was following him because they noticed the shark had a bite on its side, and cuts on its fin and tail.
Nothing prepared them for what they caught. A considerably sized shark, as you can see in the photograph. I was informed that the shark was still alive when this picture was taken, and I can assume the guy that took the photo was afraid of this unexpected company, for he stood quite a distance behind.
Most people, including myself, love to swim in the beaches of South Padre Island, but I never think about sharks here. We need to be alert, and read more about sharks in these waters of the Gulf of Mexico. For the most part, the Valley has one of the most beautiful beaches in the country. It is a great place for fishing, swimming and relaxing with our favorite cold drink. Oh, and our sunsets are fabulous!
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