Sharks & Kites, Spring Is Here

[Clew In]

Hey,

Do not use the shark repelant...

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au...-30417,00.html

Clew In

[ricki]

So the Spinner aka blacktip migration is on again. Not to worry, the spinners have predators too, aside from us of course. A 1000 lb. 13 to 14 ft. hammerhead was charging through them next to the Lake Worth Inlet off Singer Island in Northern Palm Beach County. A guy actually caught it, not to hurt it but just to take its picture. Sigh. Killed the shark, NOW we'll need more hammerheads to step up to fill the vacancy. People. If you saw this guy underwater it would appear to be up to 18.5 ft. long, big goomer!



The story follows:

Palm Beach resident Fritz Van der Grift lands 14-foot hammerhead shark off Singer Island
Click-2-Listen

By JOSEPH LUCIANO
Daily News Staff Writer
Sunday, March 09, 2008



(enlarge photo)
From left, Greg Bogban, Minot Amory, Paul Van der Grift and Fritz Van der Grift show off the hammerhead shark Fritz caught Wednesday.

Palm Beacher Fritz Van der Grift had the fishing experience of his life Wednesday.

Van der Grift, friend Minot Amory and charter boat captain Greg Bogban were fishing off Bogban's boat for blacktip sharks in the shallow waters off Singer Island just north of the Palm Beach Inlet. The fish weren't biting, and the group realized they were being stalked, Van der Grift said. They spotted what turned out to be a 14-foot, 1,000-plus-pound hammerhead shark and attempted to catch it.

"It was just this huge shadow circling our boat," Van der Grift said. "It showed its dorsal fin to us. The thing came out of the water. It was like a movie."

Van der Grift, whose father, Paul, is president of the First Serve of the Palm Beaches, said he fought the shark for more than an hour before landing it.

The shark died soon after as a result of the struggle.

"I didn't know if I was going to make it," Van der Grift said. "My arm was numb 10 minutes into it. It was a game of tug-of-war. I would reel it in 20 or 30 yards and he would take off, and then I would reel it in another 20 yards and he would take off again. It was like a game."

Van der Grift, who said his biggest catch before this was a 350-pound bull shark, said when they tried to weigh the fish, the scale stopped working at 1,038 pounds.

The fish's organs have been donated to research laboratories, Van der Grift said.

From: http://www.palmbeachdailynews.com/ne...story0309.html

[ricki]

I was off Delray on Friday and further north today. Didn't see any spinners at either location although others said they had seen a few. Anyone tripping over the migration out there?

[ricki]

They say the spinners track a mass of water around an optimal temperature.

Looking at last year:

vs. this year:

[ricki]

The spring migration is one thing, the rest of the year is another at least around here. Do folks see many sharks off the SE coast outside of migrations while kiting?

[Citispider]

This is very interesting stuff in regards to Sharks. I moved to Florida about a year and half ago. I live in Coral Springs and have been kiting in Mathseson all this time.
I have been wanting to go to Delray since its a shorter commute, but this shark business is spooky. Are sharks around here abundant during the Spring?

[Safe_Cracker]

Dude there is so many sharks out there it isn't funny! I saw a report a few years back after the attacks on the east coast about the amount of sharks around and how they swim amongst us, we aren't even aware. I think the report was there to show basically if they wanted to eat us they would, there would be a whole lot more attacks then there is. Funny I saw an aerial video that showed A LOT of sharks swimming amongst bathers, kinda freaky but I have also seen some really scary baracuda lOl. Honestly, I myself would fear a large man o war sticking to my face than a bite from a shark, JMHO... Polo

[ricki]

Originally Posted by Citispider

This is very interesting stuff in regards to Sharks. I moved to Florida about a year and half ago. I live in Coral Springs and have been kiting in Mathseson all this time.
I have been wanting to go to Delray since its a shorter commute, but this shark business is spooky. Are sharks around here abundant during the Spring?

Regarding sharks, there never has been a fatal shark attack on a kiter, ever, to my knowledge. I have heard about six attacks worldwide over the last 8 years, only one of which was considered serious but not life threatening. There have been dozens and dozens of riders lost to hazardous wind and hundreds more injured. Tragically, I heard of another one today. It is best to keep things in perspective and watchout for the greater threat. At the same time, I have always assumed that there are sharks within sensory range anytime I have gone in the water off SE Florida over almost four decades.

The spinner migration is an annual thing, likely has been for millennia. The year this thread was started was unusual with so many so close to the beach for so long. This year I never saw one spinner while kiting instead of dozens or hundreds per hour. Despite that, they usually ignored riders except near sunset or if someone stayed in the water for an extended period of time. I think I've seen sharks at other times of the year while kiting off Palm Beach Cty, but rarely in the areas I ride including Delray. So, bottom line, I wouldn't worry about it at Delray, at least outside of a nearshore mass migration which in itself is somewhat rare. When they were running nearshore I think it went on for less than seven days.

[Citispider]

Rick;
You are always full of good and important information. Appreciate the quick response. Although you may never know what is really underneath, it is somewhat conforting to hear that someone who has spent so much time in the water has not seen any danger. So Ill give it a shot and be cautious as always.

i have only seen one shark in several years of kiting around the venice area (it was 4-5 feet long, in shallow water and near swimmers)

i went in and told the life-guard and he said "ya' , they are out there"

that was it, no big deal, ah ... ok

kd