Look Familiar?

Many years ago I was out fishing on Pamlico Sound with my sons. My older boy snagged the Bimini top with a big, 'ole, bait-covered hook. I nagged him to remove it, but true to form, he forgot, and there the hook stayed. Eventually, we all forgot about it...

Later in the trip, my husband joined us and we all went fishing. It was breezy and rough, and after we'd pulled the anchor I said, "Grab on, here we go!" My husband grabbed the Bimini top.

Well, you can probably guess what happened next. Yep, he hooked himself through his finger and was literally attached to the top. Panic ensued. Must have hurt like Hell!

I have a few rules on the boat: No hooks on deck, close the bait box, and ALWAYS put the knife and pliers back. So, fortunately, we had pliers.

We snipped one end of the hook and motored back to Ocracoke. From there we went to the clinic where my husband got a Tetanus shot and had the hook removed from his finger. The hook went into a very large and scary display of other hooks and paraphernalia that had come out of other fishermen. I didn't think to take a picture of the display, and wish I had! It looked very similar to the picture above. 

Sidebar: What the heck is up with the chainsaw chain??? :)

Inside Out

Came across a really neat photo album of Fish X-rays. These will be on exhibit at the Smithsonian, and will be traveling through 2015...

CLICK HERE for more information.

What Would God Think?

I can't say. But I know what I think...
This photo was posted on Facebook. Said to be taken at Kino Bay, Sinaloa, Mexico.
Wherever and whenever it was taken, it is sad, sad, sad. Disgraceful.

Bait-stealer

When I think of Bait-stealers, I think of Pinfish, Lizardfish, Blue crabs. Never Dolphins!
This guy was clever, delicate, and lucky! Instead of a free treat, he might have gotten hooked.

I wonder how much one of these underwater video cameras costs? Imagine the crazy things we'd discover.

Jose Wejebe - Fishing Ambassador

Sadly, I never had the opportunity to meet Jose Wejebe. But I know many folks who did know him and through his programs I absorbed his many insights and reflections. I looked forward to episodes of 'Spanish Fly'. He was as genuinely freaky fish geeky as I am. If I thought otherwise, I'd have changed the channel.
Public figures put themselves, their lives, their family histories, their thoughts, philosophies, and feelings into the public. We get to know them and they become part of our lives - for better or worse. Jose was a part of many lives... for the better.

What WAS it about Jose that captured so many hearts? My answer: He was genuinely enthusiastic. He was genuinely in love. He adored fishing, and fishes, and friends and family. And he loved sharing his passion for living a life on, around, and below the water. He had tremendous respect for fishes and the environment. He was gentle, sincere, and patient. He became the model of what a fisherman should be: a steward, a spokesman, a conservationist... an ambassador.

The world has lost one of its best.
He will be missed, but his message will carry on.

SPANISH FLY.

New Species of Shark

This is cool, yet scary... A new species of shark has been identified as living off the east coast of the US. It is very similar to and easily confused with the Scalloped Hammerhead, Sphryna lewini. They differ in DNA and number of vertebrae, which makes initial identification challenging.
This is good news in that more information is available to correctly assess populations of these sharks. Bad news in that previous assessments of Scalloped Hammerhead were most likely inaccurate due to misidentifications. Even worse, Scalloped Hammerheads are probably more threatened than previously thought because their numbers were likely inflated.

(Side bar: The White Marlin and Roundscale Spearfish are almost identical as well, with ranges that overlap. Thus, population assessments of both are also difficult to determine.)

What I find fascinating about this is that these fishes are BIG. When one thinks about finding new species, one first thinks of small fishes in remote places. This is just the opposite.

CLICK HERE for article.