Competitive Shark-Fishing:
Not For The Faint Of Heart
(Continued From Page 6)
from years of practice, the three
men dragged bloody baitfish out of
the cooler, secured them to the mas
sive steel hooks and attached
sinkers and brightly colored bal
loons to each line. These would act
as floats to keep the bait at the
proper depth.
Hypnotized by Wavcdancer's
steady rise and fall. I stared at the
four pairs of balloons bobbing on
the waves and tried to imagine
what the next 10 hours might be
like if we actually hooked a shark
big enough to win this tournament.
1 shuddered at the thought of being
dragged for 14 miles across those
tumbling swells.
As we spent the next few hours
rising and falling with the sea. the
three tournament veterans had end
less stories to tell of past encounters
with the king of sea ? the fish
Australians respectfully call "the
man in the gray suit."
They talked about the big shark
that got away last year. About how
they actually saw it only briefly ?
but long enough to know that it
weighed over I, (KM) pounds and
might have set a new state record.
But mostly, they talked nervous
ly about the barge. They wondered
how the tug boat could have gotten
so close to the edge of the river
channel. Why its captain failed to
alter course as it approached a
brightly lit boat that should have
been visible for miles.
They recalled their surprise when
the tug passed by so close; the
shock of seeing a thick steel cable
inches above their heads; the horror
of realizing that a towering wall of
metal was about to smash into
Wavedancer's bow; the relief when
it pushed the boat aside instead of
rolling them underneath.
It was a chilling account of an
experience that would prompt most
folks to leave their boat ashore with
a "for sale" sign on it.
But not these guys. They were
already talking about returning to
the same spot that night!
With that in mind, the Wave
?
TWO GENERATIONS of shark hunters , David Smith Jr. (right) and David Smith III, discuss their
strategy as Wavedancer begins its second day of tournament fishing.
Recipient of
1ST PLACE 'Mr
FOOD '?( \
DIVISION 'm.
at the 1992 & 1993
BLUE CRAB
1>/v^ FESTIVAt
Little River, South Carolina
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lONTHE lake at cypress bay
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Sea Catch (Black Grouper, Yellow Fin Tuna, American Red Snapper, Norwegian Salmon) when avaialble $11.95
Entrees served with house salad, fresh baked bread and sauteed vegetables or rice.
We serve food Mon-Fri till 1 AM, Sat. till 12 PM, Sun. til 10 PM
HAPPY HOUR IN THE BAR 4 TO 7 PM-FREE WINGS
Bar Specials All Nite
350 1 50 $2.25
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?53 llwy. 17, Little River,' SO ? Open 7 Days n Wc-k. RESERVATIONS PREFERRED <8031 249-2624 . M
dancer crcw agreed it was pointless
trying to hook something that you
probably couldn't land in 5-foot
waves and 25 knot winds.
They decided to head home, get
a bite to eat, shower off, grab their
first sleep in 36 hours and head to
the calmer waters of the lower
Cape Fear at sunset.
As the older Dave wrestled
Wavedancer through the surf break
ing in the inlet channel, young
Dave said he was sorry that 1 didn't
get a chance to see what shark fish
ing was all about.
Insisting that no apology was
necessary, I thanked the Smiths for
the opportunity and assured them
that even though we didn't catch a
shark. 1 had indeed learned a great
deal about fishing for them.
"That's why they call it fishing,"
said his dad as he adjusted the
frayed bandage clinging to his fore
head. "If you brought something
back every time, they'd have to call
it catching!"
? MB ?
BOB EDWARDS rigs another rod as a pair of red balloons carries
the weighted shark bait away from Wavedancer's stern.
' I I /
? ** vtO >f ^
J A YNIl SMITH talks with her husband and son aboard
Wavedancer. The crushed bow shows evidence of the boat's 3 a.m.
encounter with a barge near the mouth of the Cape Fear River the
previous night.