MAGIC HAPPENED FINALLY!
Today was the day we had been waiting for.
Moral had been low due to very slow shark action, and after three days of disappointments out at sea, we were rewarded for our patience.
We got a blue shark today!
We did not get skunked entirely this week… On day one, we did have a silky shark around our boat, and we got some water time with it, but it was shy, and it did not hang around for a long time. Plus, our group was hoping for a mako or blue shark, not a silky.
Silkies are an easier shark to find than its pelagic cousins, so it is not as coveted and glamorous a species. However, it is still a cool shark and a lot of fun to encounter.
AND this is a mako and blue shark trip, so it was cool to see a silky, but not as cool as seeing a mako or blue. lol
Today we had been chumming for about three hours when our buddy Chris asked if he could get in the water to cool off. Of course, we said yes, and not 10 minutes into his cool-off snorkel, he called out that there was a shark under the boat. It was a five-plus foot male blue shark.
Excitedly we all geared up and jumped in the water. With pelagic species, you have to get in quickly; you just never know how long the shark is going to stick around for. Thankfully the shark stayed with us for the next hour and a half straight, and it was not shy at all.
Tried to do a few split shots. After looking at the few images I shot, this one was my favorite from the day. I just wished I had tried to shoot more.
Our blue shark was extremely curious and we had to guide it away a few times. Here our buddy Chris gently pushed away the nosey shark.
The shark kissed all our dome ports. It repeatedly chased our hang baits and swam around all of us the entire time.
This is what I wanted for our group. A confident shark that gave us plenty of opportunities to spend time with it and capture nice images of the shark that they were all going to be happy with. It was an amazing player, and our guests all had one hell of a good time.
A day like today is the stuff that dreams are made of and why I love wildlife adventures. I was so damn happy, and I am looking forward to more shark action tomorrow, which is our final day in the water.
We still need to find a mako shark. I want our guests to see one, and tomorrow looks like the perfect day to do it too.
I have no doubt we will… I can feel it!