Staying Out Of The Water This Summer??, page 1

It's a fear that many people have....And given recent media coverage, it will only continue to grow....

Where's the fun in the media updating you every time someone slips in the shower and dies...or gets struck by lightening?

If you're on vacation this summer and you're in the vicinity of a beach...Please don't avoid the fun to be had swimming or fishing....Coming from a Florida boy, it troubles me to see people so emotionally distraught over the idea that if they step foot in the water they're going to get bitten....

It gets to the point where people think a minnow swimming by your foot, the tingling sensation of the salty water on your skin, or the undulating shadows on the waves is an approaching shark......

Those are all great things to be conscious of, and that's all....Most of the time, you're only in danger when you create the situation....

My father and uncle grew up fishing just like this guy who recently got bite off of Cape San Blas was fishing.....Actually, Cape San Blas is only about 30 miles away from this spot we've fished at all our lives - Shark Hole

Waist deep, a few yards short of the sand bar, bait and catch tied to their waists....I've heard their shark stories since I was a child and still have yet to hear them all....

Huge fins breaking the water several feet in front of them....Bumps to the waist and their stringer of fresh catches missing....They didn't stop fishing though...

Of course, they've wizened up now - They were kids then....But they still fish there....I was scared #less my first time I went out with them at 4 in the morning - wading up to my neck.....Now it's something we all look forward to doing as often as we can meet up - Unfortunately that area of the beach is now being developed for condos and mansions, so it won't be long until our good 'ol "Shark Hole" is a spot where little children will be playing in the water and fishing off piers....

Apart from catching sharks, I've only encountered a shark in the water once....I was on the sand bar at high tide, so it was about up to my waist....I looked down and a four or five foot sand shark was swimming my way.....I had my legs fairly far apart at the time, so I just stood still, he swam between them, then around me and left....End of story...

These creatures are gorgeous animals that command respect....And you simply have to accept the fact that when you get in the water, they could be swimming ten feet away from you and you don't know it....

There are a lot of great pointers out there for doing your best to avoid a shark attack....The most important one I can relate to is never go swimming alone or with a bleeding cut....Common sense...

If you get a chunk of your leg bitten off, then consider it your time to go....But it's no reason to not enjoy a swim in the ocean....