MARCO ISLAND, FLORIDA

The Pictures

                   Judge Tom McDonald shows off his Blacktip shark...they are tasty!     The Sharkmeisters---(L to R) Terry, Dan, Bill, Danny & Maureen!

                                             Shark coming to the boat!                                      Says Captain Bill, "O.k., now just gently grab the hook and remove it from its

                                                                                                                          mouth...it's just that easy"....uh, right, Captain Bill, can you show me how

                                                                                                                          first?              

                                                 "SHARKPRANOS!"                                                    Terry, Patrick, Bill, Miles & Fuzzy...after a hard day on the water!

                              Rainbow over Marco Island bridge.                                            God to Terry after lightning strikes Terry's Chair: "Damn, missed you!"

                                                                                                                                 *(See story below)

                     Shark smiles at our boat, "Uh, you boys seen any chum around here?"                     Ah....it is really nice having a "bait girl" on boat who doesn't

                                                                                                                                                   mind getting in on the action...thanks to Brough, of course!

Based upon the book by Hunter S. Thompson. The name, as originally given to this event by Terry Sullivan (one of the founding participants), was appropriately associated with the struggles, battles, sweat and brute strength required to face these evolutionary eating machines of the briny deep. The event began with three members of the Harrod's Creek Field & Stream club going to Marco Island, Florida to meet up with the Captain and Co-Captain of the Robalo boat (Bill Whetzel and his son Danny, respectively) that we would used for the week's adventure.

The "Shark boys" (as we've been dubbed by Captain Bill) had been pretty fortunate in avoiding hurricanes as well as any mishaps with the toothy fishes! Then came the 2004 trip and Hurricane Charlie. Perhaps Captain Kirk had it right when he said "May fortune favor the foolish!!!" We managed to survive Charlie, but those north of Marco Island were not so fortunate. A southern member of the crew, Brad Hobbs, had his house in Ft. Myers take some of the worst of Charlie. Some damage to the cage around the pool and a few minor other things...but overall, not bad. Of course, the scariest thing to have happened thus far was when Mr. Sullivan introduced Captain Whetzel to how us "Yankees" take care of sharks that we intend to eat. More precisely, Mr. Sullivan's "method" of granting Blacktips authorization to board the boat. Upon further reconsideration, Captain Whetzel thought that the Yankees truly might be "Sharkmeisters!!!" Of course, who is and is not a Yankee might come into a question if we were to scrutinized everyone's true birthplaces a little closer. But it is safe to say, that for at least one week, the boys from Kentucky consider themselves true southerners none the less.

*And, of course, things (both good and bad) seem to occur or center around the presence of Mr. Sullivan. Terry has a picture hanging in his office taken at the house we rented for our first GSH back in 1998. We were preparing to leave for that morning's fishing and Terry had just gotten out of the chair on the veranda when lightning struck...literally! Two seconds delay, and we would have had "toasted Sullivan" for breakfast that morning. Why is it that one can't help that God had to have said after the strike..."Missed him by that much!!!( it helps if you use your best Get Smart imitation). Further examples include the incredible collapsing chair at Stan's, Terry's proclamation that "I love that boy!" or perhaps how to make the best of a little rain shower! Of course, others have made contributions to the trip as well...probably best left unpublished due to legal issues and court-issued gag orders!

We, of course, have had our share of great hook-ups. To date, we have always caught a black-tip shark for the traditional Saturday night grill out and buffet...there are no run of the mill chefs in this group!  We have caught 12-foot Hammerheads, Spinners, Black-tips, Nurses, Lemons, Bulls, Sting-rays, snook, redfish, amberjacks, jack cravelles, mackerels, tripletails, tarpon and many, many more! One of the things that make this trip so exciting and special is the variety of fish that a sportsman can have an opportunity to catch during the trip...well worth the price of admission.

But perhaps the greatest thrill is that first hook-up when someone who at best has maybe caught a five or six pound bass in their life...or if lucky, a 30-40 pound striped bass then hooks up with a 200 pound, very angry, toothy fish that lets you know that if you come into his domain you had better be ready for the fight of your life. Dan Sesit recalls his first "hook-up" with a 100 pound nurse shark "like trying  to pull a car with kite string!" It is an amazing and wondrous thing to watch.