CAN WE SAY MAKO SHARK

[FELLOW-SHIP]

'Flying' shark freaks family

By David Ball [email protected]

Vacationers (from left) Jay Madison, Gayel Ambrose, Jay Madison III and Erik Madison show the 6-foot mako shark that jumped into their boat Tuesday night. The family said this was the biggest catch they've had in two years, and they didn't even have to reel it in.
Photo courtesy GAYEL AMBROSE

Naples anglers have vacation to remember

It was a nice night Tuesday - a perfect night for swordfishing.

However, for Erik Madison and his girlfriend Gayel Ambrose of Naples, and Erik's brother Jay Madison and his son Jay Madison III of Maine, the swords were just not biting.

But in the dark ocean waters 33 miles off the Middle Keys, the vacationing family was about to land the catch of a lifetime - or, more correctly, the catch was about to land on them.




"We saw one of our [line] balloons move and a fish jump way out in the darkness," Erik Madison said. "I started taking the line up, and all of a sudden it rocketed out of the water."

"It" was a 6-foot, 180-pound mako shark - a species known for its aggression - that launched nearly 6 feet out of the water, over the rear engines and into Madison's 26-foot center-console boat.

"He jumped right on top of me and knocked me to the ground," Madison said. "His head and mouth was basically laying right on my belly."




Amid the startled yells of Madison's passengers, he quickly crawled out from under the shark, which lay still in the left side of the boat. But he didn't lie still for long.

"He didn't move at first - he was probably stunned, as well," Madison said. "But after a few seconds he started moving and tearing up the boat."

The shark took a few chunks out of the cabin and ripped a large gash in the cushion lining the inside cabin.




The family hardly had the resources to move the thrashing shark back into the water and was in danger if they couldn't find a way to control the rows of razor-sharp teeth.

So they used a gaff to move the shark into the front of the boat, where they simply waited for it to die.

Twenty minutes later, and a chewed and bent-up gaff later, the mako met its maker.

"If we would've caught him the normal way, we could've released him," Madison said. "But we weren't prepared for this."

Ambrose, shaken by what had just taken place, voiced a desire to call it a night and head back in. But the boys had other plans.

"The shark landed on me, and I still felt like fishing," Madison said. "So we stayed and continued trying for swordfish. We didn't catch anything."

A few hours later, the family returned home with their prize and a few great pictures snapped by Jay Sr.

In the morning, the rest of the family gathered around the boat for pictures and to discuss what they were going to do with the shark.

"We might take jaws for Jay [Jr.] and go weigh it at a marina," Madison said at the dock of his Key Colony Beach vacation home. "I heard they are good eating, but it might be too late for that."

Later that day, Madison, still a little sore from where the shark hit him on his shoulder and back, took the shark out to deep water, cut it up and sank it.

Although they couldn't keep or eat their largest catch in two years, the Madison family did take home amazing memories of a flying Keys shark.

"It was simply amazing," Madison said. "He may have been a little small for that species, but I'll tell you what, he looked awful big flying through the air at us."


I saw this article and though you guys would like a good read.
FellowShip [img]/images/graemlins/blush.gif[/img]