Am i the only one who is obsessed with the Shortfin Mako Shark?

Question: For years i have been interested in the habitat and life style of the Mako and i was wondering if there was anyone like me who regards the Shortfin Mako as their favorite sea creature?

Answer: You are probably not going to like parts of this story but I had my first encounter with a mako about 10 years ago. A friend was very much into fishing for makos and he invited us to go along. Since we were new to boating in the area of Newport harbor we gladly accepted. We chummed with mashed fish and after about an hour a tiny mako grabbed hold of his bait which was about a 2 lb mackerel. It never did get hooked, it just would not let go. The guy fought it for about 5 minutes and when the mako was near the boat it started spinning around and got all tangled in the wire leader. When he lifted the ~3 foot mako out of the water it spun off the leader but still held the fish. He pulled it 3 feet out of the water and the jaws slipped loose. Then he let the mackeral down to about 1 foot off the water because he thought it was over. The mako came out of the water and hit the bait again and held on. The guy then jerked the fish out of its mouth. I couldn't believe how determined that little mako was. I sure wouldn't want to be in the water if he or one of his much larger relatives were in the area. That was one of the fiercest predators I have ever seen. I never felt right about fishing for them after that and would have never kept one even though they are supposed to be good eating.

Related Questions

Related Items