The best Fish Story at School
Campbell Keenan, age 12, was on vacation from Massachusetts and wanted to go fishing and catch a big fish in the ocean. His family traveled to Florida to watch his sister’s hockey tournament. Between hockey games, Campbell and his mother, Colleen, boarded the “New Lattitude,” Captain Paul Paolucci’s sportfishing charter off Fort Lauderdale. They were hoping to catch a sailfish or a tuna, according to Colleen. Campbell had done a lot of fishing back home in Massachusetts, primarily for largemouth bass. When the “New Lattitude” was a mile and a half offshore in 120 feet of water, though, Paolucci baited the young fisherman’s hook with a dead blackfin tuna that was far larger than any bass Campbell ever caught. Twenty minutes later, something inhaled the bait, and Campbell was in for the fight of his life the line took off on a 300-yard run. Paolucci’s first mate sat Campbell in the fighting chair and coached him through the process, holding him from behind for fear he might get pulled in.
After a 45-minute struggle that Campbell likened to running baseball drills in the hot sun, the fish flashed at the surface. His mom, Colleen told WSVN that they had to “hold onto him” to make sure he didn’t get pulled into the water. “We’re pulling the coat off of him and you just see the sweat pouring down him,” she told CBS station WBZ-TV. “He turns his hat backward and we’re pouring Gatorade down his throat. His legs were shaking.” “I was scared,” she added. The boat’s Captain Paul Palucci also helped the 12-year-old wrestle the big fish, a process which took about 45 minutes. “I was so excited for him because he loves fishing so much, and this is like the best you could ever imagine,” Colleen told WSVN. After another twenty minutes, Campbell pulled the catch close enough to the boat to be identified. He caught an 11-foot great white shark estimated to weigh between 400 and 700 pounds. Only the third one the captain had ever seen in his 20 year career. Great white sharks are federally protected and cannot be legally targeted in the U.S. waters. In Florida, prohibited species such as great whites must remain in the water with gills submerged whenever they are unintentionally caught. Afterwards, they tagged the shark and set it free. For Campbell, the catch was quite the accomplishment. “I always thought I would catch some like decent fish, but not a great white, ever,” the Campbell told WBZ-TV.
Biting Humor
I told a friend I had been attacked by a shark. He asked what I did. I said,
“Nothing, the shark started it.”
It’s my ambition to see a great white shark before I die. Just not RIGHT before I die.
NYC is a dog eat dog city. For every person bitten by a shark,
25 people are bitten by New Yorkers.
My SCUBA instructor always stressed that you should never go diving alone.
If you have equipment problems, your buddy can help you. If you run out of air, your buddy can help you. If you meet an aggressive shark, your odds are 50-50 instead of 100%.
December 13th Birthdays
1997 – Hallie Stanfield, 1994 – Nesta Cooper, 1981 – Arya, 1941 – Dione Warwick
1915 – Frank Sinatra, 1997 – Jack Griffo, 1923 – Bob Barker, 1962 – Mike Golic