On Fri, 29 Jun 2001 11:10:52 -0500, Mike Wallace <[log in to unmask]> wrote: >On 29 Jun 2001, at 2:41, Reef Fish wrote: > > >> >> Definitely! >> >> The one case that immediately came to mind was the Caribbean Reef >> Shark on one of my Bahamas Shark dives. >> >> Before the group had settled down around a big BASKET of fish-heads >> for the DM to feed the sharks by a long stick, one fella came by, >> with a fishhook dangling from a line out of its mouth, and the >> hook accidentally caught the basket, and probably 100 lbs of fishheads >> in it and swam away. > >So much for your shark dive, eh? No, no. The shark divers/DM didn't put any hook in its mouth. >After reading below about ya'll >seeing the shark again, it's good to know that this critter has >apparently learned to adapt with his problem. Sounds like this was >definitely a stainless hook and leader too. Since the shark was now >'fishin' with a baited hook, wonder if he caught anything. :-) I didn't make the chronology clear. We saw the already PUBLISHED picture of the shark in SD right after our encounter. I am sorry to say I hadn't seen that fella ever again. So, the story did not have a happy ending as you surmised. But that certainly raised an interesting question for SPECULATION. :-) Q. Survival of the Fittest is in part based on the ability to ADAPT. Fish in the Pacific (after atomic bombs) were known to climb TREES and survive out of water! :-) Has there been any case known/documented that a fish with hook in mouth able to fish with it to survive? I suspect it's analogous to an amputee being able to type/paint and do all kinds of things with a stick in the mouth. They would much prefer to do it the "regular way". >> It's a rough world down thar! Much tougher than the simple life >> of just eat or be eaten. > >Yep, almost as rough as some of the back streets in Abalamma.... :-) Yup! With 'em wimmin folks with 8'-wide butts running around, that was why I got caught speeding at 105 mph in Abalamma (remember that time almost took a detour to see ya? :-)), just to get outta thar as fast as I could. I got caught by the bear instead, after I slammed on the brakes when the buzz-fuzzter sounded. :0( -- Bob.