Outdoors Column | Proof that anglers have limited effect on what happens under the sea

As anglers we’re always concerned about fish spooking off when our lines are in the water. Did another boat get too close? Did losing that big one shut down the bite? Was that group of divers swimming under the boat sending fish away? Or do fish not care about any of that?

A few months ago I dropped down a live bait for grouper, and up came about a 6-foot nurse shark. Not wanting to stress the shark with removing the hook, I cut it close and sent it on it’s way. After a minute of re-rigging, I sent anther bait back down and thought I hooked into a nice fish. Looking down, it was another nurse shark! I was quite upset.

I went to repeat the process with the hook cutting, and in the corner of the mouth was my previous hook. It was the same shark! I was in awe at the moment, slightly upset yet slightly amazed.

Angler Ed Mills recently went offshore with Allen Kaiser and Dave Khoury when he had a similar awesome moment. They headed out to around 60 feet of water in the Gulf, fishing some rock piles that provided good action.

“Dave and I were fishing the bottom and Allen got his dive gear on to spearfish on the bottom,” said Mills. “Everything starts coming over the rail, and in no time we’ve got half a dozen various keepers on ice. The Gulf threw the kitchen sink at us.”

The fish were biting even with Kaiser swimming on the bottom below the boat. Shortly after, Khoury hooked into something a little bigger that caught him off guard.

“Dave felt that familiar thump of a nice red grouper. The fish caught him off guard, heads into the rocks and she gone,” recalled Mills.

Grouper are known to head to rocks and wedge themselves in, not allowing anglers to bring them up. Often this leads to line and heart breaks.

“Shortly after Allen pops up behind the boat with a couple grouper in hand. As he swims towards the boat I yell jokingly, ‘Either of those fish have lines hanging out their mouths?’ To my surprise, Allen starts nodding yes!”

As his fish flopped into the boat both anglers saw the line and knew it was the lost fish! Kaiser also said there were a lot of fish on the spot, including hogfish with one he just barely missed a spearfish shot on.

Kaiser began removing his dive gear in the boat while Mills and Khoury kept fishing. Then Khoury hooked up once again.

“The fish is familiar and strong, it’s a beauty of a hogfish!” Mills said excitedly. “Onto the deck and we finally get a clean look. Well if that isn’t the nick on it’s head from Allen’s missed shot! They officially traded fish. Sometimes the fishing gods throw you a nod.”

Despite being shot at only minutes earlier, the hogfish went right back to eating in spite of its freshly nicked head. It makes you wonder how much we really affect what goes on below the surface.