I have never encountered Sharks before, nor wish to….and I know this subject is quite popular…What To Do If Shark Appears.
The best advise possible (I Think) would come from people who actually dive with Sharks around while hunting…..So I contacted Mr. Rob Allen himself, who was kind enough to elaborate on this issue from his own personal experience …… And here is what he had to say:….THESE ARE Rob Allen's WORDS
Re sharks, we see them nearly every dive. If you don't see them then there won't be much game fish around, they seem to follow the fish. I have had some close shaves with them, sometimes when the fish are thick there can be 10 to 15 sharks with in sight. You have to make sure of the shot and pull the fish in quick, even while still on the same dive. If you let the fish run it most probably will be eaten. I have had a few fish eaten in front of me in seconds by 5 to 10 sharks. If the fish is not shot dead it attracts them fast. If you shoot the fish dead and pull it in they won't come in to eat most times.
The best is to show them aggression, they are too stupid to understand that even if they are bigger than you they still back off, even a great white will back off if you go for him. The bad thing is, the distance between you and them which will make them turn when you approach is proportional to their size. The smaller they are the sooner they back off, they will not let you near them. But with big sharks you have to get much closer to them before they back off. The very big ones can be scary because you almost have to touch them before they back off. This is scary when swimming at a great white. The last thing you want to do with a shark is suddenly turn and swim away. They are very similar to dogs and will get aggressive with you.
If you walk into a strangers yard and a dog starts barking at you, if you try to run away the chances are it will bite you. If you stand your ground it most probably will not. Sometimes when diving with beginners they get scared and let the sharks eat their fish. This makes them brave and will get more brazen and come in more aggressively. You have to show them dominance otherwise they will take your fish.
Sometimes if I see no fish and no sharks I just shoot off the gun and look around, it often pulls in a shark. They learn the sound of a gun quick and come in to see what is happening even if there is no fish or blood.
On Aliwal shoal near us the scuba divers put bait in the water to get the tigers and other sharks close so they can put divers onto them. The tigers have got so used to it that they now come to every boat to see if there is anything to eat if you stop in a specific area. It is quite an adrenalin rush when you jump off the boat and the bubbles clear and there are 3 4 to 5m tigers waiting for you to feed them. It takes a while for them to leave and you can start diving.
I also used to be very scared of sharks in the beginning as I fished commercially here and lost a lot of fish to big sharks. I thought anyone getting in the water with sharks must be crazy. I then joined the Natal Sharks Board who are the guys who hang nets off all our swimming beaches to try prevent shark attacks by catching them in big gill nets. I saw even more sharks then and felt even more strongly against getting in the water with them.
One day a friend who had a boat talked me into going for a dive, I thought if he can do it then so can I. On my very first dive I swam into a great white. This scared the hell out of me as the next day I caught it in the shark nets nearby and recognized it as the same shark. The line between the white belly and the blue grey sides was unusual. Next to it in the same net was a very big tiger shark which came in to eat it. I did not dive for a while and then the wife bitched about all the spear fishing gear I had bought so I went back.... slowly.
That was nearly 30 years ago, since then I have never seen a white while in the water. Strange thing is though that I have often had one around just after or just before I got in. The other divers with me had seen them. In the Cape it is now unusual to not see one on a dive in certain places. I don't like diving there but more because of the cold water.
My partner Jeremy and I, have been diving a combined 60 years plus now and has never used a power head on a shark. I have had to push them off a few times but that is a rarity. The shark that worries me is not the one I see but the one I don't see. If you are down on the bottom, just finished a dive, been down maybe a little longer than you should have and leave the bottom in a hurry... This is where I think you are most venerable. the shark could have just come on the scene, seen you and suddenly you take off.... you must be scared of him. To him you must therefore be prey. I have had a few big Zambezi sharks chase up off the bottom after me due to just this, not pleasant, especially when you are out of air and now you have to stop and turn on the shark. the moment you do he turns also. I therefore always keep a watch below me when coming off the bottom.
The best advise possible (I Think) would come from people who actually dive with Sharks around while hunting…..So I contacted Mr. Rob Allen himself, who was kind enough to elaborate on this issue from his own personal experience …… And here is what he had to say:….THESE ARE Rob Allen's WORDS
Re sharks, we see them nearly every dive. If you don't see them then there won't be much game fish around, they seem to follow the fish. I have had some close shaves with them, sometimes when the fish are thick there can be 10 to 15 sharks with in sight. You have to make sure of the shot and pull the fish in quick, even while still on the same dive. If you let the fish run it most probably will be eaten. I have had a few fish eaten in front of me in seconds by 5 to 10 sharks. If the fish is not shot dead it attracts them fast. If you shoot the fish dead and pull it in they won't come in to eat most times.
The best is to show them aggression, they are too stupid to understand that even if they are bigger than you they still back off, even a great white will back off if you go for him. The bad thing is, the distance between you and them which will make them turn when you approach is proportional to their size. The smaller they are the sooner they back off, they will not let you near them. But with big sharks you have to get much closer to them before they back off. The very big ones can be scary because you almost have to touch them before they back off. This is scary when swimming at a great white. The last thing you want to do with a shark is suddenly turn and swim away. They are very similar to dogs and will get aggressive with you.
If you walk into a strangers yard and a dog starts barking at you, if you try to run away the chances are it will bite you. If you stand your ground it most probably will not. Sometimes when diving with beginners they get scared and let the sharks eat their fish. This makes them brave and will get more brazen and come in more aggressively. You have to show them dominance otherwise they will take your fish.
Sometimes if I see no fish and no sharks I just shoot off the gun and look around, it often pulls in a shark. They learn the sound of a gun quick and come in to see what is happening even if there is no fish or blood.
On Aliwal shoal near us the scuba divers put bait in the water to get the tigers and other sharks close so they can put divers onto them. The tigers have got so used to it that they now come to every boat to see if there is anything to eat if you stop in a specific area. It is quite an adrenalin rush when you jump off the boat and the bubbles clear and there are 3 4 to 5m tigers waiting for you to feed them. It takes a while for them to leave and you can start diving.
I also used to be very scared of sharks in the beginning as I fished commercially here and lost a lot of fish to big sharks. I thought anyone getting in the water with sharks must be crazy. I then joined the Natal Sharks Board who are the guys who hang nets off all our swimming beaches to try prevent shark attacks by catching them in big gill nets. I saw even more sharks then and felt even more strongly against getting in the water with them.
One day a friend who had a boat talked me into going for a dive, I thought if he can do it then so can I. On my very first dive I swam into a great white. This scared the hell out of me as the next day I caught it in the shark nets nearby and recognized it as the same shark. The line between the white belly and the blue grey sides was unusual. Next to it in the same net was a very big tiger shark which came in to eat it. I did not dive for a while and then the wife bitched about all the spear fishing gear I had bought so I went back.... slowly.
That was nearly 30 years ago, since then I have never seen a white while in the water. Strange thing is though that I have often had one around just after or just before I got in. The other divers with me had seen them. In the Cape it is now unusual to not see one on a dive in certain places. I don't like diving there but more because of the cold water.
My partner Jeremy and I, have been diving a combined 60 years plus now and has never used a power head on a shark. I have had to push them off a few times but that is a rarity. The shark that worries me is not the one I see but the one I don't see. If you are down on the bottom, just finished a dive, been down maybe a little longer than you should have and leave the bottom in a hurry... This is where I think you are most venerable. the shark could have just come on the scene, seen you and suddenly you take off.... you must be scared of him. To him you must therefore be prey. I have had a few big Zambezi sharks chase up off the bottom after me due to just this, not pleasant, especially when you are out of air and now you have to stop and turn on the shark. the moment you do he turns also. I therefore always keep a watch below me when coming off the bottom.
