So how do you feel about sharks?

[eclipse13]

I was out for a little bit of longboard fun at CB today and as I was getting in a fellow local paddled up and said he had seen 2 sharks earlier (maybe the same one twice). He said he was sure it wasn't a dolphin and was about 4 feet long, other than that he couldn't tell what kind. This didn't keep me out of the water, but about 30 minutes later another surfer yelled 'holy crap' as he stood up on a wave and said he saw it as he was standing up. I had been thinking about going in and decided that must have been my cue.

I try to remember that you are more likely to die in the car on the way to the beach than you are to die from a shark attack. Even most attacks aren't fatal. Its still always in the back of my mind.

So how do you guys convince yourselves to keep getting in?

[steamfed]

i just keep thinkin i'm the smallest dude in the lineup, no way a shark will try to eat me before anyone else

good call getting out though after a 2nd sighting. some people haven't been as lucky recently to get a 2nd chance like that

also i don't surf right at dusk or dawn. that's feeding time for them... so i try to avoid them and hopefully they'll return the favor?

[eclipse13]

I second the dawn/dusk thing. Last Christmas my brother and I caught quite a few small (less than 2 feet) sand sharks on KB and we threw all of the back with little harm done. We are hoping that it was enough good karma for a little while.

[Scarecrow]

I third the dusk/dawn thing. Other than that, I just try not to think about sharks.

[naked spearfisher]

about the dusk to dawn thing, does the dusk part mostly refer to 4 a.m. to 6 a.m.? because when one of our few good swells comes in i love to get out there around 6 30 but i hope i'm not making a mistake..?

[Scarecrow]

I like to wait until the sun's up in the sky a bit. Maybe 7:30 or 8:00 in the summer. As I mentioned in the bodyboarding forum, I think I saw a big shark in the water last August, just before Labor Day weekend, around 7:00 am. I took that as a sign to start coming to the beach later as the sunrise got later.

[tbing]

Ontop of the dusk/dawn surfing. If you see a shark, don't flail around like an idiot. That attracts attention. Looking like an injured fish is their main reason for attacking, that and murky waters. Unless you see a shark already circling around you, don't be hectic.

[C.a.LefevrePic]

man sharks are allways out there 24/7 they will not bother you just keep doing what you do and nothing will happen

[Swellinfo]

man sharks are allways out there 24/7 they will not bother you just keep doing what you do and nothing will happen

unless it does.

[steamfed]

i just got back from oz 2 weeks ago and their waters are way more notorious for sharks than ours. everyone just told me to be on land right at sunrise and sunset... otherwise, during the day, the breaks are filled with mostly fish, rays, dolphins, and an occasional turtle.

i had one of my best sessions at broken heads which is just north of ballina, nsw where that 16-year old kid died of blood loss from a bite to the thigh about a month ago. he was also surfing at 7am (fall season) at the mouth of a river