It was a grey evening, the sun was dropping and there was a sniff of hurricane in the air. Sharks and whales were in blossom, however it was not these I was after, I knew the fish I wanted. His name was Ivan and he had evaded every beast that had attempted to see his demise, including man. He had not encountered ‘one hook’ dave. I sat with trusty ‘Rodney’ in my weather beaten hands and started my flawless routine of rod motion. Almost instantly there was action, it was ivan, the blisters on my hands knew straight away due to the searing pain. What ensued was a battle of wits that lasted for hours, even days. Id get a little line, he’d take a bit back, but I was making headway. Eventually I saw him, about fifty yards off the stern, he came out of a wave just as I was reeling and I caught his eye. Once he had seen the gleam in my eye it was over, he knew he couldn’t contend with the might of ‘one hook’. After another half an hour I had landed him, and the awe was still in his eyes, clearly saying, ‘Master Dave if I had to be caught I’m glad it was by you, you who we call ‘greatest white’ in the depths of the ocean’. What came next he was clearly not prepared for; he had obviously heard of my greatness but he had not heard of my infinite mercy. I said ‘Ivan you are a true sport and the only place you belong is in the depths of the ocean, master and commander of marine life’. With that I gently lowered him into the water and watched as he swam off in wonder. Almost instantly he flew twenty feet in the air and waved his fin at me. I sat for a long time and decided that I must retire from my career as ‘one hook’ and leave room for a new legend. The sun set in nuclear fashion, and the hurricane had diminished, the only signs of my battle with this four hundred pound fish was the rusty hook that had earned me my name.

Dave (‘one hook’)

27/11/83

19’38N 22’09W