The taxman always takes his cut.
Anglers that fish in areas populated with sharks know that they’re often entering into a “half off” fishing experience. What do I mean by that? Well, I definitely don’t mean that the bait is on sale. I’m actually referring to the fact that sharks often hang around fishing boats, and the sharp-toothed fish have a knack for snatching a way a portion – or all – of the fish just as the fishermen are reeling them in.
That seems like a terrifying thing to have in the back of your mind, especially if you are fishing from a kayak like the man in this video. If you’re going to brave the wide open water of the sea, don’t you think you’d be more comfortable in a larger, sturdier vessel? Not only would it be more practical and more comfortable, it would be… hmm, I don’t know, SAFER.
This angler apparently likes to live life – and do his fishing – on the edge. A video posted by the brave man was included on the Instagram account “F*** the Taxman” earlier this week, and it showed a Saudi fisherman named Abu Suleiman in a souped-up fishing kayak attempting to land something he had on the hook… which ended with an extremely close call.
You’ve likely heard of the phrase “the taxman.” Not only is it an actual term for people who take taxes out of our paychecks (and the name of one of my favorite Beatles songs), it also refers to sharks that linger around fishing boats, waiting to “take their cut” when a catch is being reeled in.
This angler dealt with a “taxman” as he hooked into a sizable fish, and unfortunately, all of his hard work didn’t pay off. Just as the guy was bringing the hooked fish up to the water’s surface, another creature fishing (the shark) rocketed through the water and jumped out of the sea with the fish in its mouth. And in the process of taking a bite out of the fish, the soaring shark almost accidentally took a bite out of the kayak and the man sitting atop it.
Take a look:
First off, I want to salute to the angler for his socks and Crocs look. Real shoe wearers know that there’s not a more comfortable footwear combination out there. That being said, I’d say it’s bold to wear socks with the Crocs while out on the water. That seems like the perfect place to just let the waterproof Crocs do their thing.
But clearly this guy likes to live life on the wild side.
Which brings me to my second point. Fishing from a small vessel that could easily be outranked by various sea creatures? That’s just not worth it to me. You couldn’t pay me any amount of money to get out on a kayak with no protection out in the middle of the ocean. But I guess more power to the people that can handle that kind of anxiety.
Many of the Instagram users that commented on the scary video were with me on this one, while also pointing out that the tax man successfully got their cut:
“That guy is pretty calm under the circumstances.”
“Got taxed like a champ.”
“He got audited.”
“Nah, put a line through any thought of kayak fishing.”
“Shouldn’t be fishing in a bath toy.”
To be fair the shark wasn’t all that big, but credit to this man for getting out there… can’t imagine there are a ton of kayak fisherman getting after it in the Middle East.
