One of the best things a parent can do in the modern era is pry the iPad out of their kid’s hands and force them outside. We need more kids who aren’t terrified of a little dirt, or exploring the great outdoors. One Florida dad definitely gets an A+ for effort in that department, though he might have accidentally traumatized his daughter in the process.
While hanging out near the water at the famous Robbie’s Marina in Islamorada, the family spotted some massive tarpon lurking near the surface. If you’re not familiar with tarpon, they’re one of the most popular game fish in Florida. These massive fish are renowned for their explosive acrobatics and sheer power. Found primarily in the warm coastal waters of the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean Sea, they can grow up to eight feet long and weigh nearly 300 pounds.
With unique, armor-like silver scales and an elongated dorsal fin ray, they are a highly prized catch for sport fishermen due to their violent, high-flying jumps when hooked. However, their meat is notoriously bony and poor-tasting, making them an almost exclusively catch-and-release species.
But why charter a boat when you can just hang your arm off the dock?
The dad handed his daughter a small bait fish and encouraged her to crouch down and hand-feed one of these absolute units. Understandably, the little girl was nervous—especially after spotting a shark cruising nearby. After her dad reassured her that the shark wasn’t going to jump out and get her, she bravely dangled the bait over the water.
Well, the shark wasn’t the problem.
In a flash, a massive tarpon launched out of the water, completely inhaling the bait fish and swallowing the poor girl’s arm all the way up to her elbow. Thankfully, tarpon don’t have jagged teeth—they just have a rough, sandpaper-like grip (think of it like lipping a giant largemouth bass).
If you’ve never been to Robbie’s Marina, this is exactly the kind of chaotic wildlife encounter you pay for.
Check out the crazy footage:
Hand-Feeding With Hot Dogs
While the little girl gets a pass for not knowing what she was getting into, grown adults should probably know better. Every local pond or marina has a massive wooden sign that reads “DON’T FEED THE FISH.” This video is the exact reason those signs exist.
A woman is hanging off the edge of a dock, slapping the surface of the water with a hot dog to get a fish’s attention. She confidently looks at the camera and drops the most dangerous phrase in the English language:
“Watch this…”
Nothing could have prepared her for what happened next. A giant tarpon aggressively leaped from the depths, bypassing the hot dog entirely and basically swallowing her entire hand. If that fish had held on for a fraction of a second longer, she would have been pulled headfirst into the drink.
Should you be feeding fish hot dogs? Eh, probably not. But was it a really cool video? Sure was.
