The speed of ocean fish is unlike anything swimming in freshwater. The razor sharp teeth of sharks and barracuda can slice through any fish with ease in a single motion. No tugging, pulling or tearing necessary. Sheer power and speed makes for devastating attacks.

For the fisherman tossing and working lures back to the boat, the explosive strikes of large predators that have grown and survived in an environment teeming with danger, is an ultimate thrill. If the fish is hooked there’s a solid arc in the fishing rod accompanied by the singing of line peeling off the spool as if tied to a rocket. A hefty reel with 25 pounds of drag offers little resistance.

On a recent outing on the flats a pair of North Dakota anglers came face to face with another unexpected saltwater predator – a crocodile. The lengthy reptile stealthily appeared on the surface a few yards from the boat. It had been hunting the same shoreline that the fishermen were casting.

“Look at this!” exclaimed Robert Miller, Garrison, from his location at the rear of the boat.

Kim Fundingsland/MDN With a large topwater lure firmly clenched in its teeth, a crocodile displays no fear of a nearby boat or the fishermen in it. The crocodile let go of the lure before leisurely swimming away. The crocodile was estimated to be at least 9 feet long.

Expecting the usual shadowy outline of a ray cruising across the bottom or perhaps a shark passing by, Mort Bank, Bismarck, was just finishing bringing his topwater lure back to the boat. As he made another cast he turned to see the reason for Miller’s alert. It was a crocodile, with part of its head and body and tail visible on top of the water.

The crocodile turned and its fearsome jaws pointed directly at Bank’s lure moving through the water. The crocodile quickly closed the distance to a few inches, opened its jaws and, with a loud snap, clamped down on the topwater lure. A standoff began. Now what?

Although he has extensive time on the water over several years of fishing in the Keys, it was the first time Bank had encountered a crocodile up close and certainly the first time he faced one at the end of his fishing line. Wondering how the episode would end came to a conclusion when the crocodile opened its jaws and released the lure amidst a swirl and splash and roll that turned the shallow water into a froth.

American saltwater crocodiles have been making a come-back in southern Florida and the Keys. Their population was very limited in the 1970’s but the big reptiles have been reestablishing in their historic range as their numbers increase. They are federally and state protected.

Miller and Bank had tangled with other saltwater predators the previous day – barracuda, blacktip and nurse sharks. Shortly after Miller released a small barracuda there was a huge swirl around the large bobber floating about 10 yards behind the boat that contained the two anglers. A second or two later the bobber plunged under the surface and the reel on the shark rod was buzzing as line was being pulled rapidly.

Kim Fundingsland/MDN Jack Cravalle hunt in schools and provide an exceptional tussle on hook and line. Here Mort Bank, Bismarck, displays a large Jack Cravalle caught on a topwater presentation.

A shark, all business, had grabbed a piece of barracuda meat suspended under the bobber and raced away at remarkle high speed. It took only a moment for Miller to remove the fishing rod from its holder as a shark made a spectacular leap out of the water about 100 yards distant. The circle hook had done its work and the battle was on.

Several times Miller brought the shark within sight on the boat, only to see the line again peel off the reel as the shark displayed its immense power. As five minutes turned to 10, then 20, then 30, the outcome was in doubt. Would it be fisherman or fish that would wear out first?

Finally, at the 55 minute mark, the shark turned on its side as Miller pulled it to the boat. As exhausted as the fish he had been fighting, Miller assisted as Bank used a long metal tool to remove the hook from the shark. Extreme caution was necessary. Blacktips have 15 rows of razor sharp teeth.

Once free from the hook, the shark laid in the water next to the boat for several minutes before swimming away. Measured by markings on the boat, it was a hefty seven footer. Muscular too, and considerably larger than the five-foot average blacktip. The largest blacktip on record is 9.2 feet long with a weight of 271 pounds.

Other highlites for the sun drenched anglers included catching four nurse sharks during a lunch break in the boat. Nurse sharks are considered to be one of the more docile sharks in the ocean, if there is such a thing, and don’t put up a fight that compares with sharks such as a blacktip.

On a much smaller scale, but never-the-less interesting, Miller had a small puffer fish that grabbed his lure as it approached the boat. Surprisingly, given its pound or two size, the puffer put a big bend in Miller’s fishing rod before throwing the hook. Puffers have a typical fish-like body that they “puff” up when danger is imminent. It is then they become much more like a softball with eyes and a tail and porcupine-type quills. They are also poisonous, capable of ejecting venom a thousand times stronger than strychnine.

So it goes in the ocean, where fishing is fun but there’s some risk involved too, be it from a small puffer to a shark or a crocodile. Caution is important but the rewards are great. There’s little to compare with the explosive action of a swirling snook, the rocket-like strikes of barracuda and their unpredictable and acrobatic jumps, the unmatched speed and leaping ability of monstrous tarpon, or the insane antics of sleek spinner sharks.

Back on land at the end of an eventful day on the water, a man walked past stopped to tell Miller the latest news of the day. A bull shark, a known man-eater that prowls the water around the Keys, had grabbed an unfortunate snorkeler just moments after he entered the water. The incident occurred further down the Keys that same day, resulting in life-threatening injuries requiring helicopter transport to a Miami hospital.

Even when surrounded by beautiful palm trees, perfectly agreeable weather, graceful birds floating on faint breezes, and some of the finest fishing on the planet, a fisherman should never become entirely complacent while on the water. Reminders, often no so subtle, can surface at any time.

There-in is one of the magnetic attractions to saltwater fishing, a lure that keep anglers returning time and time again.