Sporting Classics

by Mike Rivkin

Presented by Bernard+Associates

The idea sounds insane, rather like diving the Marianas Trench with mask and flippers or hunting Siberian tigers with a squirt gun. Aficionados of the sport must be folks with histories of irrational behavior: former test pilots, say, or retired WWF champions. Putting aside for a moment the preposterous assumption that fish the size of trolley cars really can be battled into submission on wispy lines, what do you do with the damn things once they’re alongside the boat? Take a picture and hope they don’t respond by killing you and everyone you know? Put on a feed for the city of Cleveland? There are definitely some issues with the sport, but years ago it had its enthusiasts – and none were greater than Australian Alfred Dean.

Despite the white shark’s fearsome reputation as a man-eater, it’s in fact rather less impressive when hooked on sporting tackle. As a result, relatively few anglers have ever pursued the species with much vigor. For his part, Alf Dean did not take up big-game fishing until after WWII when he was already middle aged.

Dean’s father was a legendary Aussie bushman who studied and emulated the techniques of local Aborigines. Alf grew up hunting and fishing, even keeping a gun in his locker at school so he could shoot ducks and rabbits after class. Once, when nabbed by an understanding warden with a brace of out-of-season ducks, he was released after pleading that he’d only fired in self-defense after being attacked by the berserk waterfowl. Clearly, this was a young man bound for shark-fishing greatness. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Alfred Dean, Australia, Bernard+Associates, Mike Rivkin, Shark, Sporting Classics