Andra Atteberry

Staff Writer n andraa@nwanews.com

A 7 1/2-foot bull shark made the James family's Christmas vacation even more exciting, according to Laura James of Bella Vista.

The family wanted to have a last big fling -- a last big family vacation -- because their son is graduating from high school this spring and their daughters are mostly on their own, explained mom Laura. They decided to go to Cancun during the Christmas holiday instead of having the traditional tree and buying presents.

While in Cancun, the guys, dad Andy James -- a Bankers Life and Casualty agent in Bella Vista -- and son Sam, 17, wanted to go on a deep-sea fishing trip. The trip was scheduled to last from six to eight hours. Mom and daughters Amy, 23, Chrissy, 19, and Megan, 21, were dreading it, but they were kind of forced into it, Laura said.

On the way out to fish, the girls were seasick because the ocean was rough, but things got better when everyone started catching fish.

They caught about 20 fish including barracuda, amberjacks, groupers and red snappers. One of the crew members then baited a hook with a whole blue fish instead of just a piece of fish. The blue bait fish is a cousin of tuna fish, according to Sam.

"The fish was still alive and still flapping," Laura said. "The crew member dropped the fish 365 feet straight down."

The crew member told Sam when he handed him the pole, "I think I got you a good one."

Just when Sam took the pole, the line flew out and made a loud whirring noise, just as in the movie "Jaws," Laura said.

"It feels a lot different than a barracuda," Sam exclaimed.

One of the crew members said, while holding his fingers about 2 inches apart, "Maybe you got a little shark."

Sam fought the shark for one and a half hours. After about the first hour, the shark was close enough to the top of the water that the family and crew could see it.

"Sam was reeling it in so he couldn't see it, but we could see it, and the water magnified it. We (the girls) ran to the top of the boat because it looked so big. We were afraid," Laura said.

Getting the shark onto the back platform of the boat took all three crew members. They used a big gaff to pull it to the platform. They had to hit the shark with a bat to stun it because they were afraid it would bite them. Finally they tied a 3-inch diameter rope to the tail fin and finished dragging the shark on the platform.

The crew told the James family that they had caught a bull shark. They said it was very rare to catch one. They added that it is even more aggressive than a great white shark. "It's a real man-eater," Laura added.

When Sam finally saw what he had caught, he said, "I'm taking this baby home."

He was disappointed after finding out that he had to leave the shark behind, but his mom explained why they could not bring it home. First, it was going to cost $2,000 to stuff and mount it. Then there was the cost of getting it home, and she also wondered what wall would be big enough to hold a fish that size.

The crew kept all the fish the James family caught, including the shark. They said they were going to give the shark meat to needy families in Cancun, Sam said.

Afterward, he learned that the crew probably sold the meat to restaurants in the area. It's a very rare and expensive meat, Sam was told, and the shark fin could be sold for a lot of money because it's highly prized as an aphrodisiac in Asian countries.

The crew made a lot of money on that fishing trip, plus they increased their reputation as fishing guides, Laura said.