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Jaws vs. the Sit on Top

When you think sit-on-top, mortal danger isn’t the first association that comes to mind. Yet in Malibu, Calif., a few brave paddlers seek battle with the ocean’s fiercest predator—sharks. Team Quint (in honor of Robert Shaw’s character in Jaws) is led by Jeff Krieger, who discovered the sport by mistake 10 years ago while fishing for white sea bass in an Ocean Kayak sit-on-top. A thresher shark jumped his bait and Krieger was psyched for the challenge, thinking: "Great, now to get my hook back and land it without losing any fingers or toes." Krieger won the bout after an arduous 45 minutes. His prize: An 80-pound shark and one heck of fish story.

Krieger now heads a group that includes Joe Shuetz, Chuck English, Mark Olsen, Scott Westgaard, Tom Bolger and Jamie Buff—all of whom were featured on a recent segment of Fox’s Inside Sportfishing. At 15, Buff is the youngest—and lightest. On his first outing, the 140-pounder managed to land a 100-pound thresher with relative ease. However, 15 minutes later a shark got the best of him, pulling him out of his kayak and submerging him, causing Buff to lose both rod and reel. When he surfaced, cursing his misfortune and pounding his kayak, Krieger had a few words for the soaked teenager: "Never underestimate the power of these sharks—unless you want to go from chump to chum in a few short seconds."

Krieger goes by the name Rhino because he’s always the first to charge in and land a shark and is also the designated "shark wrangler," the one who lifts the threshers up by their tails and wrestles them into the kayak when they’re ready to submit. (He encourages practicing "safe shark," having experienced an occasional lap dance without protective clothing, leaving him with a nice reminder rash.) The largest shark Rhino has landed was 10’ 10" and 220 pounds. His most enduring battle lasted three hours and involved "an exciting sleigh ride" with the big one. The 400-lb. thresher dragged him three miles out to sea before the 20-pound line broke, leaving plenty of time for heartbreak to sink in as he paddled listlessly back to shore. For the most part Team Quint’s mishaps have consisted of only minor cuts and abrasions—a far cry from the Jaws character’s grisly death. The biggest injury: a fishhook in the chin after two members got their lines crossed. Unfortunately, the entire painful episode was caught on tape for the Inside Fishing segment.

According to Sara Knies, marketing manager for Ocean Kayak, the brand’s sit-on-tops have quite a following for California extreme fishermen. "One fellow told me of getting towed eight miles in his kayak by a Marlin," she says.

But Rhino cautions paddlers who want to play Quint from a kayak. "All sharks are potentially dangerous, and should be treated carefully," he says. In other words, do not try this at home.

—Rick Cipes