WEBVTT - Ep. 62: Mercury Missile Trotline Tips 0:00:06.440 --> 0:00:08.039 Most of you have been following the case with the 0:00:08.039 --> 0:00:10.080 same figure as you did the O. J. Simpson trial. 0:00:10.240 --> 0:00:13.000 So congrats to all the subway fans out there. Take 0:00:13.000 --> 0:00:16.400 a hot shower, long, hot steamy shower, right, get out, 0:00:16.720 --> 0:00:19.239 don't try off, and put all your clothes back on 0:00:19.480 --> 0:00:21.680 and have your wife just scream at you. It's like 0:00:21.720 --> 0:00:25.640 everybody's grandfather. Like, went surfishing twice, hit a couple of 0:00:25.680 --> 0:00:29.440 trout openers, did some bass fishing. It's always like power 0:00:29.520 --> 0:00:32.640 bait here amid sinkers and the guts of some old 0:00:32.800 --> 0:00:35.600 spin reel. It was one of those karma moments where 0:00:35.720 --> 0:00:38.000 you were telling all the tree huggers to leave you alone, 0:00:38.200 --> 0:00:40.720 and I'm bleeding it. I'm telling you it was very painful. 0:00:43.320 --> 0:00:46.199 Good morning to generate Anglers, and welcome to Bent the 0:00:46.240 --> 0:00:48.879 Fishing Podcast from Iowa. It still believes if it can 0:00:48.960 --> 0:00:52.240 just get to Florida in mid January, it will find 0:00:52.280 --> 0:00:56.560 guaranteed warmth, happiness and pure fishing nirvana. I'm Joe Surmeli, 0:00:56.640 --> 0:01:00.280 and here to refute that belief, possibly along with many 0:01:00.280 --> 0:01:03.040 other beliefs about the state of Florida, is my guest 0:01:03.080 --> 0:01:07.040 co host Port St. Lucy's own Captain Zach Hammer Miller. Yeah, 0:01:07.080 --> 0:01:08.839 I mean sure, if you guys want to come down 0:01:08.840 --> 0:01:11.959 here and waiting endless lines of snowbirds trying to get 0:01:12.080 --> 0:01:14.880 lottery tickets while you're trying to be at the boat ramp. 0:01:14.920 --> 0:01:17.160 And you know, if you like tugging on little stuff 0:01:17.200 --> 0:01:19.440 all winter, that should be fine for all you Midwesterners 0:01:19.480 --> 0:01:22.160 out there. There you go, there you got. I gotta 0:01:22.200 --> 0:01:24.920 tell you, man, when Miles flew the coop, um, you've 0:01:24.959 --> 0:01:28.479 got quite a few nods from the Bent Legions as 0:01:28.480 --> 0:01:30.959 a replacement host. And I kind of knew you would. 0:01:31.000 --> 0:01:34.720 I figured you would, right, But yeah, but as much 0:01:34.760 --> 0:01:37.479 as I love you, I do recognize that non Hammer 0:01:37.520 --> 0:01:40.080 people can also find you like two abrasive. So like, 0:01:40.160 --> 0:01:45.240 do you consider yourself abrasive at us? Yes? Absolutely actually, 0:01:45.400 --> 0:01:47.240 But at first I really want to thank you for 0:01:47.280 --> 0:01:51.080 the opportunity to come here and it co hosts the 0:01:51.080 --> 0:01:52.800 show with you. This is like one of my bucket 0:01:52.840 --> 0:01:56.480 list things. And even though Miles flew the coop, you know, 0:01:57.040 --> 0:01:59.720 I appreciate you inviting me here, But like nobody wants 0:01:59.760 --> 0:02:01.920 to be the guy trying to replace the guy that's 0:02:01.920 --> 0:02:03.840 like trying to be the coach of the Patriots after 0:02:03.840 --> 0:02:07.040 Bill Pelichick leaves, like and I mean that guy not 0:02:07.440 --> 0:02:10.520 only that, like he went to a pan Terror show 0:02:10.639 --> 0:02:13.880 and survived in their prime and you're trying to bring 0:02:13.919 --> 0:02:18.240 me in and I gotta follow this like, thanks, buddy, 0:02:18.280 --> 0:02:21.639 I really appreciate it. He's talking about Miles at Pantera, 0:02:21.720 --> 0:02:24.360 by the way, not Bill Belichick. Just so we were 0:02:24.440 --> 0:02:28.280 clear on that. Um. So for those of you that 0:02:28.400 --> 0:02:30.440 don't know Zach right, he has been on this show 0:02:30.480 --> 0:02:33.120 several times. We go way back. We met many years 0:02:33.120 --> 0:02:36.239 ago while you were still heavily involved in the land 0:02:36.240 --> 0:02:39.920 based shark fishing scene in Florida. That's that's what I 0:02:39.960 --> 0:02:41.919 came down there to do, called a big old hammer head. 0:02:41.960 --> 0:02:44.600 And back then you were like the feet glued to 0:02:44.639 --> 0:02:47.320 the sand and peer guy. And like most surf fishermen 0:02:47.440 --> 0:02:50.760 I know myself included, right, they're all about that life 0:02:50.840 --> 0:02:53.799 until they buy a boat, which you did and became 0:02:53.840 --> 0:02:56.880 a captain. And so what do you run in these days? 0:02:56.919 --> 0:03:00.000 Like a nineteen seventy six Mckeykraft bower Rider or something 0:03:00.040 --> 0:03:01.920 like that. I wish I had that kind of coin. 0:03:02.000 --> 0:03:05.919 Those things are actually pretty expensive there on the aftermarket 0:03:05.919 --> 0:03:09.080 as collectors items. I saw one guy that was wanted 0:03:09.200 --> 0:03:12.560 like twenty grand for like a sixteen ft nineteen seventy 0:03:12.720 --> 0:03:15.679 Boston whaler, and I'm like, what are you doing with this? 0:03:15.800 --> 0:03:18.120 Like my trailer is worth more than this thing. But 0:03:18.320 --> 0:03:21.000 people pay for it somewhere. But I I we just 0:03:21.000 --> 0:03:23.080 did a whole dost boat series about it on a 0:03:23.160 --> 0:03:26.560 nineteen seventy six Mako. Did you really Yeah? Didn't? Did 0:03:26.600 --> 0:03:29.840 you miss all of that? The Insider Dutch? Thanks Bud, 0:03:30.360 --> 0:03:35.320 Thanks Bud. I wish we appreciate you. I love you, man. 0:03:35.440 --> 0:03:39.320 But I'm running I'm running up two pro line bay 0:03:39.360 --> 0:03:42.360 boat right now. It's a piece of ship. It's literally 0:03:42.720 --> 0:03:46.119 and figuratively a money pit. Literally, I just take money, 0:03:46.120 --> 0:03:47.720 a hundred dollar bills to just throw it out in 0:03:47.760 --> 0:03:49.840 the hole when I walk into my driveway every morning. 0:03:50.160 --> 0:03:53.560 And like, what's sad about it is it's so identical 0:03:53.640 --> 0:03:56.800 to a Pathfinder. They actually got sued by Pathfinder and 0:03:56.840 --> 0:03:58.800 they had to stop making them after two years. So 0:03:58.840 --> 0:04:02.800 I call it the poor fine but you know, like yeah, 0:04:02.920 --> 0:04:07.200 I mean we're we're the qualities lacking. It's easy to see. Yeah, okay, 0:04:07.280 --> 0:04:09.880 that's fair, so listen. So one of the things I 0:04:09.960 --> 0:04:12.600 enjoy about you, and you just sort of started to demonstrated, 0:04:13.040 --> 0:04:15.040 Um is that I know, I know you refuse to 0:04:15.120 --> 0:04:17.120 leave the state of Florida because of the fishing. The 0:04:17.160 --> 0:04:20.360 fishing keeps you there, but otherwise you seem to hate 0:04:20.440 --> 0:04:23.839 everything about the state of Florida, right, And I guess 0:04:23.839 --> 0:04:26.880 we I guess we can kind of call the loose 0:04:26.920 --> 0:04:29.320 theme of this episode like true Florida, Like you're gonna 0:04:29.360 --> 0:04:31.840 tell us about like the real Florida. Yeah, yeah, I 0:04:31.880 --> 0:04:33.600 mean what's left of it at least if you can 0:04:33.640 --> 0:04:36.760 even call anything that's whatever semblance of what I grew 0:04:36.880 --> 0:04:39.520 up here in my short time on this you know, 0:04:39.640 --> 0:04:43.359 spinning rock. But yeah, I mean, you are right, you 0:04:43.400 --> 0:04:46.760 are correct in your you know what you're saying there, 0:04:46.760 --> 0:04:48.960 Like I would not leave Florida because of the fishing, 0:04:49.000 --> 0:04:52.280 but everything else here is literally like living on hell 0:04:52.360 --> 0:04:56.880 on Earth. Okay, Well, furthermore, right, you've never really struck 0:04:56.920 --> 0:05:00.719 me as a people person per se, Right, But yet yeah, yet, 0:05:00.800 --> 0:05:03.360 now you're a guide for hire, So how does that 0:05:03.440 --> 0:05:05.160 play out? Like? I also think it is fair to 0:05:05.200 --> 0:05:07.680 point out that you're not a full time captain like 0:05:07.760 --> 0:05:09.920 you you do not rely solely on that to pay 0:05:09.960 --> 0:05:12.200 the bills. Thank you for pointing that out, because if 0:05:12.240 --> 0:05:14.360 it was my sole way of paying bills and be 0:05:14.520 --> 0:05:17.320 living in what's left of my poor finder under an 0:05:17.320 --> 0:05:21.440 overpat somewhere with my with my trim motor ruined on 0:05:21.520 --> 0:05:24.360 my engine right now, it puts a lot less stress 0:05:24.360 --> 0:05:26.440 when you actually have to repair these things, when you're 0:05:26.480 --> 0:05:29.480 paying your bills with it. You know, it's nice to 0:05:29.520 --> 0:05:31.880 walk out and like that's a nice boat in my drugway. 0:05:31.920 --> 0:05:33.680 One day I'm gonna get that old girl running again 0:05:33.720 --> 0:05:37.880 and running charters. So wait, so when you do have 0:05:37.960 --> 0:05:40.440 time to actually take a paying customer out right, this 0:05:40.480 --> 0:05:42.480 is what I want to know, sort of talk to 0:05:42.520 --> 0:05:44.479 me because I have not been out on your boat. 0:05:44.520 --> 0:05:46.039 I want people to know that we fished a lot 0:05:46.120 --> 0:05:48.240 of different ways on other boats and on the beach, 0:05:48.279 --> 0:05:50.800 but I've never been on your boat. So like, here's 0:05:50.839 --> 0:05:53.200 your chance. I want you to do like a like 0:05:53.000 --> 0:05:57.360 a like a little throw down phishing charters infomercial, Like 0:05:57.400 --> 0:06:00.120 what can the person like on the fence with that 0:06:00.200 --> 0:06:02.760 deposit money, just burning a hole in his or her 0:06:02.800 --> 0:06:07.680 pocket expect out of a throw down fishing charter. Well, essentially, 0:06:08.080 --> 0:06:10.919 it really depends on what season we're talking about. But 0:06:11.000 --> 0:06:13.000 let's just say it's summer just for the hell of it, 0:06:13.279 --> 0:06:15.400 because that's going to catch our biggest fish and the 0:06:15.440 --> 0:06:18.400 best fishing and flat oceans and blah blah blah postcard. 0:06:19.040 --> 0:06:23.480 But if you're really out here wondering what it's like, 0:06:23.680 --> 0:06:27.240 imagine coming down here, like you just left Minnesota. You're like, 0:06:27.320 --> 0:06:29.520 I'm going to catch king fish and sailfish and goliath 0:06:29.520 --> 0:06:32.800 grouper with Captain Zach and July in South Florida. You 0:06:32.920 --> 0:06:36.320 come down here and the only way I could describe 0:06:36.640 --> 0:06:40.600 it so you are prepared for it besides my absolute 0:06:40.640 --> 0:06:43.440 misery on the boat because you're probably not listening to 0:06:43.520 --> 0:06:45.440 what I'm telling you to do to catch the fish. 0:06:45.760 --> 0:06:48.440 Such a great endorsement for your it listn't. This is 0:06:48.480 --> 0:06:51.320 all about being real here man, stronger than all. And 0:06:52.240 --> 0:06:53.839 if you want to know what it's like and you 0:06:53.920 --> 0:06:56.080 just want to prepare yourself for coming here in July 0:06:56.160 --> 0:06:59.279 to fish with me, just go into shower. Take a 0:06:59.320 --> 0:07:02.760 hot shower, a long, hot, steamy shower. Right get out, 0:07:03.080 --> 0:07:05.600 don't try off and put all your clothes back on 0:07:05.800 --> 0:07:08.679 and have your wife just scream at you, because that's 0:07:09.680 --> 0:07:12.080 essentially what this is gonna be like but with a 0:07:12.120 --> 0:07:15.280 lot more fish hopefully as long as you listen. Oh man, 0:07:15.640 --> 0:07:18.560 that's that, and I believe that that is that. It's 0:07:18.600 --> 0:07:21.840 about as pinpoint accurate as you. Yeah, there's no tea top, 0:07:21.840 --> 0:07:26.000 there's no shade. You are probably going to die. Just 0:07:26.400 --> 0:07:29.320 make sure you leave your card number on file. So 0:07:30.320 --> 0:07:33.720 sor right so you you might be running a very hot, 0:07:33.760 --> 0:07:37.600 steamy sled now. But as we've already established, you did 0:07:37.640 --> 0:07:40.120 grow up in the surf and and pier scene, in 0:07:40.120 --> 0:07:43.880 particular in Florida, which was quite a unique deal, like 0:07:43.920 --> 0:07:46.320 a lot of pure culture right back in the day. 0:07:46.480 --> 0:07:49.440 And I know that's changed a bunch, which we're going 0:07:49.480 --> 0:07:52.360 to touch on in this week's Smooth Move, which we're 0:07:52.400 --> 0:07:55.280 actually recording together right where. We're teaming up for our 0:07:55.280 --> 0:07:58.120 smooth Move this week, and joining us is your good 0:07:58.160 --> 0:08:02.200 buddy Brendan Winters, who's got a cringe worthy story from 0:08:02.280 --> 0:08:13.560 your old peer days. Why so joining us today for 0:08:13.600 --> 0:08:16.480 Smooth Moves. First, I should say Zach is joining us 0:08:16.480 --> 0:08:18.720 for Smooth Moves. I am not solo. My guest co 0:08:18.800 --> 0:08:22.920 host is here with me. Check in, check your micsn Hey, 0:08:22.360 --> 0:08:25.400 are you still here? You're still here in this episode. 0:08:25.960 --> 0:08:28.320 And this is cool because we're actually we're sitting here 0:08:28.320 --> 0:08:31.320 with with Brendan Winters, who is a friend old friend 0:08:31.360 --> 0:08:35.160 of yours, former roommate. But we originally had the idea, 0:08:35.520 --> 0:08:38.080 Zach had the idea of having you on originally because 0:08:38.120 --> 0:08:40.600 you are a service manager to local marina and we figured, 0:08:40.640 --> 0:08:43.600 you know, smooth Moves is all about industry guys, any 0:08:43.720 --> 0:08:45.840 any part of the fishing industry, like if there's if 0:08:45.840 --> 0:08:48.400 there's stories to tell, we want to hear him. But 0:08:48.440 --> 0:08:50.480 then he told me that you're actually one of his 0:08:50.520 --> 0:08:53.200 old peer buddies. Like you guys grew up fishing the 0:08:53.240 --> 0:08:56.679 pier scene together before it sort of got got messed 0:08:56.760 --> 0:08:59.880 up and weird. According to Zact like what changed. Lots 0:08:59.880 --> 0:09:04.640 of things, man closing during nighttime, um, you know, shark 0:09:04.679 --> 0:09:07.920 fishing off the piers started getting you know regulated, people 0:09:07.960 --> 0:09:11.280 were starting to uh, you know, call the cops. It 0:09:11.360 --> 0:09:12.720 was a big deal. I mean, not even that. All 0:09:12.760 --> 0:09:15.600 the way down to finding parking was an absolute joke. 0:09:15.720 --> 0:09:18.120 I mean it was ridiculous. Every where we went, didn't 0:09:18.120 --> 0:09:21.800 matter where. Yeah, and it got really bad there because 0:09:21.880 --> 0:09:23.920 like you know, our parents would just drop us off 0:09:23.960 --> 0:09:25.480 on the pier for two or three days at a 0:09:25.559 --> 0:09:27.720 time and just say like say sorry about your luck. 0:09:27.760 --> 0:09:31.440 Figure it out, and like oh yeah, they're yeah twenty, 0:09:31.480 --> 0:09:34.320 I got ten. It was three f nentry. So like 0:09:34.360 --> 0:09:36.719 you're hustling trying to sell fish to like go get 0:09:36.720 --> 0:09:39.760 a Tony's microwave pizza at the seven eleven once every 0:09:39.760 --> 0:09:46.559 two days. And saviki riggs were like four dollars a pack. 0:09:46.600 --> 0:09:48.679 If you lost a saviki, you were done, Like you 0:09:48.800 --> 0:09:51.160 better be good with a snatch hook on the chum bag. 0:09:51.240 --> 0:09:54.760 But other than no doubt. Yeah, And like we would 0:09:54.760 --> 0:09:57.840 sit there and it was out of control because like 0:09:57.840 --> 0:09:59.880 our parents like, oh, they're fishing on a pier that's 0:10:00.000 --> 0:10:02.360 only four hours next to nine bars, how bad could 0:10:02.400 --> 0:10:04.480 it be? And like all the guys who were like 0:10:04.520 --> 0:10:07.040 thirty years older than us, we're sleeping under tarps with 0:10:07.120 --> 0:10:09.920 them and they're blowing pills and stuff under the tarps 0:10:09.920 --> 0:10:13.240 and like like oh, yeah, no, this is just normal. 0:10:13.320 --> 0:10:15.600 You know what could go wrong? But and then they 0:10:15.600 --> 0:10:17.800 started calling the cops because they're like, you can't have 0:10:17.880 --> 0:10:20.360 fifteen year old kids sleeping on a pier for three days, 0:10:20.360 --> 0:10:23.200 like a bunch of homeless people. Come on, man, So 0:10:23.280 --> 0:10:25.040 you guys basically caught the end of like the what 0:10:25.280 --> 0:10:27.240 would be the wild West days of the piers scene 0:10:27.280 --> 0:10:29.760 down there. Yeah. No, we were the last like true 0:10:29.920 --> 0:10:32.960 group going through there before like social media and all 0:10:33.040 --> 0:10:36.439 the regulations and stuff. But like when it started getting 0:10:36.440 --> 0:10:39.360 out into the public and people started seeing and like 0:10:39.440 --> 0:10:42.560 videotaping everything in pictures like, it all kind of dived 0:10:42.880 --> 0:10:46.120 shortly after. But like the wild West of that was 0:10:46.240 --> 0:10:48.920 like the wild West, like there was some there was 0:10:48.960 --> 0:10:50.920 worse stuff going on in some of those piers than 0:10:50.960 --> 0:10:53.520 the bars. Yeah. Yeah, so you sort of tipped me 0:10:53.559 --> 0:10:55.600 off to the story we're gonna hear. I don't know 0:10:55.640 --> 0:10:59.040 all of it by request, but I said, we're gonna 0:10:59.080 --> 0:11:01.400 go to the boat maintenance customer service route maybe. But 0:11:01.440 --> 0:11:03.960 then then then I heard about this an old school 0:11:04.000 --> 0:11:06.120 pier story, and I'm like, this is the one that 0:11:06.200 --> 0:11:10.120 Brendan needs to tell. So I'm gonna give you the floor, man, 0:11:10.200 --> 0:11:11.960 I mean, you guys were there. I'm just sort of 0:11:11.960 --> 0:11:14.200 the bystander in this one. So so lay it on me. 0:11:14.320 --> 0:11:17.680 What happened? Well, so basically we have been fishing on 0:11:17.679 --> 0:11:20.920 the pier like usual. Probably I think it was a 0:11:20.960 --> 0:11:23.120 Saturday that it actually happened. We had been there since 0:11:23.160 --> 0:11:27.240 Friday night, and um, you know, the day had been slow. 0:11:27.679 --> 0:11:30.560 You know, we usually plan our days around catching benita, 0:11:30.920 --> 0:11:32.880 you know, king fish, barracout or whatever we've used for 0:11:32.920 --> 0:11:35.880 shark bait. Right, was just a slow day, you know. 0:11:37.000 --> 0:11:39.600 And um, I want to say, one of our buddies 0:11:39.600 --> 0:11:41.840 hooked a sting ray and I mean it took him 0:11:41.880 --> 0:11:43.560 all over the place, ended up walking it down to 0:11:43.600 --> 0:11:46.840 the shoreline. You know, a crowd gathered, you know, a 0:11:46.840 --> 0:11:49.320 bunch of tree huggers. You know, just don't kill it. 0:11:49.480 --> 0:11:53.960 Don't do this. You know, everyone's telling us, you know, 0:11:54.120 --> 0:11:56.040 you got it, you should do this, you should do that. 0:11:56.200 --> 0:11:59.080 We're like, I don't know, We're not listening to this anyway, 0:11:59.640 --> 0:12:02.360 you know, so we we end up, you know, lowering down. 0:12:02.480 --> 0:12:05.400 You know, the three hooks of death, the trouble hook, 0:12:05.640 --> 0:12:09.640 all right, and the gaff if you will stuck him 0:12:09.679 --> 0:12:12.920 on the first try, you know, get him up on 0:12:12.960 --> 0:12:17.320 the pier as everyone scream, you know, like bloody murder. 0:12:17.360 --> 0:12:20.920 We were killing an angel, you know, and uh, by 0:12:20.920 --> 0:12:23.000 the time it gets on the dock, you know, it's 0:12:23.000 --> 0:12:26.880 a it's a bloody mess. Without even cutting it up. Like, 0:12:26.880 --> 0:12:29.120 how big of a stingray? Are we talking three or 0:12:29.160 --> 0:12:32.640 four feet in circumference? I mean, it wasn't it wasn't huge. 0:12:33.160 --> 0:12:39.000 Fifty pounds maybe just rubber, like a couple of good baits, 0:12:39.160 --> 0:12:41.720 you know. Yeah, we had three. Yeah, we had three 0:12:41.760 --> 0:12:44.160 dollars and we needed shark baits to survive another night. 0:12:44.200 --> 0:12:46.360 Like you get off our back, lady, and I want 0:12:46.400 --> 0:12:48.720 to stay up until that moment. We were moments away 0:12:48.720 --> 0:12:52.040 about going to um one of the charters, you know, 0:12:52.080 --> 0:12:53.680 to ask them if they had caught any be needed 0:12:53.720 --> 0:12:58.320 on the way backs, you know, the trips and stuff. Yeah, 0:12:58.360 --> 0:13:00.640 we were. We were not spending an other night there 0:13:00.679 --> 0:13:03.400 without having anything to toss off the pier and wait 0:13:03.400 --> 0:13:06.000 for a spritter to pick up, you know. So our 0:13:06.000 --> 0:13:08.160 plans were made the moment we saw what it was. 0:13:08.400 --> 0:13:11.120 You know, we didn't care who said what or anybody 0:13:11.360 --> 0:13:14.439 just nobody could have told us any differently. We were 0:13:14.440 --> 0:13:16.360 doing what we were doing and there was nothing about it. 0:13:17.240 --> 0:13:19.320 So we get it on the dock and then you know, 0:13:19.440 --> 0:13:22.720 there's slowly becomes a crowd around us on the pier 0:13:22.800 --> 0:13:25.400 as well, and you know, because they allow observers to 0:13:25.400 --> 0:13:28.800 go on the pier and I guess you know, there 0:13:28.880 --> 0:13:30.959 was plenty of tree huggers on the pier as well, 0:13:31.720 --> 0:13:34.760 and you know, they kind of huddle around us, and 0:13:34.840 --> 0:13:36.480 you know, they're like, oh, this is terrible. You could 0:13:36.520 --> 0:13:38.920 hear everybody whispering like I can't believe they're gonna do this. 0:13:38.920 --> 0:13:42.640 This is terrible, poor Stingray. And just to clarify for 0:13:42.679 --> 0:13:45.439 the people, just to clarify, totally legal, right, you know, 0:13:45.559 --> 0:13:51.640 there was nothing yeah, yeah, yeah, right now, it's just 0:13:51.720 --> 0:13:55.680 feelings were getting hurt. But anyway, you know, so we 0:13:55.760 --> 0:13:57.840 get it up there, there starts to become a crowd. 0:13:58.080 --> 0:14:02.280 You know. Um, I want to say Jordan's ended up 0:14:02.320 --> 0:14:09.640 cutting the Stingray tail off. Unfortunately, wasn't you We were 0:14:09.679 --> 0:14:11.760 all huddled together. I mean we were we were working 0:14:11.760 --> 0:14:13.400 this thing. We're trying to make this in and out 0:14:13.480 --> 0:14:15.600 quick and easy, get it to the tea, you know, 0:14:16.040 --> 0:14:18.760 start cutting it up, getting it ready for you know, 0:14:18.880 --> 0:14:22.440 a late night snack, and uh, you know, and then 0:14:22.480 --> 0:14:24.200 all of a sudden, you know, we started clearing the 0:14:24.200 --> 0:14:26.600 way to drag it up to the front of the pier, 0:14:27.280 --> 0:14:29.640 and I was like, you know what, let me get 0:14:29.760 --> 0:14:32.280 let me do you know, a little clean up here. 0:14:32.360 --> 0:14:36.160 Let me get this thing, ray barb the stingers, the pier. 0:14:37.080 --> 0:14:39.280 So I kicked it once and it kind of rolled. 0:14:40.040 --> 0:14:41.920 It was it was a It was a muff field goal. 0:14:42.000 --> 0:14:44.480 I mean, it was not good, and I was disappointed 0:14:44.480 --> 0:14:46.920 and I felt like I could have done better. I mean, 0:14:46.920 --> 0:14:52.080 I was wearing shoes that so unbelievably ironically had a 0:14:52.120 --> 0:14:56.400 hole in my right big toe, and when I kicked 0:14:56.400 --> 0:14:59.920 it the second time, it was like a hole in one. 0:15:00.440 --> 0:15:04.120 It went right through my big toe and into my foot. 0:15:04.240 --> 0:15:08.440 Its splinted my big toe through my shoe. Now I'm screaming. 0:15:08.800 --> 0:15:10.840 The second it happens. Is I knew I screwed up. 0:15:10.880 --> 0:15:13.680 The moment I kicked it, I knew I was like 0:15:14.760 --> 0:15:17.760 game over that guys, my night is done. I Am 0:15:17.800 --> 0:15:20.680 not sticking around for shark fishing. I gotta go to 0:15:20.840 --> 0:15:25.240 the hospital. I gotta go somewhere. And I'm screaming, and 0:15:25.280 --> 0:15:27.880 I'm begging Jordans, one of our buddies that was there, 0:15:28.760 --> 0:15:31.000 to pull it out. I'm like, Jordan, you gotta pull 0:15:31.000 --> 0:15:33.000 it out of my foot, Please, please pull it out 0:15:33.000 --> 0:15:35.160 of my foot, because it was stuck in there. The 0:15:35.240 --> 0:15:37.480 whole tale was hanging off the front of the It 0:15:38.360 --> 0:15:40.640 was gruesome, and they they thought I was kidding because 0:15:40.680 --> 0:15:42.720 I I joked around. I kid, I was always looking 0:15:42.760 --> 0:15:46.320 for the laugh. And and our buddy Chris Crow, he 0:15:46.680 --> 0:15:48.920 was dying laughing like he was on the floor, couldn't 0:15:48.960 --> 0:15:51.520 stop laughing. He thought it was the most hilarious thing ever. 0:15:52.160 --> 0:15:54.520 Jordan's ends up putting his two hands on it and 0:15:54.560 --> 0:15:56.040 tries to pull it, and he goes, dude, I can't 0:15:56.080 --> 0:15:58.320 do it. I don't know, I can't do it. So 0:15:58.600 --> 0:16:00.720 if you're familiar with the way of right tail and 0:16:00.760 --> 0:16:04.400 a barber come down as a the tail is one piece, 0:16:04.440 --> 0:16:07.040 the barbs the other. Yeah, and it was cut above 0:16:07.120 --> 0:16:08.920 that area. So what I did was I stuck my 0:16:09.080 --> 0:16:11.680 right hand in between the stinger and the barb, and 0:16:11.760 --> 0:16:14.840 as I pulled out, it shredded. All of my flesh 0:16:14.920 --> 0:16:18.200 coming out and all there was with a circular hole 0:16:18.680 --> 0:16:20.360 left in my foot. And as soon as I pulled 0:16:20.360 --> 0:16:24.600 it out, blood went everywhere, and the smiled and laughs 0:16:24.680 --> 0:16:28.640 from Chris disappeared. Everyone was like, oh my god, I 0:16:28.680 --> 0:16:31.280 cannot believe this just happened. And it was one of 0:16:31.280 --> 0:16:33.960 those karma moments where you were telling all the tree 0:16:34.040 --> 0:16:36.520 huggers to leave you alone. And you know, after that, 0:16:36.560 --> 0:16:39.280 I'm bleeding it and I'm telling you it was very painful. 0:16:39.440 --> 0:16:41.360 They didn't have any alo vera for you or anything. 0:16:42.120 --> 0:16:44.920 I'll get to how we solve that issue. Um. You know, 0:16:45.000 --> 0:16:48.160 some of the people that were Stingray advocates for the day, 0:16:48.840 --> 0:16:51.760 they were definitely like, oh, you got what you deserve, 0:16:51.800 --> 0:16:54.040 blah blah blah blah blah. And I'm bleeding all over 0:16:54.080 --> 0:16:57.520 the place. I finally get my shoe off and they 0:16:57.600 --> 0:17:00.120 carried me down to the front of the pier and 0:17:00.160 --> 0:17:03.520 I got to sit behind the countertop there and I 0:17:03.600 --> 0:17:06.399 want to say, uh, Zach correct me for wrong. But 0:17:06.520 --> 0:17:09.880 wasn't um Paul working that day? Toothless Paul? I don't 0:17:09.920 --> 0:17:15.480 remember remember all this, Yeah gummy Paul we called actually yeah, 0:17:15.560 --> 0:17:20.040 gummy Paul and uh when he had the whole tale 0:17:20.359 --> 0:17:22.600 sticking out of his shoe, running around out of his 0:17:22.680 --> 0:17:27.320 case Swiss, I was dragging, Yeah, I was dragging the 0:17:27.359 --> 0:17:30.119 carcass of the sting right with the gaff through the face, 0:17:30.400 --> 0:17:32.600 up to the front of the pier. And I turned 0:17:32.600 --> 0:17:35.080 around and saw the commotion and screaming, and I saw 0:17:35.119 --> 0:17:37.720 it just flopping around like a dogtail and like, what's 0:17:37.720 --> 0:17:39.840 going on here? And then next thing you know, there's 0:17:39.840 --> 0:17:43.240 just blood everywhere and screams and people are cheering. And 0:17:43.280 --> 0:17:46.520 it wasn't It wasn't a good moment. It was it was. 0:17:46.640 --> 0:17:49.639 It was painful on on a lot of levels, but 0:17:49.800 --> 0:17:54.960 mostly physical. Emotionally, I was I was preoccupied. But so 0:17:55.040 --> 0:17:56.680 I get to the I get to the front. They 0:17:56.680 --> 0:17:58.560 put me behind the counter and they kept putting my 0:17:58.760 --> 0:18:01.800 foot in bleach and hot water. And then if I 0:18:01.840 --> 0:18:04.880 took my my foot out of there, it was killing me. 0:18:05.280 --> 0:18:07.320 But if I put my foot in there, it hurt, 0:18:07.400 --> 0:18:10.520 but it wasn't that bad. So then they call my parents. 0:18:10.840 --> 0:18:13.720 They call an ambulance. An ambulance comes, hauls me away. 0:18:13.800 --> 0:18:15.639 My mom goes for the ride. We get to the 0:18:15.760 --> 0:18:19.760 emergency room. They rolled me in and they're doing X 0:18:19.840 --> 0:18:22.240 rays on my foot. They noticed that there is a 0:18:23.240 --> 0:18:26.040 speck of something in my foot still, and they're like 0:18:26.560 --> 0:18:29.000 we gotta do surgery and and he's got to be 0:18:29.000 --> 0:18:31.840 awake for it, blah blah blah blah blah, and and 0:18:31.880 --> 0:18:34.760 they're like shooting the needles into numb my foot, in 0:18:34.800 --> 0:18:37.199 my big toe, and they're like you're gonna feel some 0:18:37.280 --> 0:18:40.520 pressure blah blah blah, and I felt anything but pressure. 0:18:40.560 --> 0:18:44.119 I felt them cutting my foot open and removing the 0:18:44.119 --> 0:18:47.840 piece not gently, by the way, and then proceeding to 0:18:48.040 --> 0:18:51.680 pour iodine all over this open wound and scrubbing it 0:18:52.040 --> 0:18:55.040 because they had to make sure in section did not happen. 0:18:55.520 --> 0:18:58.280 And I literally was screaming. They gave me a towel 0:18:58.320 --> 0:19:01.200 to bite on. I mean it was I'm telling you, 0:19:01.840 --> 0:19:04.480 that was probably one of the worst things I could 0:19:04.480 --> 0:19:07.199 say that's ever happened. And I mean I stepped on 0:19:07.240 --> 0:19:08.959 a gas and it went through my foot and that 0:19:09.040 --> 0:19:11.520 wasn't even nearly as bad as this. I mean, this 0:19:11.680 --> 0:19:15.239 was next level bad. I will say this, I'm not 0:19:15.440 --> 0:19:17.440 scared of them when I catch them accidentally, because I 0:19:17.440 --> 0:19:19.840 feel like you can be careful and not have this happen. 0:19:20.440 --> 0:19:24.080 But I am like waiting in Texas or Florida, like 0:19:24.160 --> 0:19:27.240 I am wigged out by it. I like, I am 0:19:27.320 --> 0:19:29.400 so scared of that barb dude, and I know how 0:19:29.480 --> 0:19:31.679 far they can drive it in I hate to bring 0:19:31.800 --> 0:19:33.800 him up. Like Jeremy Wade did the thing about it once, 0:19:33.840 --> 0:19:36.359 but they did an experiment, and like they did it 0:19:36.400 --> 0:19:38.920 in slow with a slow mo camera, like dude. They'll 0:19:39.000 --> 0:19:41.200 drive that whole thing into a piece of beef from 0:19:41.240 --> 0:19:44.040 like tip to the end in a split second. We 0:19:44.080 --> 0:19:46.360 don't realize how far it'll go. It's not like you're 0:19:46.359 --> 0:19:49.320 just stepping on a thorn like they actually put motion 0:19:49.359 --> 0:19:52.240 into it and drive that thing. You've got circular barbs 0:19:52.240 --> 0:19:54.520 all the way around it, so when you pull on it, 0:19:54.520 --> 0:19:57.320 it's sticking like this. It goes in one way and 0:19:57.400 --> 0:19:59.040 don't want to come out. So when I pulled it, 0:19:59.080 --> 0:20:01.919 I ripped all of my flesh. It went into my 0:20:01.960 --> 0:20:06.879 foot four inches four inches into my foot. That's gnarly. 0:20:07.040 --> 0:20:09.640 That's gnarly, dude. My only question is are you still 0:20:09.680 --> 0:20:11.480 doing the case Swiss or if you like, move to 0:20:11.520 --> 0:20:14.200 steel toes since no, I I've I've moved on. I 0:20:14.240 --> 0:20:18.040