I use to work for Verg's sport fishing in Morro Bay back in the 1980"s as an assistant to the fleet manager. One day I was standing in for a deck hand who was sick. The day provided opportunity to go out on a all day fishing trip. I was busy most of the time, getting bait for the customers, selling beer, untangling lines, and gaffing fish. One customer started hauling in a six hook ganyon that had six large red rock cod. For fear he would break the line, I asked him to leave the fish in the water and I would gaff them for him so he wouldn't loose any. After gaffing 4 of the six, he decided to real in the last 2. I was by his side with gaff at the ready when to our surprise we saw a large shark follow the rock cod up to the surface. At the very spot we pulled the fish out, the shark stuck his head out of the water as if he was begging for the fish. I slowly lowered the gaff hook under the lower jaw of the shark and with one quick precision pull hooked him real good. He was so large I could only lift about 2 feet of him out of the water. I yelled for the skipper to come see. The skipper poked his head over the wheel house wall and said "what are you going to do now?" I said "It's too big to bring on board with 35 guests so I'll let it go" Then with a quick shove the hook came out as fast as it went in and the shark drifted down into the darkness. Later as we reflected and calculated, it was decided to have been a 25 foot blue shark. The largest one any one in that area had ever heard of.  | 
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