Imagine finding yourself alone in the open water surrounded by 10 sharks. That was the scary situation for one Southwest Florida man Wednesday who got stuck near a sandbar without a boat in sight.
WFTX in Fort Myers spoke with the young man after he was pulled to safety by rescue crews.
Steve Moon, 24, was on a normal mission to lure red fish using cut bait near Burnt Store Marina. Instead, he was nearly left as the bait, stranded and surrounded by sharks.
"It wasn't a big deal until I counted 10, and they kept getting closer and more aggressive, getting within a foot of me," Moon said.
For an hour and a half, Moon used his fishing rod to fend off sharks as they closed in on him.
Out of options and out of signal, Moon decided to use the emergency button on his iPhone to call for help. Moon says Boca Grande Fire Rescue crews were dispatched to him within 10 minutes.
"It's definitely going to be an interesting story. I can't say I've ever been rescued by Coast Guard before. I can't say I've seen that many sharks. It was pretty wild," Moon said.