Tag: Taxman

Angler’s cap ‘says it all’ after shark swoops in on epic catch

Ryan Selvey was fighting what he described as a personal-best giant trevally when the tax collector came calling.

A fisherman based in Queensland, Australia, this week shared an image showing him posing with the head of a giant trevally after its body was cleanly severed by a shark during the fight.

“The hat says it all,” Ryan Selvy bemoaned via Instagram. “What would have been a [personal best] GT.”

The letters on the cap read, “Tax sucks.” (Click here to view Selvey’s post.)

For anglers around the world, a shark that steals hooked fish is referred to as the taxman, or tax collector.

Giant trevally are found throughout the Indian and central Pacific oceans, eastward to Hawaii, where they’re called ulua.

They’re prized mostly for their fighting ability and Selvey said the GT claimed by the shark would have been the largest he had caught (though well short of the world-record, 160-pound, 7-ounce giant trevally caught off Japan in 2006).

Selvey did not provide an estimated weight for the GT, but told FTW Outdoors that he was wearing the cap when the taxman came calling.

“One of my favorite hats,” he said.

Angler hooks ‘taxman’ but then a much larger shark comes calling

An angler in Mozambique was fighting a trevally when a large shark ate the trevally, only to find itself about to become prey.

A fishing-themed Instagram page on Sunday posted a “viral alert” image showing an angler posing with the head of a large shark and asked followers: “What did this?”

A little research reveals that the image was captured off Mozambique, in southeast Africa, in 2022.

Back then the charter company Fish Bazaruto  described the chain of events, via Instagram, that explains the image: “On a recent session we hooked into a Yellowspotted Trevally that was taken by this shark, which was eventually taxed by an even bigger one.”

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A shark is often referred to as the taxman, or tax collector, if it devours all or part of a hooked game fish.

There was speculation in the comments, including by Fish Bazaruto, that the larger shark, which was not seen, was either a bull shark or tiger shark.

‘Forest landlord’ halts produce truck to collect highway tax

Social-media followers chime in after photo emerges showing a large elephant claiming its share of goods from a transport vehicle.

In July we published a story that referenced a massive shark bite on a giant hooked tuna as collection by the “taxman.”

Since then we’ve mentioned other instances involving sharks being referred to by frustrated anglers, jokingly, as tax collectors.

Apparently, that label can also apply to elephants.

On Monday, a member of the Indian Forest Service shared the accompanying image showing a large female elephant using her towering frame and trunk to poach produce from a truck.

“Tax Deduction at Source,” Parveen Kaswan joked via X.

One follower described the truck’s contents as sugarcane.

“And no paperwork necessary!” another person remarked, before adding: “She’s way cuter than bureaucrats!”

Another follower referred to the incident as “forceful tax deduction,” while another described the collection as “a forest tax for the landlord.”

Still another referred to the elephant as a “sneaky thief.”

Kaswan did not credit the photographer or state when and where the amusing episode played out.

‘Taxman’ claims share but wants more as anglers land swordfish

Footage shows anglers posing with a partially consumed swordfish as the still-hungry mako shark circles the boat.

Anglers out of San Diego boated a large swordfish recently, but not before an equally large mako shark claimed part of the catch.

“The taxman took his share, but Pacifica Sportfishing managed most of a swordfish on the first day of their trip,” Seaforth Landing explained via Instagram.

The image shows five anglers posing with a swordfish whose lower body had been shredded by the shark as the swordfish was being reeled to the boat.

A swipe-through features video footage showing the mako shark swimming near the boat as one passenger remarks, “He’s wondering where his meal went.”

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Swordfish catches by recreational anglers are rare off Southern California, but it’s not rare for sharks to go after any large fish that’s struggling at the end of a fishing line.

Sharks that claim part or all of a hooked game fish are commonly referred to as tax collectors or, singularly, the taxman.

‘Taxman’ comes calling after angler in Mexico hooks giant tuna

The yellowfin tuna was hooked at Mexico’s Guadalupe Island, which is seasonal home to great white sharks.

A fishing-themed social media site on Saturday shared a “throwback” image showing an angler posing with the head of a large yellowfin tuna.

BDOutdoors’ Instagram description was somewhat predictable: “Paying his dues to the local taxman,” followed by a shark emoji.

The image was captured at Mexico’s Guadalupe Island before the designated biosphere reserve was ordered closed to sportfishing and commercial shark diving.

The taxman, undoubtedly, was a great white shark.

Guadalupe Island, 160 miles west of Ensenada, is seasonal home to dozens of great white sharks.

When long-range sportfishing vessels from San Diego were allowed to fish at Guadalupe, tuna were routinely snatched from hooks before they could be reeled to the boats.

The term “taxman,” however, is used around the world in reference to fish-stealing sharks.