When we lived outside of Houston a few years back,I spent a lot of time wade fishing for Specs,reds,flounder,etc. On Saturday mornings you could normally find me out on the third sandbar,tossing mirrolures or Tony Acetta spoons till my arm got tired! My favorite spot was off the North Jetty in Galveston. We would catch the Bolivar Ferry well before sun-up,and after walking the rocks for awhile,get into the water in the flats and fish. It was there where I learned why the seasoned pluggers had loooooong stringers, which could be detached at a moments notice. That was because of the "GrayFin Express" (As the retired writer for the Chronicle,Joe Doggett,used to call sharks!). They weren't large,especially by Great White standards, and you didn't see them every trip,but 4 or 5 footers were the norm when they did decide they wanted to check out your stringer. It may sound strange,but we didn't worry about it too much. We were more worried about stepping on a ray,which shuffling your feet as you waded pretty well prevented.
Those were good times. It's sad,but a good fishing buddy,who had his share of shark encounters,ended up being killed by a drunk,wanted convict driver,who stole a van and ran a red light, "t-boning" my friends SUV,killing him instantly when his vehicle exploded,trapping him inside. The convict walked away from it. Go figure!