If you're afraid of sharks, stay away from Bahia Marina on 21st street for the next few days. Mako Mania starts today and ends Sunday evening, with prizes likely to push $20,000 for the largest mako shark brought to shore.

I love being at the scales during fishing tournaments. As boats full of men, women and fish back up to the docks, the air fills with anticipation and the sounds of whispers as the sharks are hoisted to the scales. You can hear the crowd trying to guess the weight before the officials call it out.

Some observers will argue with friends. "It's over 500 pounds," one will say to the other.

"No way, it's not going past 300," the friend responds. As the shark rises up to the scale, people climb on their toes to try to get a better view. When the weight is announced, the crowd offers either a light clap or a rousing round of booing.

Mako Mania is one of the first tournaments to take over Ocean City, but it's not nearly the biggest. Two years ago, 43 boats participated. To compare it to the largest tournament in town, that's roughly 10 percent of the White Marlin Open participants.

The first mako shark of the season was caught just last week, so I'm not sure how the boats will do in this tournament. I'm looking forward to next weekend's Ocean City Shark Tournament, which usually has more boats with more experience. Last year, nearly twice as many people registered for the OC Shark Tournament, which is held at the Ocean City Fishing Center.

Makos are some of the wildest fighters in the ocean. Inexperienced captains are often afraid to bring one on board because they can suddenly come back to life hours after being brought in. Many will lash the shark to the side or back of the boat, and often they will shoot it first. Makos are notorious for surviving multiple gunshots to the head.

Both the OC Shark Tournament and Mako Mania have divisions for thresher sharks, which are stunningly beautiful creatures. They have tails that are usually as long as their bodies and they use them to knock out fish before eating them. Threshers have been seen trailing boats knocking baits around before they devour them. One year, a thresher was put up on the scales and then cut open, at which point a live baby shark came tumbling out of the mother's belly.

(For the conservation-minded folks sitting in on this blog, both tournaments have highly encouraged release divisions. Very few sharks that are hooked will be brought to the scales. As far as I know, the baby shark was returned to the ocean safe-and-sound.)

Go sit at Fish Tales and watch the sunset while the boats pull in with some monster sharks (hopefully). The weather is supposed to be gorgeous this weekend and I can't think of a better place to spend it than at a marina during a tournament.

I'm sure those of you who live The Beach Life (and even those who pretend to live The Beach Life on weekends) have seen some crazy stuff at tournaments. At the White Marlin Open, a tuna fell overboard as it was being lifted onto the scales a few years ago. It was a potential money-winner, so the captain hired a professional diver to scour the marina for the lost pelagic. Hours later, the diver surfaced with the fish.

What crazy stories do you have from being at the scales? No one can forget the frantic radio calls from a local legend who was hooked up to a blue marlin during the Open about four years ago. The scales were about to close on the last day of the tournament, and this guy was fishing by himself. He has his boat rigged with a special helm at the back of the boat, and he was trying to finish off this fish that was in excess of 500 pounds and make it to the marina in time to make the money. Tournament organizers agreed to stay open late, as he radioed in by 9 p.m., when the scales were supposed to close. I remember that around 11 p.m., he called in to say that he had broken off the fish and was returning empty-handed. It broke the hearts of the thousands who stayed late into the night waiting for the hero to return.