South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Updated: 3:57 p.m. Thursday, June 17, 2010

Posted: 8:49 a.m. Thursday, June 17, 2010

Talk about the big one that got away.

Ryan Danoff was fishing with two friends about four miles off Hollywood beach Sunday when he spied what appeared to be a mast on the horizon.

Funny thing: There was no boat underneath it.

Danoff, a Fort Lauderdale fish farmer who's on the water at least three days a week, aimed his 31-foot center console Fishy Business at the mysterious upright and found himself eye to eye with a periscope.

"It was crazy," he said. "If it was just myself out there I wouldn't believe what I saw."

Danoff moved closer. "It took off," he said. Very fast, about 20 knots. The periscope sank beneath the waves, and whatever was below the surface blew its ballast, sending aloft a mighty hiccup of bubbles. After five minutes the sea lay once again undisturbed.

Danoff, 30, reported the episode to the Coast Guard. They said they'd get back to him, but never did.

Coast Guard Petty Officer Barry Bena said Danoff's information went to the proper authorities. "As of right now, they're still looking into it," he said.

So could it have been a Navy sub taking a peek at the beach? "It's kind of uncommon," Bena said. "But it's a definite possibility."