I don't know the exact odds, but I think I have a much better chance being killed in an auto accident going to/coming from work everyday before I'd be killed by a shark fishing on a kayak off the beach. It's not for everybody, though, no doubt. One of the first times out there, I was accosted by a pod of Dolphin. 3 or 4 big ones and a couple of small ones got close to investigate me and the cigar minnows I was trolling. An 8-9 foot long mature dolphin swimming upside down 3 feet under the kayak waving at me with his front flipper was eerie and very cool all at the same time. You don't really understand how big those things are until you can reach out and touch them with your paddle.