Grand Rapids-Beach goers warily returned to the waters of Pokegama Lake Tuesday after the second shark attack in three days. Tourism officials are hoping the maulings won't scare away visitors away during the Dog Days season in August.

Most vacationers were aware of the shark attacks that left a 16-year-old boy with his left testicle nearly severed and killed a 14-year-old girl near the Tioga beach. Few went into the water Tuesday and most were paying extra attention as they waded in knee-deep waters.

"We swam every year near Captain Hooks or Bridgeside or whatever they are calling it this summer, and never have been afraid of sharks like we are now," said a resident of a local trailer park, who was in the water with her 3-year-old daughter, and a cigarette hanging out of her mouth, "we're beach lovers. We can't stay away. We're just a lot more cautious now. We also love cigarettes. We can't stay away from them either."

Bill Naswaulk, a 16-year-old resident of LaPrairie, was fishing in waist deep water near the Pokegama Golf Course, last week when a shark grabbed him in the scrotum, nearly severing the sack.

The attack was witnessed by a golfer chipping onto the 18th green. He rushed into the water and bludgeoned the shark with his pitching wedge. "Within 5 seconds it was obvious something was wrong," the man said. "We heard the word 'shark' and then saw the red water and the tug-of-war between the boy and the shark over his left testicle. Another guy jumped in and put the shark in a head-lock, then I smashed it with my wedge in the eyes. That's when he dropped the nut."

The boy was rushed to the Itasca Medical Center, where his testicle remains in critical condition. Doctors are using leeches to attempt to reestablish blood flow to the injured ball. The procedure is not without its risks. "If the testicle is so smashed and mangled, we may get the blood flowing only to have the boy bleed to death," the boy's doctor said.

Shark attacks are rare, especially in Pokegama Lake, but shark attacks increase in the summer because the animals come closer to shore to search for food. For comparison, Florida averaged more than 30 attacks a year from 2000 to 2003, but had only 12 last year, said George Burgess, curator of the International Shark Attack File at the University of Florida in Gainesville. He attributed the drop to the four hurricanes that hit Florida last year, keeping residents and visitors away from beaches.

Police Chief Martin Brody and deputies Quint and Hooper set out to hunt down the shark over the weekend. As they were leaving King's Landing, Hooper commented on the shark, "Out there is a perfect engine, an eating machine that is a miracle of evolution-it swims, and eats and makes little baby sharks, that's all." After a day of searching, Brody told reporters "we're going to need a bigger boat." Members of the Itasca County Sheriff's Dive Team are also assisting with the search, by serving as bait.