Huge Shark Almost Too Much For Fishermen's Boat

[mrmoshe]

Huge Shark Almost Too Much For Fishermen's Boat

DESTIN, Fla. -- They knew they were gonna need a bigger boat.

The crew of the Sea Ya Later II hooked a 1,063-pound mako shark in the Gulf of Mexico Wednesday. The 12-foot-6-inch shark was half the size of their 23-foot boat.

They called in The Mother Lode, a 45-foot charter boat, to help bring in the shark.

The fishermen harpooned the shark with flying gaffs, a large hook attached to rope used to pull in a fisherman's catch. The gaffs were tied the Sea Ya Later II, which was tilting and close to taking on water.

"If (the shark) hadn't been as tired as she was, this boat would be sitting on the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico," said Lindsey Stanley, the Sea Ya Later II's captain.

After the shark died, it took eight men to pull it aboard the charter boat and take it to Destin on the Florida Panhandle. The mako was too heavy for the first set of scales at Fisherman's Wharf.

"I'm investigating it as a world record," said Jim Roberson, who represents the Florida Panhandle for the International Game Fish Association.

The registered weight of 1,063 pounds makes the catch eligible for the world record in the 30-pound line class for a short-fin mako. The class record is a 997-pound, 11-ounce shark caught in Sydney, Australia, in 1995.

[dangles]

great story....sounds like a huge shark! ahaha would love to see a photo of it

pic of the shark

http://www.emeraldcoast.com/news/article_display.php?a=1011

[Burnsy]

Yep, Some mates and had an encouter with a Mako about that big in 5.9 meter Markem Whaler up at Port Stephens back in 1988. They are awesome beasts, especially when they swim past the boat lock their big evil black eye on to you and roll it back as they go past... I will never forget it.

[Guest Reely]

A story from last year or the year before in Nova Scotia, a 42 ft game boat hooked a Mako of the same if not more weight, it came to the boat within 10min or something like that, they gaffed it and when it finally realised it was hooked, and about to be taken aboard, it went nuts sommersaulting and cartwheeling across the ocean for an hour, pulling the 42ft boat backwards at 7knots before it drowned!!!!!!

I believe those guys were very lucky!

Port Stephens Game Fishing Club has some nice photos of Viking a 6m trailer boat with a 500kg odd Tiger on the back transom! Awesome photo, a 6m Seafarer this year got a 522kg Tiger also.

Edited May 18, 2007 by Reely