A group of North Carolina anglers recently had the fight of a lifetime when they hooked a giant great white shark while surf fishing near Hatteras Island Sunday.
“It gives me kind of chills, even thinking about it, it was unbelievable,” Jason Rosenfeld of Buxton told 3WTKR News.
Luke Beard, also from Buxton, set the hook when the massive shark grabbed his bait. He explained in a Facebook post that he fought the shark for around 35 minutes, and then landed it with help from Rosenfeld and others. He said he and Rosenfeld have chasing big sharks from the beach together for around four years.
“It just felt different. It was super heavy, very, very heavy,” Beard said. “I’m still on cloud nine, I probably will be for the rest of my life.”
The anglers released the shark after landing it. As a federally protected species, it is illegal for anglers to keep a great white, but regulations allow rod-and-reel anglers to catch and release great whites “as long as they release the shark immediately without removing the shark from the water and without further harming the shark.”
Video of the shark’s release shows seven people working together to heave it back through the crashing waves. After the shark swims off, the men all holler as they pump fists in the air and splash around in the surf.
“The biggest priority is keeping the fish safe and getting a good release on all fish that we catch,” Beard told reporters.
Although no official measurements were taken, there is no doubt the shark was a big one. Rosenfeld estimated the shark to be between 12 and 13 feet and more than 1,400 pounds.
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Great white sharks are the largest predatory fish in the ocean and can grow to 20 feet long. While the average male measures 11-13 feet, females can be much longer, according to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. It isn’t uncommon for great whites to swim near the North Carolina coastline, particularly during the winter and early spring. Although they generally stay well offshore, they will occasionally swim in close to the beach, according to North Carolina Sea Grant.
“I was about in tears after we released that fish,” Beard said. “You never know if you’re ever going to be able to do that in your lifetime.”
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