Dramatic video: Fishermen catch 16-foot shark
Two fishermen in Hilton Head, S.C., managed to hook two Great White Sharks - including one 16-footer - within just 10 minutes of each other.
Two fishermen in Hilton Head, S.C., managed to hook two Great White Sharks — including one 16-footer — within just 10 minutes during a fishing trip earlier this week.
“I couldn’t believe it, it was like the two sharks were traveling close to each other,” Captain Chip Michalove told Hilton Head’s Island Packet. “I’ve hooked multiple [sharks] in one day before, but they’re usually hours apart.”
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Michalove, who owns and operates the Outcast Sport Fishing charter company, and who also works alongside the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy in Massachusetts, was out fishing with his friend Patrick on Monday afternoon when they hooked the first of the day’s big catches.
“I couldn't tell if it was a male or female, but it took the bait right by the port side motor and looked to be about 9-10 feet long,” Michalove wrote on Facebook. “Perfect size for the two of us.”
Unfortunately, despite a 15-minute “battle,” Michalove said the shark spit out the hook. But he and Patrick wouldn’t have to wait long for their next bite.
“In less than 10 [minutes],” Michalove said a bigger great white shark — one measuring 16 feet — had snagged the line. In fact, the fish was so big that Michalove and Patrick radioed a nearby fisherman friend and his daughter for help, Island Packet reported.
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“She was so big, my skeleton crew had to call for help,” Michalove told the outlet.
The four were eventually able to pull the Great White alongside the boat, at which point the shark stopped resisting. Michalove then tagged the shark’s fin and released her back into the ocean.
“What I've noticed is, the less stressed they are, the more likely they are to stay in the location they're caught,” said Michalove on Facebook.
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Scientists with the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy have since estimated the shark to be around 3,000 pounds, which was easily “the biggest” Michalove has tagged this season. But he’s not just doing it for bragging rights, though — the captain’s work helps the conservancy to monitor the migratory patterns of the species.