Catch of a lifetime: Fishermen reel in Great white shark in Outer Banks
A team of men reeled in a great white shark off the coast of North Carolina on March 15. They said it took them about 35 minutes to reel in the 12- to 13-foot shark but less than 90 seconds to release it.
A team of fishermen reeled in a great white shark off the coast of North Carolina on March 15. They said it took them about 35 minutes to reel in the 12- to 13-foot shark but less than 90 seconds to release it.
In an extraordinary tale sure to hook any fishing enthusiast, seasoned anglers Luke Beard and Jason Rosenfeld netted a lifetime achievement on the shores of Hatteras Island, North Carolina on March 15 when the men encountered a massive great white shark.
“I’ve been dreaming about this,” Beard told WRAL News. “For like two years, we had told everybody we were going to do it so we did it finally.”
Beard and Rosenfeld faced the heart-stopping moment that was captured in a now-viral video. The footage shows the two men, along with five others, wrestling the enormous predator in shallow waters after reeling it in and then immediately working to safely release it back into the ocean.
(Photo credit: Sean Luke and the Sea/Facebook)
Beard estimated the shark to be between 12 to 13 feet long and weighing up to 1,800 pounds—a breathtaking catch for the duo, who have previously reeled in large game like stingrays.
Great white sharks, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), can grow up to 21 feet and weigh as much as 4,500 pounds. With the appropriate permits, recreational fishermen like Beard and Rosenfeld are allowed to fish for these giants, provided they release them immediately and minimize harm.
“No matter what shark you’re catching, if it’s an animal and you’re not going to kill and eat it, respect the fish. Get it back swimming as fast as possible, no matter what it is," Beard told local media.
(Photo credit: Dan Rothermel/Luke Beard via Storyful)
Minimizing harm is what the men are all about, Beard said on Facebook after criticism from some people for catching the shark. The emphasis placed on shark conservation is interesting, he commented, because other fish species often do not receive the same level of attention amid the broader issue of overfishing and unsustainable practices by large corporations, which significantly impact marine ecosystems. "...We have to clean up our sharks from trash and nobody cares!!!!!! We save them all the time from trash wrapped around them."
The self-described fishing nerds aren't don't mess around when it comes to fishing and said they've worked for years to achieve the catch they caught with a rod they custom built specifically to catch a shark. “It’s not something for everybody to do,” Rosenfeld told WRAL. “I know it sounds cool and it is really cool but this has taken the culmination of my entire life and his entire life. We didn’t just willy-nilly jump into it with grandpa’s Penn Senator. We spent the time, the effort, the money.”
The encounter was not without peril. Beard sustained a painful reminder of the shark's power when its rough skin, lined with dermal denticles, grazed his thigh, leaving him with a scar. "They’re like microscopic teeth down their whole body," Beard said "One little kick and that big animal just shreds your leg into hamburger meat."
For Beard and Rosenfeld, the wound is a badge of honor. The fisherman shared an image of the large red rash on his thigh to Facebook followers on Tuesday saying, "3 and 1/2 days late, White shark rash. It sucks, but it’s totally worth it,” Beard wrote, adding “I’m still on cloud nine. I probably will be for the rest of my life. It gives me kind of chills even thinking about it. It was unbelievable.”
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