Advertisement

Family on vacation reels in great white shark in Florida

A large shark swims in his new home at the St. Louis Aquarium in December 2019. A similarly-sized shark was caught earlier this week by a family on a fishing trip. File Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI
A large shark swims in his new home at the St. Louis Aquarium in December 2019. A similarly-sized shark was caught earlier this week by a family on a fishing trip. File Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI | License Photo

Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter

March 17 (UPI) -- A North Dakota family on a fishing trip in Florida reeled in a larger fish than they expected when they caught a great white shark.

While on a fishing trip in Fort Lauderdale this week, one of the members of the fishing party said that a big tug on his line alerted him that a larger-than-average fish had been hooked.

Advertisement

"All of a sudden. When it hit the one rod, it just hit it and it took off, so we knew it was something big," Shaun Jacobson told WSVN.

He said that after 40 minutes of pulling, he and two other men in the party were able to pull in the great white. "We were alternating turns left and right, probably, what, 20 to 30 cranks, and then the next guy was on," Jacobson said.

The men say they had hired Good Hit Sportsfishing hoping for an exciting time. But even the shop's captain said catching a great white is a rarity.

"I've been doing this for 20 years full-time as a captain," Capt. Adam Reckert told WSVN, "and that's the second one that I've landed. The last one was about 15 years ago."

Advertisement

The children on the boat named the big fish Cofax Crusher, one of the boys said.

After the family members captured some video and took pictures, the shark was tagged and released back into the ocean, which is standard protocol according to the fishing outfit.

"What do you think?" one of the fishing enthusiasts said on the video taken of the catch.

"Best day ever!" said a boy with the group.

Latest Headlines