Hooked on a lazy fishing trip off Cornwall, the 450lb shark
THEY were a group of pals out for a lazy day’s sea fishing after a boozy night out.
But it’s surprising how quickly you sober up and find your wits when a monster razor-toothed shark takes your bait.
The six anglers – who had hired a boat for the day – spent 25 frantic minutes struggling with the 450lb beast. They took turns to pull the 7ft shark in and brought it on board for a photo before returning it to the sea.
The huge porbeagle – a relative of the Great White – was caught off the Cornwall coast close to Morwenstow.
Angler John Hodgkins, 31, said: ‘Without a doubt this is the fish of a lifetime. Everybody has said how much of a monster it was.’
The porbeagle, which is critically endangered in the North Atlantic, typically reaches 8.25ft and an average weight of 298lb. Mr Hodg- kins added: ‘It’s the time of the year the females come to get rid of their pups. She would normally be out in the deep water but they come in for so many weeks of the year to get rid of their babies, then go back to the deep water.’
The fisherman was with friends Alex Steele, Toby Cross, Marcus Harper, Wayne Pitt and David Brooks.
He said she was so huge that the skipper Daniel Hawkins was reluctant at first to bring her on deck. He added: ‘We had a few beers the night before but that sure woke us up.’
The men, from Bristol, posed for a photo with the shark, which they named Lola.
The UK shark record stands at 507lb but for any fish to be officially recognised as the biggest, it must be killed and weighed on shore.