Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
QUITE A CATCH
OJR sophomore snags 7-foot sand tiger shark
BEACH HAVEN, N.J. >> When Owen J. Roberts High School rising sophomore Aiden Hunsberger tells a fish story, it tends to have sharp teeth.
It’s not uncommon to catch sand tiger sharks off the beach on Long Beach Island, N.J. After all, that’s the shark’s habitat.
But when video of Aiden’s June 30 catch at Beach Haven hit the Internet, his catch became big news to more than just the hundreds of people his mom Karyn said crowded the beach as he hauled in his catch.
“I caught one last year on the beach that was 8 feet,” said Aiden, 14, who lives in East Coventry when he’s not at his family’s house on Long Beach Island.
“When I first caught it, I figured it was either a shark or a
sting ray,” he said by phone Wednesday. “It took about an hour to work it in to the beach”
A practiced pro with rod and reel, Aiden said he has been fishing “all my life. My family is really into it.”
In fact this isn’t even Aiden’s first brush with fishing fame.
In 2016, one of his catches was featured in The Press of Atlantic City when
he caught a 30-inch, eightpound flounder in Great Bay at the age of 11.
Coincidentally, that news was also published over the July 4th holiday weekend.
As for this fish story, once the shark was snagged, and photos and videos taken, the young expert has the hook removed and the shark was back in the water.
“It was maybe 40 seconds in the wash,” he said.
Spending summers at the beach means Aiden’s friends back at school don’t always understand his fish talk.
“I caught one last year on the beach that was eight feet.” — Aiden Hunsberger, East Coventry fisherman
“But I have lots of friends here who all go fishing with me,” he said.
In fact, when The Mercury first tried to reach him Wednesday, he was unavailable because, his mother said with a laugh, “he’s out fishing.”