DON’T GO IN THE WATER!
Fishermen catch 1,200-lb, 12-foot shark off beach
FISHERMAN Blaine Kenny’s scariest moment wasn’t when he realized he’d hooked a toothed, 1,200-pound great white shark — it was when he thought the monster was going to get away!
“That was terrifying,” says the Florida fishing expert. “I was gonna be heartbroken.”
While the 12-foot catch was bigger than expected, Kenny and business partner Dylan Wier, who run a fishing tour company specializing in sharks, were after gigantic man-eaters when they launched their baits off Navarre Beach, about 25 miles from Pensacola, using a drone so they could see out in the ocean.
Filming their quest, the anglers baited hooks with the heads of a 150-pound swordfish and 80-pound yellowfin tuna hoping to attract the “biggest sharks possible,” and at 8 a.m. Jan. 31, there was a sharp tug on the line and “he just jumped,” says Kenny.
Sighting the monster, an excited Wier exclaims: “There’s only a few things it can be, a mako, a giant tiger, a white shark,” and finally he identifies the huge creature as “a big, big wintertime shark.”
Strapped into a harness on the beach and holding a heavy rod, Kenny began reeling him in.
For an exhausting hour, Kenny took in line, then the toothy flesheater pulled it all back — and more.
“He’s not letting me take anything,” a frustrated Kenny says at one point.
Finally, the shark is too exhausted to fight and Kenny reels him to shore.
“That’s a white shark!” Wier screams.
Exclaims Kenny, “Oh my gosh, bro.”
Wier adds, “Yeah, that’s a monster.”
A thrilled and tired Kenny then takes out the hook and frees the critter back into the surf, saying: “Truly, truly words cannot describe the feeling of this fish right here.”