One man from Florida caught an 11-foot-shark weighing 805 pounds that may just break the world record for land-based shark fishing for makos.
Last Tuesday night in Joey Polk of Milton, Florida wrestled with the monster mako shark and at times used almost 900 yards of fishing line from his reel.
'She was pulling line out of my reel at easily 60 miles and hour. We call that 'smokin' the drag' round here,' said Polk.
SFGate reports that to celebrate his catch, Polk decided to barbecue the shark and serve it to his friends when he was unable to revive the fish.
'We tried to revive the fish and send him back out, but he was too worn out to swim,' the 29-year-old Joey Polk said.
'That's why we decided to keep him. We don't do it for the money, for the publicity, just to catch the fish,' he told The New York Daily News.
'It was really good,' Joey Polk told the Daily News on Monday.
'It's not real fishy. It does not have a real gamy, fishy taste.'
The accomplishment is recognized by the International Land-Based Shark Fishing Association as the largest mako catch ever, he said.
The mako shark is the fastest of all sharks and can swim at 60 miles per hour and this was no ordinary mako.
'When I saw it, I knew it was a big fish. I've been fishing since I was a little kid, but I thought it was maybe 700 pounds or so, then when we weighed it, it came in at 805! It was amazing,' said Polk.
Apparently catching huge fish runs in the family as the the former record belongs to Joey's cousin Earnie Polk who caught a 674 pound mako in 2009.
Polk caught the mako off the Florida Panhandle with the help of two cousins, Earnie being one of them.
The fish was so big that it wouldn't even fit into the back of Polk's truck.
This is not the largest catch for Polk who caught a 949 pound tiger shark in 2010.
SFGate reports that Polk is a third generation shark fisherman who takes his daughters aged 7 and 9 out fishing.
He has a baby son who is only 3 weeks old and he plans on teaching him to be a fisherman as well.
'The funny thing is, as I left the house to go out that night, I kissed my son and said 'Daddy's gonna catch up a big, big fish tonight,' but I didn't think it would be this big,' Polk said.
Usually when Polk and his family catch a shark, they release it back into the wild.
Because this shark was so large, the family cooked it up and fed over 200 members of the community.
Polk says he will not reveal the exact location of where he caught the shark for fear that tourists and foshing crews will overwhelm the area.
When asked why he loves to fish Polk said, 'I do it because I saw my grandfather do it, my father, then my older brothers, then me. I love the sheer power of these fish, to be locked in hand-to-hand combat with a fish that can bite me.'
Last Tuesday night in Joey Polk of Milton, Florida wrestled with the monster mako shark and at times used almost 900 yards of fishing line from his reel.
'She was pulling line out of my reel at easily 60 miles and hour. We call that 'smokin' the drag' round here,' said Polk.
SFGate reports that to celebrate his catch, Polk decided to barbecue the shark and serve it to his friends when he was unable to revive the fish.
'We tried to revive the fish and send him back out, but he was too worn out to swim,' the 29-year-old Joey Polk said.
'That's why we decided to keep him. We don't do it for the money, for the publicity, just to catch the fish,' he told The New York Daily News.
'It was really good,' Joey Polk told the Daily News on Monday.
'It's not real fishy. It does not have a real gamy, fishy taste.'
The accomplishment is recognized by the International Land-Based Shark Fishing Association as the largest mako catch ever, he said.
The mako shark is the fastest of all sharks and can swim at 60 miles per hour and this was no ordinary mako.
'When I saw it, I knew it was a big fish. I've been fishing since I was a little kid, but I thought it was maybe 700 pounds or so, then when we weighed it, it came in at 805! It was amazing,' said Polk.
Apparently catching huge fish runs in the family as the the former record belongs to Joey's cousin Earnie Polk who caught a 674 pound mako in 2009.
Polk caught the mako off the Florida Panhandle with the help of two cousins, Earnie being one of them.
The fish was so big that it wouldn't even fit into the back of Polk's truck.
This is not the largest catch for Polk who caught a 949 pound tiger shark in 2010.
SFGate reports that Polk is a third generation shark fisherman who takes his daughters aged 7 and 9 out fishing.
He has a baby son who is only 3 weeks old and he plans on teaching him to be a fisherman as well.
'The funny thing is, as I left the house to go out that night, I kissed my son and said 'Daddy's gonna catch up a big, big fish tonight,' but I didn't think it would be this big,' Polk said.
Usually when Polk and his family catch a shark, they release it back into the wild.
Because this shark was so large, the family cooked it up and fed over 200 members of the community.
Polk says he will not reveal the exact location of where he caught the shark for fear that tourists and foshing crews will overwhelm the area.
When asked why he loves to fish Polk said, 'I do it because I saw my grandfather do it, my father, then my older brothers, then me. I love the sheer power of these fish, to be locked in hand-to-hand combat with a fish that can bite me.'
Source : DailyMail , SFGate
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