About a mile off South Carolina's Folly Beach this past Saturday, Joe Morris, Mike Huff and a few others managed to reel in quite the catch.
Their catch turned out to be a 13-foot, 800-pound tiger shark.
According to the Post and Courier's Bo Petersen, Huff noted that the massive shark "had to be gutted before it could be pulled" onto the boat. It shouldn't surprise anyone that a shark that size "took five people to get it on the dock."
The crazy thing is that this isn't even Morris' biggest catch ever. Per Fox Carolina, the fisherman said he has caught three sharks that each weighed more than 1,000 pounds.
In other words, he knows what he's doing out on the water.
*Note: The tweet above says that it was a 14-foot tiger shark. However, the linked article in the tweet and a follow-up tweet both list it as a 13-foot shark.
Charter group Ihu Nui Sportfishing posted video of the 12.5-foot fish being weighed, crediting Guy Kitaoka with bringing the marlin in after an hour-long battle on a 21-foot skiff.
Unfortunately, Kitaoka brought in the fish with the help of an electric reel, which would exempt it from going down as a world record had the fish outweighed the previous record-holders.
On the bright side, the marlin does not appear to have been illegally poached and/or lured from a protected area to be killed. So that's good news.
Florida fisherman Alex Newman took part in the Third Annual Offshore Rodeo Fishing Tournament as a way to help raise money for the Ronald McDonald House Charities Southwest Florida.
Little did he know, he would wind up with his biggest catch ever—and one that might be a world record.
According to Michael Braun of the News-Press, Newman pulled in a possible record-breaking grouper near the end of his time on the water Saturday. The grouper weighed in at 124.18 pounds, measured in at 57 inches and had a girth of 48 inches.
Per Braun, the current record for a black grouper is 124 pounds, set back in 2003.
Initially, Newman and his crew didn't think the fish would wind up being so large.
"But when we were lifting it up, we couldn't lift it," Newman said, per Braun. "I fish the Gulf a lot. This is the biggest fish I've caught. When that thing popped up, it was like a dinosaur."
This tournament ended up being a great success. Not only did the tournament help raise money for charity, but it may now be able to claim a world record.
Spearfisher Captures Close Encounter with Great White Shark on GoPro Camera
May 11, 2015
Adding another chapter to the constantly expanding tome Why the Ocean Is a Vast Abyss of Unspeakable Horrors You Should Avoid at All Times, a spearfishing enthusiast has uploaded footage of his open-sea encounter with a huge great white shark.
According to the video caption provided by the spearfisher/crazy person, Zack Spurlock, he was spearing lionfish for a seafood restaurant in the waters southeast of Port Canaveral, Florida, when death incarnate glided out of the inky darkness.
Spurlock writes up the encounter very casually, with apologies for his inability to simultaneously film and hold a bag of fish and a spear while staring down nature's most perfect killing machine:
This was filmed on my 3rd dive of the day in while out shooting Lionfish for Grills Seafood. I was in 90ft approx. 25 miles SE of Port Canaveral. When I first saw the shark it was on bottom and slowly swimming south. I then see it pass by headed North a minute later. It swims by a third time and after it swam out of sight I decide its to head up to get the GoPro. My friend tosses me the GoPro and as I proceed to make my way back the jug on the surface the shark makes a surprise appearance behind me. I would have never seen the shark behind me if it wasn’t for my friends yelling at me to turn around! The water was crystal clear for here so its amazing to me how incredible these large creatures are at staying in your blind spot. Sorry for the video quality, was holding on a gun, pole spear and bag with lionfish fins poking through and trying not to drop anything!
To recap, this person saw a great white shark glide past him in the water and thought, "Better get the camera."
You'll note in the video that a moment of sanity kicks in for Spurlock around the 46-second mark—or as I call it, the "brick your pants moment."
This is the instant when your entire life—all your hopes, triumphs and regrets—roll montage-style through your mind as you simultaneously evacuate your bowels into the briny chill of the Atlantic.
In this moment, your only hope is your body's involuntary expulsion propels you out of the water, or at least leaves a dense enough cloud in which the animal will lose you.
Anyway, the shark does not eat Spurlock, who finally decides to hold his spear in place of a small waterproof camera. Instead of ripping him apart like bath tissue, the beast turns and heads back into the gloom.
Now, this moment seems like the right time to leave the water and sacrifice several Brahmin to Poseidon for allowing you to enter his kingdom and leave alive (a rare treat). This is not what Spurlock does.
Deciding against returning to the boat to weep by the livewell, he follows the shark toward the bottom, where visibility is low and he can't see the animal. Reminder: Great white sharks enjoy surprising their prey with attacks from below.
Eventually, reason returns to this man, and he goes back to the boat. No one died.
Report: Pro Angler Catches 280-Pound Nightmare Catfish in Italy
Feb 26, 2015
In “more reasons to never enter large bodies of water” news, a professional angler appears to have landed an absurdly large catfish while fishing along the Po River in Italy.
CNN’s Greg Botelho and Joseph Netto report that Dino Ferrari, an angler sponsored by sports safety apparel company Sportex, recently pulled ashore a 280-pound Wels catfish with only a light tackle spinning reel.
Photos of Ferrari posing with the cartoonishly large fish have emerged, and naturally, the question is whether this couch-sized animal is a hoax or a real thing humanity should fear at every waking hour.
The fish’s existence is difficult to confirm, as Ferrari, a catch-and-release fisherman, let his quarry go after bringing it in for weighing. What we do know for sure is that the Wels catfish is essentially a mutant version of the American catfish and can reach up to 300 pounds. (The largest recorded catch in Italy tipped the scales at 298 pounds.)
Even more ridiculous, this large species of catfish has been observed heaving its body out of the water in an attempt to swallow pigeons and small wildlife feeding on the river shore.
Again, avoid oceans, lakes and rivers at all costs.
As for his magic fishing hole, Ferrari is keeping the exact location a secret. After all, he can’t have old Santiago blowing up his spot. He did say it took 40 long minutes to reel the fish to shore, where he kept it for a half-hour.
So, for those of you keeping track at home, you can add “fish the size of NFL linemen” to the list of sea creatures that can jump out of the water and hunt you down on dry land. I wasn't sure if we'd be able to top the land-hunting octopus (link contains NSFW language) from last week, but here we are.
Never go near the water. Ever.
Dan is on Twitter, still thinking about the octopus that hunts on dry land.
16-Year-Old Catches 1,058-Pound Marlin off Coast of Hawaii
Feb 23, 2015
A teenager's trip to visit his grandfather turned out to be anything but ordinary.
UPI's Ben Hooper has the incredible story of 16-year-old Kai Rizzuto's unforgettable fishing trip.
Rizzuto, who lives in New York, recently went to visit his grandfather in Hawaii. While there, he spent some time fishing.
It was time well spent.
Off the coast of Kona, Hawaii, Rizzuto caught a marlin that would make any veteran fisherman jealous. The marlin weighed in at 1,058 pounds, and according to NBC News, it measured more than 11 feet long.
Something that big is going to take some time and effort to land, of course. It took approximately 30 minutes to haul in the massive fish.
For those who may be wondering, this fish was by far the largest that Rizzuto had ever caught. Via Hooper, the teen said his previous best weighed in at 55 pounds. This marlin is just a tad bigger.
Crazily, Rizzuto's catch was about 300 pounds shy of the world record. That does not, however, make this catch any less impressive.
Bassmaster Classic 2015: Results and Analysis from Annual Event
Feb 23, 2015
Angler Edwin Evers, Talala, Okla., watches as Randy Howell, Springville, Ala., reacts to learning that he has won the Bassmasters Classic at the weigh-in, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2014 in Birmingham, Ala. (AP Photo/Hal Yeager)
You've heard of home-field advantage. You've heard of home-court advantage. Have you heard of home-lake advantage?
That is exactly what Casey Ashley experienced during his 2015 Bassmaster Classic victory Sunday when he hauled in a final day's catch of 20 pounds, three ounces to bring his winning total to 50 pounds, one ounce over the course of three days. It was enough to beat out Bobby Lane by just more than three pounds.
The Bassmaster Classic took place on Lake Hartwell in Ashley's home state of South Carolina.
Here is a look at the entire top 10 on the leaderboard.
Position
Fisher
Total Fish
Total Weight
1
Casey Ashley
15
50-1
2
Bobby Lane
14
46-15
3
Takahiro Omori
15
44-3
4
Dean Rojas
15
43-13
5
Jacob Powroznik
14
43-1
6
Michael Iaconelli
14
42-6
7
Brett Hite
14
41-11
8
Mike McClelland
14
41-7
9
Justin Lucas
13
40-2
10
Chris Lane
14
38-11
While Ashley will likely be the first one to say that he is more pleased with the championship than the prize, he's probably not going to complain about the $300,000 and spot in next year's classic that awaits the winner.
Bart Boatwright of The Greenville News captured the winning moment while Sefton Ipock of the Independent Mail passed along a picture of the victory lap:
While a Bassmaster Classic victory is enough to make headlines on its own, the fact that the event took place on Ashley's home lake is the real story.
Brent Frazee of The Kansas City Star noted that Ashley's father actually gave the fisherman some homemade lures and bait called a Blade Runner, which helped him haul in an incredible final-day tally. He was sitting back in fifth place before Sunday's competition began, and his jump certainly turned some heads.
Ashley commented on what it meant to capture the crown, via Frazee: "To win the Bassmaster Classic in my home state, in my home town and on my home lake, that's just a dream come true."
Ashley actually took somewhat of a different strategy than most of his competitors, which paid off in style. Instead of staying in shallow water near the docks like many of the other fishermen did Sunday, Ashley went into very deep water.
Turns out, it was the right call.
Lane, who finished in second place, was one of the fishermen who caught plenty of fish close to a dock, including the largest fish caught on Sunday. That was a six-pound, six-ounce lunker that helped him etch his name near the top of the leaderboard.
However, the day belonged to Ashley, which was only fitting considering the location.
The next question is how he will parlay his fourth career B.A.S.S. tournament victory into momentum moving forward. It was his first win since 2011 but also arguably his most important given the location and the magnitude of the Bassmaster Classic.
If nothing else, it will give him plenty of confidence in his next event. Still, Sunday was all about celebrating the moment, and that is exactly what he will do for the foreseeable future.
Bassmaster Classic 2015: Dates, TV Schedule, Live Stream and Event Info
Feb 19, 2015
Randy Howell, Springville, Ala., holds up two bass at a weigh-in, Sunday Feb. 23, 2014 in Birmingham, Ala. that helped him win the Bassmaster Classic on Lake Guntersville. (AP Photo/Hal Yeager)
South Carolina's Lake Hartwell will be trafficked by anglers when 56 of the top fishermen in the country compete in the 2015 Bassmaster Classic this weekend.
With few big sporting events going on this time of year, audiences will cast their attention toward Lake Hartwell to see which angler reels in the largest catch. Fishing is often a relaxing sport, but this competition will be anything but. The stakes are high.
The winner will earn $300,000, and that should bring out the fiercest side of every angler. Four-time winner Kevin VanDam failed to qualify for the event despite having competed in 24 installments of the Classic during his career. That makes for a wide-open field.
ESPN2 won't carry live coverage of the event, but the network will provide extensive coverage in March. Be sure to watch to see who wins the big bucks.
TV Schedule
Network
Air Date (ET)
Start Time (ET)
End Time (ET)
Show
ESPN2
Sat 3/7/2015
7 a.m.
8 a.m.
2015 GEICO Bassmaster Classic: Day 1
ESPN2
Sat 3/7/2015
8 a.m.
10 a.m.
2015 GEICO Bassmaster Classic: Day 2
ESPN2
Sun 3/8/2015
10:30 a.m.
12:30 p.m.
2015 GEICO Bassmaster Classic: Championship
ESPN2
Sat 3/14/2015
6 a.m.
7 a.m.
2015 GEICO Bassmaster Classic: Day 1
ESPN2
Sat 3/14/2015
7 a.m.
9 a.m.
2015 GEICO Bassmaster Classic: Day 2
ESPN2
Sun 3/15/2015
5 a.m.
7 a.m.
2015 GEICO Bassmaster Classic: Championship
ESPN2
Sun 3/22/2015
8 a.m.
9 a.m.
2015 GEICO Bassmaster Classic: "Winners Circle"
ESPN2
Sun 4/5/2015
7 a.m.
8 a.m.
2015 GEICO Bassmaster Classic: "Winners Circle
Note: Fans can live stream the action on the BassCam, courtesy of Bassmaster.com.
Prediction
Without VanDam scouring the waters of Lake Hartwell, there's a wide-open field. Greg Hackney is an early favorite, though, and his resume is impressive.
Hackney comes in on the heels of a stellar year that has him within reach of a first in the sport of competitive fishing, as NOLA.com's Todd Masson writes:
Hackney put together the most impressive season ever for a Louisiana angler in 2014, claiming the Angler of the Year title after building a big lead in the race and finishing 24th in the AOY championship on Bays de Noc, Mich., in September. He earned a $100,000 paycheck and a target on his back entering his 12th Classic.
Hackney is aiming at Hartwell to become the first angler to complete the Grand Slam of professional bass fishing -- AOY titles in both BASS and FLW, the FLW Forrest Wood Cup and the Classic.
Hackney's best finish at the Bassmaster Classic came in 2008, when it was on this same lake. He finished in fifth. With 12 Classics under his belt and a ton of success in 2014, Hackney is a favorite.
Casey Ashley is another competitor sure to catch a few monster fish because of several reasons highlighted by Bassmaster editor Ken Duke, via Frank Sargeant of AL.com:
First, he's local ... though a local has never actually won the Classic. Second, he won the FLW tournament on Hartwell in March of 2014, so he knows what to do there at this time of year. Third, he's an outstanding jig angler, and there's a better than even chance that this tournament will be won on a jig. And finally, he's been doing all the homework -- like networking with the best local anglers . . . .
In a field of 56, anybody can emerge as a contender after the first day of fishing. All it takes is one fish to put an angler over the top.
But in the end, it comes down to consistency. The angler who can bring in larger fish cast after cast will be the one who earns the cash purse at the end of the tournament. It takes five decent fish each day to stay in the running. The largest fish doesn't necessarily matter, nor does catching the most fish.
The 29th installment of the Bassmaster Classic is what fishing fans have been waiting for. The field is set, and the anglers are ready to start hunting for bass this weekend.
Crew of Fishermen Haul in Rare Frilled Shark Off Coast of Australia
Jan 21, 2015
Fishermen never know what they might catch when they hit the waters. They may go looking for one thing—or nothing at all—and come back with something totally unexpected.
That's what recently happened to a group of fishermen in Victoria, Australia.
According to news.com.au, a rare frilled shark—aka a "living fossil"—was caught at Lakes Entrance in Victoria.
Don't let the name fool you. It doesn't look like any ordinary shark, as the "living fossil" has the body and face of an eel. It does, however, have 300 teeth. This frilled shark measured in at two meters long.
Had this catch come during a fishing competition, it would have been deserving of quite the prize.
There have been far larger catches made in the world of fishing, but these fishermen have to be elated with what they landed. Most fishermen would love to catch a fish that weighs a couple hundred pounds, but catching a rare species is something that doesn't happen every day.
[Twitter]
Angler Uses Bow and Arrow to Catch Record-Setting, 809-Pound Mako Shark
Sep 29, 2014
Angler Jeff Thomason has been hoping to catch a mako shark, but even he had to be surprised by the size of the shark he nabbed recently.
According to the Lone Star Outdoors News' Conor Harrison, Thomason—the host of the hunting show Predator Pursuit—caught a massive mako shark off Huntington Beach, California. It measured in at 11 feet long and 809.5 pounds, which makes it 300 pounds heavier than the previous world record.
The crew started the adventure by putting a trail of chum in the water for two miles. After about a 30-minute wait, the shark appeared.
The way Thomason caught the shark is a bit unusual compared to the way most big fish are caught:
We shoot regular AMS bow arrows, but they have an interlock grapple with a steel leader. You need the sharks really close to the boat and out of the water because those arrows are so heavy, they don't fly far. ...
... They've got to be about three feet from the boat to get the arrow to stick, so we threw a fish on a line and teased him to the boat. I try and shoot for the top of the back. As soon as the arrow hit, all hell broke loose. We freaked out because I spined him and we thought he might sink.
Having a shark of any size circling a boat has to make for some nerve-racking moments, but with one this large, there had to be some anxious people on board.
As you could imagine, getting the shark out of the water was no easy task. The crew landed the shark in 15 minutes. Five people were on the boat, and it took every last one of them—and another 15 minutes—to haul in the shark with the pulley system.
With such a massive shark, some good was able to be done—about 400 pounds of the shark meat was donated to Los Angeles homeless shelters.
