Mare
New Member
05/13/06
Shark possibly a record
A large 13-foot, 4-inch hammerhead was pulled from Boca Grande Pass on Wednesday
ENGLEWOOD -- Maybe the stories of Old Hitler are true. Maybe there is an enormous hammerhead shark patrolling the waters off Gasparilla Island.
While it may not have been Old Hitler, a large 13-foot, 4-inch hammerhead was pulled from Boca Grande Pass on Wednesday, the Fort Myers News-Press reported.
According to the article, Capt. Andy Whitbread, using 80-pound class tackle, reeled in the shark. The shark reportedly weighed 750 pounds.
If the weight is correct, an official with the International Game Fish Association out of Fort Lauderdale said the shark would be a world record. The current record for a hammerhead caught with 80-pound tackle is 620 pounds, the association reported.
The monstrous catch didn't surprise George Melissas, a Boca Grande resident and long-time fisherman.
Melissas said he saw a large hammerhead attack the propeller of a boat fishing in the pass in 2000. The prop looked like popcorn in the shark's month, he said. The hammerhead surfaced when a group was trying to photograph a tarpon that had been caught.
"He was every bit of 16 feet," Melissas said. "There are some really big hammerheads in Boca Grande Pass."
The tale of Old Hitler tells of a 20-foot rogue hammerhead scouring the pass, sometimes praying on tarpon hooked by fishermen.
While there may not be an "Old Hitler," Melissas said there are several large sharks in the pass, especially May through July when the sharks follow schools of tarpon.
Melissas said he has even witnessed a hammerhead nearly beach itself on neighboring Cayo Costa to take a bite out of a stranded tarpon.
"It's infested with sharks out there," he said.
I don't live far from here, maybe 20 minute drive.
Shark possibly a record
A large 13-foot, 4-inch hammerhead was pulled from Boca Grande Pass on Wednesday
ENGLEWOOD -- Maybe the stories of Old Hitler are true. Maybe there is an enormous hammerhead shark patrolling the waters off Gasparilla Island.
While it may not have been Old Hitler, a large 13-foot, 4-inch hammerhead was pulled from Boca Grande Pass on Wednesday, the Fort Myers News-Press reported.
According to the article, Capt. Andy Whitbread, using 80-pound class tackle, reeled in the shark. The shark reportedly weighed 750 pounds.
If the weight is correct, an official with the International Game Fish Association out of Fort Lauderdale said the shark would be a world record. The current record for a hammerhead caught with 80-pound tackle is 620 pounds, the association reported.
The monstrous catch didn't surprise George Melissas, a Boca Grande resident and long-time fisherman.
Melissas said he saw a large hammerhead attack the propeller of a boat fishing in the pass in 2000. The prop looked like popcorn in the shark's month, he said. The hammerhead surfaced when a group was trying to photograph a tarpon that had been caught.
"He was every bit of 16 feet," Melissas said. "There are some really big hammerheads in Boca Grande Pass."
The tale of Old Hitler tells of a 20-foot rogue hammerhead scouring the pass, sometimes praying on tarpon hooked by fishermen.
While there may not be an "Old Hitler," Melissas said there are several large sharks in the pass, especially May through July when the sharks follow schools of tarpon.
Melissas said he has even witnessed a hammerhead nearly beach itself on neighboring Cayo Costa to take a bite out of a stranded tarpon.
"It's infested with sharks out there," he said.
I don't live far from here, maybe 20 minute drive.
