Experienced fisherman Owen Prior was taken aback when he caught a 12-foot tiger shark at Jacksonville Beach in Florida earlier this month. He said that he has caught several 14-foot hammerhead sharks before but said he will remember this catch.
“This is definitely one to remember for sure. I’ve caught hundreds of sharks up to a 14-foot hammerhead, but that was my personal best tiger shark,” Prior, who runs First Coast Surf Fishing in Jacksonville Beach, was quoted as saying by FOX 35.
He said that it took him roughly 25 minutes to reel the shark in. “(I) snapped a quick pic and let her go on her way,” Prior said, highlighting that tiger sharks are protected in Florida.
He said that he and his friends waited on the beach for 12 hours when the shark bit his stingray bait in the wee hours of the morning.
“I was actually dead asleep when it happened and my friend, he was screaming ‘Owen!’ woke me up,” he said. Prior said he quickly ran towards the hook.
“And the rest is history. I felt some weight for sure, I knew it was going to be a bigger fish. There’s some sharks that fight harder than others and believe it or not, tigers do not fight as hard as they might seem they do,” Owen said.
He said that tiger sharks are “notoriously lazy” and said that sharks as a whole, are often “opportunistic” about bait. He said that he does not use barbs on his fishing hooks to ensure a smoother release.
“All in all, it was a great experience having the ability to feel the power of a large shark like that and even better being able to safely remove the hook and watch her swim away back into the abyss with a free meal. It’s one to remember,” he told the news outlet.
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