iStockphoto / Steve Hinczynski
Fishermen believe they just released the first-ever great white shark that was caught while fishing from land (the beach) in Alabama.
A similar once-in-a-lifetime catch took place recently in Florida. A fishing guide who specializes in shark fishing trips from the beach caught a great white shark in Pensacola.
Now the team behind Coastal Worldwide is going viral after catching a great white shark of their own but this time in Alabama.
They were fishing at night in Orange Beach, Alabama. Shark fishing is typically hotter at night.
At around 4 am on March 7th, they managed to get the 11-foot great white shark to the beach where they were able to film it and release the protected species back into the Gulf of Mexico.
First-Ever Great White Shark Caught From Land In Alabama
There were follow-up clips on TikTok:
https://www.tiktok.com/@coastalworldwide/video/7209900413947039019
The anglers behind this record-setting shark fishing achievement are Dylan Wier and Blaine Kenny of Coastal Worldwide, according to a recent write-up in GulfCoastMedia.
Despite some people in the TikTok comments claiming it wasn’t a great white shark, the first-ever caught from the beach in Alabama, the director of the University of Southern Mississippi’s Center for Fisheries Research and Development said otherwise.
Jill Hendon told GulfCoastMedia “It does look like a great white to me, and I would agree with their size estimate. To see such a big shark like the great white, it was very eye-opening to have that show up. Are they out there? Yes. But to have them caught on the beach and able to be landed and confirmed was an eye-opening sight for sure.”
Perhaps the second-most unbelievable aspect of this first-ever great white shark caught from land in Alabama is how quickly they reeled it in.
It only took them 32 minutes from the time the great white shark was hooked until it was released back into the Gulf of Mexico. For comparison’s sake, it took the guys in Florida last week an hour and 7 minutes to release their great white.
To land this record-setting shark they used a Tiagra 130 reel with 1,600 yards of 200-pound braid. The leader was a 600-pound test and 800-pound cable. They didn’t specify which bait they used but it was surely a fish head.
To get the bait out far enough (in deep water) for a shark of this size to take it, they used a kayak. And he didn’t even make it back to shore before the great white took the bait!
Dylan Weir said in the video “I was in the kayak when they set the hook, and at the time I didn’t worry about it. Sharks don’t hunt humans, thankfully, so I wasn’t worried that he was hooking a shark while I am out here. When I saw the result for the first time I was like, ‘Wait, I was in the kayak when that thing was eating our bait.’”
It is not 100% confirmed that this was the first-ever great white shark caught from land in Alabama but it is believed to be the first.