A local shark fisherman is breaking records off the coast of South Carolina with a recent outing just off the coast of Beaufort where they hooked 7 great whites in just 4 hours and tagged 4 of them as well.
In a report by WJCL News in Savannah, GA, last week Captain Chip Michalove of Outcast Sport Fishing and his crew set out to land a great white shark after five straight outings without so much as a sighting.
In less than an hour they landed a nine-foot male.
It didn’t take long for the reel to start clicking again and again and again, the report said.
After hooking several great whites Michalove’s crew was ready to call it a day but Michalove convinced them to go for just one more hour. Looking back now, they’re glad they did.
That last hour landed what is believed to be the largest great white male tagged in the Atlantic at 15ft long and weighing 2,600 pounds.
“You get this fish up to the side of the boat, it kind of takes your breath away how large of a fish you’re dealing with,” Michalove said in the article. “It’s pulling this 5,000 pound boat like a cork through the water.”
In all the crew hooked seven great whites and tagged four in just nine hours, likely setting a record.
Also, with available data, it appears Michalove has tagged the most great white sharks on rod and reel in the Atlantic.
Frank Mundus, who is said to be the inspiration for the film character Quint in the classic movie Jaws, was believed to have previously held the record for catching the most great whites.
“To have my name next him or even mentioned in the same sentence is pretty humbling. He’s the pioneer. He’s the Michael Jordan,” Michalove said.
To commemorate the legend Michalove named the male he tagged “Frank.”
