Two videographers from an Outdoor Channel reality show were filming on a boat where fisherman reeled in what’s believed to be the largest mako shark in recorded history.
The 1,323-pound shark was caught off California’s Huntington Beach on a boat captained by Matt Potter, who has the apt nickname Mako Matt. A film crew from Jim Shockey’s The Professionalswas on board for the catch, which took more than two-and-a-half hours.
A researcher told the Los Angeles Times that the catch is likely to set the record for the biggest-ever mako shark and is in the top half-percent of any catch on file.
Great white sharks are bigger, but the speedy makos hold more allure for fishermen. Back in 1985, Field and Stream discussed why:
Whites may be the top of the line so far as size and popular interest are concerned, but they don’t nearly have the appeal for sport fisherman that that make does. [...] Makos generally feed on swift prey like tuna and swordfish. The shark is swift and unpredictable, you will sometimes be facing one direction and fighting a fish you think is deep, when suddenly, frighteningly, the mako will hurl itself into the air and go crashing back into the sea just a few yards from the cockpit.
The group of fisherman, who told the Times, they go sport fishing 20 times per year, spread a combination of ground sardines and mackerel to lure the sharks to the boat.
“I still feel the soreness in every bone,” James Johnston, one of the fishermen, said. “It’s the scariest thing I’ve ever done in my life.”
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