Tag: Hammerhead shark

Massive tiger shark landed during ‘team-building’ fishing trip

A group of South Carolina business partners on Sunday teamed to land a massive tiger shark that weighed an estimated 1,500 pounds.

A group of South Carolina business partners on Sunday teamed to land a tiger shark that weighed an estimated 1,500 pounds.

“If that wasn’t a great team-building exercise, I don’t know what is,” Capt. Chip Michalove told FTW Outdoors.

Michalove, owner of Outcast Sport Fishing in Hilton Head, did not provide the anglers’ names but said they fought the shark for 90 minutes before it was alongside the boat. (The shark was released after a brief photo session.)

“Largest one we’ve caught in years, a 13-footer,” Michalove boasted Monday via Facebook.

Any tiger shark topping 1,000 pounds is considered to be enormous.

For comparison, the International Game Fish Assn. lists the world record as a tie between a catches of 1,785 pounds, 11 ounces (Australia, 2004) and 1,780 pounds (South Carolina, 1964).

(The 1964 catch was made from a Myrtle Beach pier!)

13-foot tiger shark moments before it was released. Photo: Chip Michalove

Michalove, who in July 2022 caught and released a record-size hammerhead shark, explained that giant tiger sharks tend to be active off South Carolina in the fall.

“It seems like every year the largest tiger is always the last two weeks of October,” he said. “Last year we lost an enormous one on Halloween.”

Michalove, who is authorized to tags sharks for research, said he has caught several of the same large tiger sharks over the years.

Tiger shark was landed after a 90-minute fight. Photo: Chip Michalove

But the shark his group caught Sunday did not have a tag and did not show markings that would imply it had previously been tagged.

Asked about how the anglers handled the fight, Michalove explained:

“The fight was an hour and a half. It took all four customers multiple rod swaps to get her close. One of the guys was a pastor, and that always seems beneficial.”

‘Cool as ice’ swimmers face down 1,000-pound hammerhead shark

A Florida videographer has captured footage showing a 14-foot great hammerhead shark approaching within feet of waders who, remarkably, seemed unfazed by the encounter.

A Florida videographer has captured footage showing a 14-foot great hammerhead shark approaching within feet of waders who, remarkably, seemed unfazed by the encounter.

Evan Parness watched on his screen as he flew his drone overhead to capture the shark’s approach “in just feet of water.” He stated via Instagram that it was “the most intense clip I’ve ever filmed.”

The men, standing waist-deep on a reef, could see a portion of the shark but clearly did not enjoy the same perspective as Parness, who could see the entire shark.

Parness estimated the weigh of the shark at 1,000 pounds.

“This video is obviously slowed down, but while this was going down in real time, it felt like it was in slow motion while I was watching it live on my screen,” he recalled, adding that the swimmers were friends visiting from Michigan.

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A post shared by Evan Parness (@evan_parness)

They remained as “cool as ice” as the shark veered away before making contact with the men.

“When you come down to FL on vacation, don’t rule out a massive hammerhead checking you out!” Parness joked.

ALSO: Massive sea creature startles family on Mexican beach; video

Great hammerhead sharks can measure nearly 20 feet. They sometimes patrol Florida’s coast in search of smaller sharks, stingrays, bony fishes and other prey.

They’re not considered to be especially dangerous to humans but, according to the Florida Museum, “Because of their size and unpredictable nature, they should be treated with respect.”

Parness wrote: “As this was unfolding, I didn’t know exactly what was going to happen. I was expecting the shark to turn earlier than it did, but clearly, it wanted to fully investigate the Michigan bros.

“Since this was a Great hammerhead, I knew the odds of something bad happening were slim. But at the end of the day, nature is unpredictable & anything can happen.”

Parness theorized that the hammerhead was hunting blacktip sharks.

Can you spot the mako shark in this lineup of predators?

Can you locate the mako shark in a photo quiz issued by Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans?

Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans on Wednesday tweeted a quiz asking viewers if they can guess which of the four sharks in the accompanying image is a mako shark.

We’ll take it a step farther and ask viewers to identify all four sharks in the photo. (Answer provided below.)

Fisheries and Oceans included a link that contains information about the shortfin mako shark and explains that the species is classified as endangered in Canada.

Mako sharks are found globally in tropical and temperate waters, but in the North Atlantic the species is considered to be comprised of a single population.

The sleek and powerful predators and can attain bursts of 40-plus mph while attacking prey such as tuna or swordfish.

Mako sharks can measure 12 feet and weigh more than 1,000 pounds. (The world record catch, set off Massachusetts in 2001, stands at 1,221 pounds.)

In the comments section of the Fisheries and Oceans tweet, several followers provided the correct answer, and a few identified all four species.

The types of sharks, in order: A) White shark, B) Thresher shark, C) Hammerhead shark, and D) Mako shark.

Stunning video shows huge hammerhead shark racing to catch stingrays

As they watched the beach below from their hotel balcony, Catarena Peek and her boyfriend Alec Deshotel were treated to a once-in-a-lifetime sighting.

As they watched the beach below from their hotel balcony, Catarena Peek and her boyfriend Alec Deshotel were treated to a once-in-a-lifetime sighting of a huge hammerhead shark chasing stingrays close to shore at Orange Beach in Alabama.

“This is the first time we have ever seen anything like this for sure,” Deshotel told FOX10 News. “I look out the window…and there it is. Massive 10- to 12-foot hammerhead…We don’t know how big it was, but it was massive…

Also on FTW Outdoors: Shark creates intimidating wake as it approaches anglers (video)

“There was some man down there screaming that there was a shark and I guess they finally saw the dorsal fin and they realized how close he started getting so they started jumping out of the water as fast as they could.”

The hammerhead shark showed its speed and agility during the chase that gave those on the beach an incredible close-up view of nature at work.

The view from the 10th floor by Peek and Deshotel was pretty special, too, as you can see from Peek’s video on Facebook.

“I just ended up videoing it and it was a really cool video so I just posted to Facebook thinking a couple hundred of my friends would find it kind of cool and then all of a sudden, I looked down at my phone and it was over 100,000 views and I was like, Oh, that’s pretty cool,” she told FOX10 News.

Indeed, it is quite cool–a “once-in-a-lifetime kind of experience for sure,” the couple pointed out to FOX10 News.

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Record size hammerhead shark released out of respect

A pair of South Carolina anglers on Wednesday caught and released a hammerhead shark that was at least 400 pounds heavier than the longstanding state record, and perhaps rivaled the world record.

A pair of South Carolina anglers on Wednesday caught and released a hammerhead shark that was at least 400 pounds heavier than the longstanding state record, and perhaps rivaled the world record.

Primary angler Pete Quartuccio and a friend teamed to reel the nearly 14-foot shark to leader after an hourlong fight, whereupon it was tagged and set free by Outcast Sportfishing Capt. Chip Michalove.

Michalove estimated the shark’s weight at 1,000-plus pounds. The current South Carolina record, set in 1989, stands at 588 pounds. The world record is a 1,280-pound catch in 2006 off Boca Grande, Fla.

The shark put up such a ferocious struggle, Michalove said, that Quartuccio and his buddy were too exhausted to pose for photos while the massive predator was alongside the boat.

“They were so exhausted they could barely stand,” Michalove said. “Pete crashed on the cooler and laid there in exhaustion, and his friend was so tired that I barely convinced him to just hold the camera while I reached over and grabbed the shark’s head for one quick photo.

“I tried to get them to lean over for a picture, but they wouldn’t budge. So I threw a quick tag in the shark, popped the hook and sent her off.”

ALSO: Massive sea creature startles family on Mexican beach; video 

Michalove said he spotted the same hammerhead circling a bait during a Tuesday charter. On Wednesday, close to shore in rough weather, Quartuccio, a veteran shark angler, was at the rod when the shark took his bait.

“She ripped off 400 yards in about 60 seconds,” Michalove recalled. “I released from the anchor and spun the boat to chase [the shark]. I knew she was going to be enormous, but I didn’t know of the enormity until we got her a little closer and I could see the width.”

The group knew the shark might eclipse the world record in size, but at no point considered killing the shark to obtain an official weight.

Said Michalove: “Fifteen years ago, I would’ve thrown a rope around her head and dragged her back to demolish the records. But these sharks have given me a good life and they’re too important to our fishery.

“We’ve recaptured so many tigers, lemons, bulls, I owe them everything. I’ve gotten a few messages on how I should’ve dragged her back, but there’s not even a question that we did the right thing.”

Watch: Large shark on the hunt frightens surfer to shore

A surfer in Puerto Rico on Monday was frightened out of the water by a large hammerhead shark that could be seen thrashing just outside the lineup.

A surfer in Puerto Rico on Monday was frightened out of the water by a large shark that could be seen thrashing just outside the lineup.

Jorge Benitez, who captured the accompanying footage at a spot called Middles, told FTW Outdoors that the surfer closest to the shark is Rolando Montes “and he definitely saw the shark and paddled to shore quickly.”

However, Montes might not have been in danger.

As science writer Sarah Keartes pointed out via Twitter, the shark is chasing a large ray – “maybe an eagle ray?” – and shows no interest in the surfer.

“Only a close call if you’re the majestic flap flap,” Keartes wrote, referring to the wording in a CBS News tweet showing the footage. “No danger here.”

RELATED: Hawaii diver captures close great white shark encounter on video

Benitez told FTW Outdoors that he spotted the leaping ray and began to capture that on video. He was not aware at the time that a shark, possibly a hammerhead, was pursuing the ray.

When Montes reached the beach Benitez asked him, “Why were you so afraid of a stingray?”

Benitez said he did not see the shark until he and Montes reviewed his footage. “It was definitely a big one,” Benitez said.

–Image courtesy of Jorge Benitez

Shark charges at man in surf, but it’s not what it appears

A video shot from a hotel room overlooking a Florida beach appears to show a shark charging at a man standing in the surf, but look closer.

A video shot from a hotel room overlooking the shoreline in Panama City Beach, Fla., appears to show a hammerhead shark charging a man standing in the surf as if about to attack, but a closer look reveals the real reason behind the shark’s actions.

At Splash Resort, on the morning of his wedding, Mike Pharr noticed a hammerhead shark swimming down the beach near some swimmers and decided to shoot video to show it later to his then fiancée.

“I didn’t expect what would happen next,” Pharr explained in the description of his ViralHog video. “The hammerhead made a sudden turn toward the man seen in the video. At first, it seemed as if the shark was going after the man, but upon reviewing [the video], I noticed that a small fish instinctively used the man as a shield to escape the shark.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGBdSCdLjM4

Look closely and you can see the fish swim from the safety of the man and into the whitewater, though to do so you might have to view it full screen.

Several people were yelling at the man to warn him, but it wasn’t until the shark made its U-turn that he finally made his way to shore, which might have been a good thing.

“It’s my opinion that had the man known the shark was close by and moved he would have quite possibly been mistaken for the fish and been bitten,” Pharr said. “It seems to me from watching my video multiple times that sharks really aren’t interested in us, we just get caught up and are mistakenly targeted by being in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Photo courtesy of ViralHog.

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Swimmer unaware of hammerhead shark lurking below

A man leisurely swimming on his back in the clear waters off South Beach appeared totally unaware of what was happening beneath him (video).

A man leisurely swimming on his back in the clear waters off South Beach, Fla., on Sunday appeared to be totally unaware of what was happening beneath him, and what was happening was a hammerhead shark checking him out.

Miami resident Jason McIntosh was circling his drone above the swimmer and captured video of the approaching hammerhead, and posted it on Instagram to the tune of MC Hammer’s “Can’t Touch This.” Then, of course, it evolved into the obligatory “Jaws” theme:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CHqjkcxj1_X/?utm_source=ig_embed

The swimmer was approximately 25 feet from the beach near Fourth and Fifth Streets, according to WSVN in Miami. So oblivious was the swimmer, at one point he gave the drone camera a thumb’s up.

Also on FTW Outdoors: A human-sized bat? It’s big, and photo is real, but…

Though it appeared scary, the likelihood of an attack was minimal.

According to the International Shark Attack Files from the Florida Museum of Natural History, there have been only 15 non-provoked attacks by hammerheads on humans since 1580 and none were fatal.

Then there is this from Britannica:

While hammerhead sharks usually are not considered dangerous, there have been several confirmed accounts of large hammerhead sharks attacking people. Most of those attacked were spearfishing, and it could be that the blood of the speared fish attracted the sharks. Nonetheless, large hammerhead sharks should be respected and avoided by bathers and divers.

Photo courtesy of Jason McIntosh.

Also on FTW Outdoors: Alligator grows at alarming rate; officials think they know why

Hammerhead shark release calls for Father’s Day embrace

Bryan Johnson and his son William enjoyed a bonding experience on Father’s Day with the catch and release of an 8-foot hammerhead shark.

Bryan Johnson and his son William enjoyed a bonding experience on Father’s Day with the catch and release of an 8-foot hammerhead shark at Gulf Shores, Ala.

“It’s incredible,” William Johnson told NBC 15. “You fight for an hour just to get a two-minute glimpse of a monster.”

RELATED: Angler lands record trout, but reaction is mixed

While the Sunday morning catch of such a large shark from the beach must have been exciting, the touching moment occurred after the shark swam safely back to sea. The men celebrated with a hearty embrace amid cheers of “Happy Father’s Day!” from onlookers.

Video footage of the release, and the reactions, can be viewed here.