Tag: Keith Poe

Shark tagger offers blunt response to catch of giant marlin

An angler in Australia has caught and released a black marlin estimated to weigh 950 pounds, but not everybody is impressed.

Grander Watch on Saturday shared an image of a giant black marlin jumping behind a boat off Cooktown, Australia. The Facebook description boasted that the marlin, which was released, weighed an estimated 950 pounds.

Apparently, Keith Poe, a prominent California-based shark tagger, was not impressed.

Beneath the marlin post, Poe shared an image showing a massive great white shark alongside his boat and commented, simply: “5,000 pounds.”

Poe told FTW Outdoors that he caught and tagged the shark years ago off Mexico’s Guadalupe Island.

Poe now tags white sharks and mako sharks for the Marine Conservation Science Institute, run by Michael Domeier.

Keith Poe poses with catch of an estimated 5,000-pound white shark.

As for the catch of a 950-pound black marlin, it’s impressive. The catch of any marlin weighing close to or more than 1,000 pounds (a.k.a. grander) is considered rare.

The all-tackle world record for black marlin stands at 1,560 pounds. The record, set off Cabo Blanco, Peru, has stood since 1953.

–Top image courtesy of Grander Watch

Watch: Ferocious mako shark, fisherman engage in tug of war

A prominent Southern California shark tagger has documented his tug of war with a ferocious mako shark, he said, to showcase the species’ “beauty, power, and strength.”

A prominent Southern California shark tagger has documented his tug of war with a ferocious mako shark, he said, to showcase the species’ “beauty, power, and strength.”

“I’m their ambassador,” Poe told FTW Outdoors.

The accompanying footage shows the 12-foot shark refusing to release a bonito tied to a rope and fighting for possession with head shakes, much in the way a dog might refuse to let go of a stuffed toy.

(There was no hook in the bait; the shark could have let go at any time.)

The footage opens with Poe tapping the shark’s head, as if to signal the start of a competition, as the shark surfaces with the bonito inches from his boat.

RELATED: Record size hammerhead shark released out of respect

The competition ends after about a minute, when the shark releases the bonito and Poe declares, “That’s right, it’s my fish baby! Come back again when you want to play!”

Poe tags white sharks and mako sharks for the Marine Conservation Science Institute. He typically keeps hookless baits in the water to let him know when sharks arrive in the chum slick.

“When I want to tag a white shark or a mako shark, I use a hook and a hand line,” Poe explained.

The MCSI team, including Poe, are featured in the National Geographic documentary “Counting Jaws,” which examines a newly discovered great white shark aggregation site off California.

Poe also will appear in several episodes of the Discovery series, “Shark Week,” which begins July 24.