Hammerhead Shark Caught Off Beach

[mdram]

FLAGLER BEACH, Fla. -- A man standing on a Central Florida beach reeled in a 12-foot, 5-inch, 550-pound great hammerhead shark, likely the biggest catches ever made in the area.

Dan Ficochello said he battled for three hours before he was able to bring the giant shark to the beach. "I'm still in shock at the size of this fish," angler Dan Ficochello said. "I'll never catch one bigger than that. That's a catch of a lifetime."

Ficochello said he went about 300 yards offshore in his kayak and dropped a baracuda head to the bottom of the ocean floor as bait. He then dragged his line back to the beach and waited for a bite. Soon, the shark took the line. Ficocello said the shark put up a ferocious fight, taking the men three hours to bring him to the beach. "My first thought was, 'What am I going to do with this?' Because it wasn't moving, there was no chance of a release. It was done. I had never seen a shark this big before in person," Ficochello said. "It was a non-stop tug-a-war. I was worn out after an hour." Others said they were shocked such a big shark was swimming off shore. "You're swimming and having a good time and something like that could be just a few feet from you," angler Michael Ficocello said. "It makes you think twice. It's their home. You are intruding on their area." Watch Local 6 News for more on this story.

http://www.local6.com/news/14203486/detail.html

[ffemtreed]

He should have released it.

[mdram]

Originally Posted by ffemtreed

He should have released it.

he wanted to, but the fight killed it

[Steve]

I got to move back to FL.....
That's an awesome catch.
Too bad it perished, would have been a great C&R story.

Question is, who was going to walk it back out?

[chomper]

Thats gonna be the story of ages for that guys family. Awesome catch. Its actually pretty common for those real big boy n girl hammerheads to fight themselves to the death.

[Foxy]

he's lucky he didn't get dragged into the water and taken for a ride lol

[LaterGator]

The paddle out of 300yds I can do...
Carrying my bait out and dropping it in, I ca do....
I could even make the paddle back to shore....

But knowing that I'm in a sit on top kayak right there where that shark was, I don't think I could do..

[Steve]

Originally Posted by LaterGator

But knowing that I'm in a sit on top kayak right there where that shark was, I don't think I could do..

Better than being in the water with gators!