Yep, this is why I am becoming more and more hesitant to swim out on in the ocean when I visit the beach.
I always see anglers set up on the beach with lines way out in the ocean, but I’ve never seen anyone really reel in anything substantial. I’ve actually just thought that it was a way to get out of the house and still seem somewhat productive to their significant others.
These two fishermen, Glenn Laskowski and his friend who goes by the name JR, were fishing on the South Texas coast when they reeled in this monster hammerhead shark. The experienced pair used a 20 pound cow-nose stingray as bait, along with other heavy duty bait equipment.
After battling to bring it in, they finally got the massive shark to shore, and though they tried their best to get it back into the water, the hammerhead shark died on the beach. Glenn and JR then transported the shark to the local pier to get it weighed and measured, and the results might surprise you.
Their catch ended up measuring at right around 14 feet and 4 inches and weighed in at 1,058 pounds, just barely passing the half-ton threshold (though I think it would’ve been okay to unofficially round up).
Laskowski talked to the local news station (KIII-TV News) in Corpus Christi about the battle that it took to bring in the hammerhead:
“It was a battle back and forth for almost an hour and 30 minutes. We finally were able to land the fish and get to see the true size of the monster.
We quickly de-hooked the fish, and got some quick pictures then went to release the fish. Unfortunately, the fish didn’t wanna swim off due to its size and long fight in over all the sandbars.”
The shark unfortunately did not make it, even though the two fishermen did their best to revive the beast in one of the videos in the Facebook post below.
They eventually gave away all of the shark meat, only leaving the impressive pictures to help Laskowski and JR to tell their “fish was this big” stories. Glenn actually took to Facebook to explain a little bit more about the endeavor and share pictures and videos of the unbelievably large hammerhead shark.
Laskowski said in the post:
“Before anyone asks questions, yes the heat was put on the fish. Lots of drag was out on it. Don’t really care what anyone has to say about fighting and landing these fish. Until you hook up to a fish of this size and can successfully release on Corpus beaches, then you can whisper in my ear.
We honestly gave it hell and did our best to let her go, but after a long battle back and forth, unfortunately she didn’t make it. Me and my partner JR were blessed to see a fish like this along with all the family and people on the third coast.
And you’re damn right we had to get a good-ass kill picture with the beast.”
A half-ton shark was just swimming around out there, yet the beach is still one of the best places to go and relax during the summer?
If I ever visit the South Texas coast, I’ll make sure to stay up on the beach with a good book instead of diving into the half-ton shark infested waters.
