A TV host and angler from Texas used a compound bow and arrow to land a mako shark weighing 809 pounds last month, a world record catch for the unique style of fishing.
Jeff Thomason, who hosts Predator Pursuit on The Sportsman Channel, landed the mako off the coast of Huntington Beach, California on August 12, according to My San Antonio . The 11-foot-long shark weighed 809.5 pounds, beating out the previous world record for a mako caught with a bow by an astonishing 300 pounds, as noted by the Bowfishing Association of America .
The hunt began like many others, with the crew spreading chum over a wide area to entice sharks, paying close attention to the actions of seagulls in order to discern if one was nearby. Bowfishing requires the crew to bring sharks uncomfortably close to the boat at times, Thomason told the Lone Star Outdoor News .
“We shoot regular AMS bow arrows, but they have an interlock grapple with a steel leader,” he noted. “You need the sharks really close to the boat and out of the water because those arrows are so heavy, they don’t fly far.”
Mako shark is totally fearless and can suddenly attack any prey that looks a little bit interesting to it pic.twitter.com/ysvT4Tm9AU
— Sharkingaround (@sharkingaround) September 18, 2014
After just a half hour’s wait, a huge mako shark appeared near the boat. Thomason initially thought the captain wasn’t serious when he called attention to the shark until it approached more closely.
“They’ve got to be about three feet from the boat to get the arrow to stick, so we threw a fish on a line and teased him to the boat,” he said. “I try and shoot for the top of the back. As soon as the arrow hit, all hell broke loose. We freaked out because I spined him and we thought he might sink.”
The crew landed the mako shark in just 15 minutes, and five of them struggled to lash the animal to the back of the boat. After bringing the mako to shore, the crew loaded the shark on a boat trailer in order to transport it to a certified weigh station.
Underwater GoPro Action of Mako Shark in Hot Pursuit of Dinner Video: http://t.co/8KuibscxDx pic.twitter.com/SlvpZjwBjf
— Shark Attack News (@SharkNewsToday) September 5, 2014
The largest mako shark ever caught weighed 1,221 pounds, landed off the coast of Massachusetts in 2001 with a rod and reel. Thomason’s 809.5 pound shark was enough to tip the scales for a world bowfishing record, however. Interestingly enough, it is the second shark weighing the same amount to make the news this year, after another Texas angler landed an 809 pound tiger shark in early August, as The Inquisitr reported.
Thomason donated 400 pounds of mako shark meat to a homeless shelter in Los Angeles.
[Images: Jeff Thomason via My San Antonio ]