spectr17
08-25-2003, 10:42 PM
FOR ONCE - THE ONE THAT DIDN'T GET AWAY
22 August 2003
This Is Devon (UK)
Angler David Bailey went fishing for mackerel but landed a 240lb shark which dragged his boat for two miles off the South Coast.
David, 34, leapt into action when his float disappeared underwater and his fishing rod bent double as the large catch took his bait. But he was stunned when he tried to reel in the fish and a 12 foot long thresher shark leapt out of the water.
But he refused to let go of the catch, which pulled his 17ft Dory for two miles off the coast of Bournemouth, Dorset.
After two hours David and father Bill, 67, managed to drown the shark by tying a rope around it and towing it towards the shore.
David, from Poole, said: "We normally stay around Poole Harbour and catch cockles but decided to venture out a bit further to see if we could get something bigger. My reel made a clicking sound and my balloon float went under.
"The next thing I knew my rod was bent right over, so I knew I had something a bit bigger than a mackerel.
"After about ten seconds it jumped clean out of the water. It was obvious what it was and it was absolutely massive.
"Even though I only had an 80lb rod and Mickey Mouse gear there was no way I was going to let it go."
Staff at a local angling shop took photographs of David with the shark and he celebrated with a well-deserved cup of tea. He has now sold the shark to a London fish merchant for 75p per pound.
Oliver Buttling, marine biologist at the Bournemouth Oceanarium, said thresher sharks were occasionally seen in British waters but very rarely caught.
He said: "They normally stick to warm seas like the Mediterranean but as it gets warmer here they tend to move north and return south after the summer. We do get sightings of them off the coast of Cornwall, Devon and the Isle of Wight."
Thresher sharks can grow to as big as 1,000lbs and feed on shrimp and mackerel.
They are not a danger to humans but divers have been known to get injured after getting in the way of a tail.
Meanwhile, a two-week expedition to find a great white shark in Westcountry waters has ended without success.
Richard Peirce, 55, set sail from Padstow, on the private charter boat the Blue Fox, with three others on the £8,000 hunt. But the crew failed to make any sightings of the predator.
The team did spot blue sharks, basking sharks, and porbeagles.
22 August 2003
This Is Devon (UK)
Angler David Bailey went fishing for mackerel but landed a 240lb shark which dragged his boat for two miles off the South Coast.
David, 34, leapt into action when his float disappeared underwater and his fishing rod bent double as the large catch took his bait. But he was stunned when he tried to reel in the fish and a 12 foot long thresher shark leapt out of the water.
But he refused to let go of the catch, which pulled his 17ft Dory for two miles off the coast of Bournemouth, Dorset.
After two hours David and father Bill, 67, managed to drown the shark by tying a rope around it and towing it towards the shore.
David, from Poole, said: "We normally stay around Poole Harbour and catch cockles but decided to venture out a bit further to see if we could get something bigger. My reel made a clicking sound and my balloon float went under.
"The next thing I knew my rod was bent right over, so I knew I had something a bit bigger than a mackerel.
"After about ten seconds it jumped clean out of the water. It was obvious what it was and it was absolutely massive.
"Even though I only had an 80lb rod and Mickey Mouse gear there was no way I was going to let it go."
Staff at a local angling shop took photographs of David with the shark and he celebrated with a well-deserved cup of tea. He has now sold the shark to a London fish merchant for 75p per pound.
Oliver Buttling, marine biologist at the Bournemouth Oceanarium, said thresher sharks were occasionally seen in British waters but very rarely caught.
He said: "They normally stick to warm seas like the Mediterranean but as it gets warmer here they tend to move north and return south after the summer. We do get sightings of them off the coast of Cornwall, Devon and the Isle of Wight."
Thresher sharks can grow to as big as 1,000lbs and feed on shrimp and mackerel.
They are not a danger to humans but divers have been known to get injured after getting in the way of a tail.
Meanwhile, a two-week expedition to find a great white shark in Westcountry waters has ended without success.
Richard Peirce, 55, set sail from Padstow, on the private charter boat the Blue Fox, with three others on the £8,000 hunt. But the crew failed to make any sightings of the predator.
The team did spot blue sharks, basking sharks, and porbeagles.