‘Catch of a lifetime’: Great white shark caught from shore on Pensacola Beach
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PENSACOLA BEACH, Florida (WALA) — A group from Idaho has a remarkable story to take home with them after reeling in a great white shark off the coast of Pensacola Beach earlier this month.
It was the group’s first time saltwater fishing, and with the help of John McLean, the charter captain of Big John Shark Fishing Adventures, they reeled in the 12-foot great white after only two hours on March 3.
McLean, who recorded the catch and posted video to YouTube, can be heard saying “You guys just caught a great white! That is something you will never see!”
FOX10 News caught up with McLean this week as he recounted the unforgettable fish tale.
“[My clients] go, John, if you weren’t as excited as you were, we would’ve thought this was a normal thing,” McLean said, laughing. “I was like you guys just caught the fish of a lifetime.”
McLean has run shark fishing charters for three years, and says the great white took the bait about 400 yards from the shore. Because great white sharks are federally protected, McLean and the group immediately let it go after reeling it in.
“I saw those black eyes and they stared through your soul like the Jaws movie, and I asked myself is that a great white?” McLean said. “And then I saw that fin stick out of the water.”
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