Pete Thomas Outdoors

Florida anglers tow large shark at high speed; viral video prompts investigation

*Story updated Wednesday morning to include updated statement by the FWC

By Pete Thomas

What appears to have been a cruel post-catch ritual – towing a large shark at high speed – could land three Florida anglers in hot water.

The video was first posted to the Shark Fishing Worldwide Facebook page on Monday, beneath the caption: “Bull Buster is so tough you can drag a shark at 30 knots with it.”

The graphic footage shows three men on the boat seemingly enjoying the sight of a 5- or 6-foot shark skipping violently across the water.

Brice Walker, who posted the video, told me that he wasn’t on the boat. Walker identified the captain as Michael Wenzel, but this could not be confirmed. (Wenzel did not respond to a Facebook message sent Monday night.)

According to Fox 13 in Tampa, the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission has launched an investigation. The FWC did not release the anglers' names.

Rob Klepper, Public Information Coordinator for the FWC, said in a statement issued Tuesday, “The FWC has been alerted to a video circulating on multiple social media sites showing a group of individuals traveling at high speed on the water dragging a shark behind the vessel.
 
“The FWC takes this very seriously and is currently investigating this incident. We are also attempting to identify the individuals in the video and where it took place.”

Klepper added, “It’s too early to speculate as to what, if any, violations took place in this incident. However, the FWC would like to state that that the lack of respect shown in this video for our precious natural resources is disheartening and disturbing, and is not representative of conservation-minded anglers around the world."

Reactions were were mixed on the Shark Fishing Worldwide comments thread, but predominantly negative on other pages.

“Why would someone do this? one person commented. “Is it supposed to be funny? I would love to drag his dumb ass the same way! I love to shark fish, but everything I catch is released.”

It’s not clear whether the shark was alive before it was roped and towed, but Walker said, “I’m pretty sure it was alive. They put a tail rope on them then drag them to kill them. That's a standard method in tournaments. I have seen guys do it at high speed before, but these guys were dumb to film it. [They] didn't realize it would spread as fast as it did.”

Klepper said that anyone with information pertaining to this incident “is urged to contact the FWC’s Wildlife Alert Hotline at 888-404-3922 or [email protected]. Individuals can remain anonymous.”

–Follow Pete Thomas Outdoors on Facebook
 

Florida beach angler lands 10-foot great white shark

By Pete Thomas/GrindTv

A great white shark landed Sunday near Panama City, Florida, might be the first white shark caught from the beach in the Gulf of Mexico.

The juvenile white shark, measuring almost 10 feet, was caught by Derrick Keeny of a club called Dark Side Sharkers.

They tagged the shark and, after posing for the accompanying images, released the predator, which they reported on the tag submission to be in “excellent” condition.

“No doubt a once-in-a-lifetime catch,” Dark Side Sharkers posted Monday on Facebook.

Great white sharks are rarely caught from the beach anywhere in the world.

They’re a protected species in most areas, too, including Florida, and some on social media expressed disappointment that the anglers pried this shark’s mouth open for the sake of a photograph.

Stated the California-based Marine Conservation Science Institute, on Facebook: “As great as it is to see this handsome male juvenile White shark, it is the responsibility of the angler to release the protected species ASAP once identified, whether they are tagging with a program or not.

“These regulations are set in place to help ensure the survival and safety of the protected species in the end.”

But this was an extremely rare catch. Most of the dozens comments on the Dark Side Sharkers' Facebook page were congratulatory, and the images, understandably, were being widely shared.

–Images of the great white shark, including that of it being released, are via Dark Side Sharkers

Florida diver uses speargun to fend off great white shark

 

*Note: This post was updated Tuesday morning to include input from the diver, Jimmy Roseman

The water was murky and the situation tense. Jimmy Roseman was tucked amid Florida reefs using his speargun to repeatedly fend off a great white shark.

The 12- to 14-foot predator first announced its presence as Roseman approached the bottom, about 80 feet beneath the surface, off Bethel Shoals. His two dive mates, Brian Brumaster and Craig Goodwin, had remained on the boat.

Moments after Roseman switched on his GoPro camera he felt something shove him from behind, and could hear a pinging noise that “must have been the shark’s teeth hitting the tank.”

This was the beginning of a harrowing dive, last Tuesday, that Roseman will never forget. “The shark then shot out in front of me and swam away,” he recalled.

“Right away I got up against the reef and circled with it, keeping my eye and speargun on it,” he said. “As it circled it was only about seven feet away. When it would come in closer, I would poke it with my gun, but it didn’t seem to bother it to much.

“This is when I started to worry about how I could get it away because it seemed to be getting more aggressive . I poked it three or four times, then it turned and came straight at me.”

Roseman considered shooting the shark, as a last resort, but realized that his spear would not do much harm to a predator he estimated to weigh nearly 2,000 pounds.

“I was hoping it would swim away long enough for me to make a break to the surface,” he said.

The shark made another pass and Roseman tried something he hadn’t yet tried; he poked the shark much harder than before, on the side of the head, and the shark swam off.

“I waited for a few seconds and decided this was my chance to break for the surface–the part I was most worried about,” Roseman said. “But it all worked out after that last poke because I never saw the shark again.”

nce back on the boat Roseman shared his tale with Brumaster and Goodwin.

They were prepared to dive but first it was decided that a more suitable location was neeeded. They piloted the boat four miles to another system of reefs, and resumed the hunt for game fish.

“We dove the remainder of the day and did not see any more sharks,” Roseman said.

His friend, Chris Saunders, uploaded the video on Friday, inserting the sensational music “obviously as a joke to add some fun to the video.”

–Pete Thomas, via GrindTv Outdoor

–Middle image shows Jimmy Roseman; second image is a video screen grab

Florida angler stops for gas with giant mako shark stuffed in bed of pickup truck

Imagine pulling into a gas station and seeing a pickup truck pull in toting an enormous mako shark that is nearly spilling out of the vehicle's bed.

The accompanying image was posted Wednesday on the Pensacola News Journal Facebook page, saying it was supplied by a reader who said it had been caught off Navarre Beach in the morning. In the first six hours the photo had been shared more than 1,200 times.

Details were not provided but a reader named Jeremy Monnot commented that his cousin caught the mako, and added: “I have been asked not to provide the details however I can release some information. It was caught SE of Panama City Beach. It is a mako and will be used for food.

“Most of my family will be eating on this thing for months. Makos are legal game fish in Florida. There is nothing wrong with taking one of these as long as the creature is not wasted, and nothing goes to waste.”

Some shark fishermen choose to remain anonymous because so many people are against killing sharks these days.

This catch comes just days after a giant bull shark was caught just beyond the Miami Beach skyline.

–Pete Thomas

Giant shark goes after hooked tarpon, angler wrestles shark

Fishermen often become overly excited during chaotic moments, and their actions are not always appropriate for the situation.

The accompanying clip shows Captain Bo Johnson of Team Tenacity guide service trying to stop a giant hammerhead shark–by leaning out and grabbing its dorsal fin with both hands–from stealing a large tarpon that has been reeled to the boat off Boca Grande Pass, Florida.

 

Johnson, a fishing show TV personality and a seasoned angler, has handled lots of hooked sharks but presumably never a free-swimming great hammerhead. But this crazy scene definitely warrants a do-not-try-this-at-home label.

Writes Gayne C. Young of Outdoor Life: “There’s a fine line between bravery and stupidity. Truth be told, I can see plenty of both in this clip.

The shark is obviously dialed in on the tarpon, though, and seems to be paying Johnson and crew no mind. The game fish is spared, according to the video description, and later released.

However, at the end of the clip there’s a screen grab from a previous video, showing half a tarpon. So the large hammerheads off Florida, which feed seasonally on migrating tarpon, appear to be getting their share of hooked fish.

–Pete Thomas, via GrindTv Outdoor

–Images are video screen grabs

Florida angler lands 14-foot hammerhead shark from beach

A group of Florida anglers has uploaded video showing the recent capture and release of a hammerhead shark estimated to measure 14 feet and weigh 700 pounds.

(We’ve supplied a shortened version to bring viewers quickly to the shark footage; click here for 5:24 version.)

 

The shark was caught on the Atlantic side of the Florida peninsula.

Viktor Hluben fought the predator for about an hour before it could be tail-roped and hauled ashore for video opportunities.

Hluben is part of a group called Landshark Fishing, which specializes in nighttime fishing for large sharks.



Landshark states at the beginning of the full hammerhead video:
 
“Do not try this at home! … We do not condone or support the killing of any shark species. We are a group of big-game anglers with unconventional methods and conservation at the heart of our practice.”

Hluben used a custom rod and big-game reel (14-0 Penn Senator). In the full version he can be seen grimacing and holding steady, while answering questions from the videographer, as the shark pulls line and struggled to resist capture.

During the release the anglers are aware that they’re dealing with a weary predator. The line is cut, the shark carefully is turned, and ultimately it swims off.

The Landshark Facebook page brims with posts about catches of rage sharks known to roam the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico, so the group obvious possesses expertise in reeling them in and letting them go.

But their words are worth heeding for curious novice anglers: Don’t try this at home.

–Pete Thomas, via GrindTv Outdoor

–Images showing the handling of the hammerhead shark, before its release, are video screen grabs

Florida teen scarred but OK after alligator bites head

Andrew Hudson was swimming in a Florida river on Monday when a large alligator ambushed him with a severe bite to the head.

And as strange as this sounds, Hudson might have been fortunate that the gator didn't chomp onto a softer part of his body, because it might have been torn off.

The 17-year-old's injuries, suffered as he swam in the Little Econ River with friends, were not life-threatening.

This is in part because his friends called for help so quickly, but also because Hudson pulled off his shorts and wore them around his head to stifle the bleeding.  

"It just came up behind me. I didn’t see one all day in there and then it just came up behind me and I felt it and I started freaking out and swam as fast as I could," Hudson told KFOR TV.

The alligator was estimated to measure 9-10 feet.

The Little Econ River is located in the Little Big Econ State Forest, in Florida's Seminole County. According to the Florida Forest Service, it's  popular among canoeists, anglers, hikers and birders.

As for swimming, that seems more than a bit risky.

--Alligator photo is generic

Florida fishing trip nets bale of cocaine worth $2.5 million

The catch of the day last week, for five Florida fishermen, boasted a street value of $2.5 million.

Smartly, though, after hauling aboard the giant bale of cocaine, the nervous fishermen contacted local authorities.

The bale was floating in the Gulf of Mexico, south of the Destin East Pass. The fishermen hauled it aboard and found that inside were several smaller wrapped packages. (See photo.)

The Okaloosa County Sheriff stated in a news release that state and federal law enforcement officers responded to the scene and collected statements from the fishermen.

The Okaloosa County Multi-Agency Drug Task Force determined that the bale contained 25 kilos of cocaine, worth about $100 per gram--or $2.5 million.

The task force is still investigating, while the fishermen, presumably, are hoping the drug smugglers don't connect them to their lost contraband.

Headline Sunday on the Outdoor Pressroom website: "Honest fishermen land $2.5M 'Florida Blowfish.' "

Giant hooked tarpon ripped to shreds by bull sharks (video)

 

The tarpon was estimated to weigh about 170 pounds, a trophy catch. But as the prized game fish was reeled close to the boat, two bull sharks materialized and tore it to shreds as the fishermen watched helplessly and in amazement.

The accompanying video was uploaded three weeks ago by Rapala, but the footage gained traction this week after being shared or pirated by other YouTube users. (Warning, there's lots of fish blood in the footage.)

The estimated eight-foot-long tarpon was said to have been hooked off Boca Grande, Florida.

Enormous bear (620 pounds) largest ever captured in Florida

For the second time this month, Florida wildlife experts have dealt with an abnormally huge critter.

In early May, the largest Burmese python ever recorded in the state was captured and stabbed to death by a South Florida man who encountered the 18-foot, 8-inch reptile on a remote road. Late last week, a near-record black bear was trapped, tranquilized and relocated to a more remote area.

(Note: This is a reprint of a Pete Thomas post on GrindTv Outdoor.)

The massive bruin, captured after it had been breaking into trash cans in the Ocala National Forest, weighed 620 pounds. It's the largest bear ever captured in Florida and only four pounds shy of the largest recorded in the state: a 624-pound bear killed years ago in a vehicle collision in Naples.

 

(The image atop this post is a video screen grab of the 620-pound male bear. Footage of the release, showing the animal scampering over a video camera, is posted above. Bottom image shows tranquilized bear waking up.)

For the sake of comparison, male black bears in some states have exceeded 800 pounds.

"This bear was so used to getting into trash that even after the garbage was secured in a shed he returned and pulled the aluminum siding off to get at his free meal," the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission stated on its Facebook page.

The capture, in Lake County, was part of a successful effort by the agency to tranquilize and relocate the bear to a more remote area, where it's hoped he'll resume a more natural feeding cycle--and perhaps shed a few pounds.

 

"Bears that habitually feed on human-supplied foods such as garbage and wildlife feed or pet food can become abnormally large because of the high number of calories found in these food sources," the FWC stated.

As for the 128-pound python, it was killed by South Florida resident Jason Leon in Miami-Dade County, after he had grabbed a portion of the snake and it had begun to wrap around his legs.

Leon was praised by the FWC because Burmese pythons are an invasive species and a threat to native wildlife. Researchers at the University of Florida have preserved the snake's skeleton, but Leon was recently presented with the beautiful skin. He's quoted by the Associated Press as saying:

"Look at the pattern on that snake. I see God's creation." There are estimated 3,000 black bears in Florida, and a considerable but undetermined number of Burmese pythons within the Everglades region.

--Photos and video are courtesy of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission