Featured Image Credit: Outcast Sport Fishing Facebook
Two men fishing off of Hilton Head in South Carolina hit the great white shark jackpot Monday. Captain Chip Michalove of Outcast Sport Fishing was fishing with a friend that afternoon when they hooked a 10-foot shark. They tussled with the fish for a few minutes and then it released the hook. Disappointed, the two thought that shark catching was over for the day.
They were surprised and delighted when a few minutes later, a huge 16-foot 3,000-pound great white shark caught the line. Michalove had to call for backup on his radio and another fisherman and his daughter came to help.
Michalove is known as the “Great White Shark Whisperer” after gaining a reputation for successfully catching the beasts in 2015. He’s caught 26 sharks since then. In December of last year, he made headlines when a 15-foot great white shark circled his boat, which you can see below.
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Great white sharks come to the warmer Lowcountry waters every year. The time frame lasts from December to March. However, colder water temperatures this year have driven them out into the Gulf of Mexico, making for a slow winter for Michalove and crew. Now that he’s had two on the line in one day, his spirits are up and he’s hopeful about the month of March.
Michalove works with the Atlantic Shark Conservancy based. in Chatham, Massachusetts. Together they study the movement patterns of the great whites. The massive female shark he caught Monday had an acoustic tag placed on its fin before she was released. Michalove says the way he catches and tags the sharks puts minimal stress on them. Now that this shark is tagged, more information will be gathered so we can learn about these amazing giants.