So the Spinner aka blacktip migration is on again. Not to worry, the spinners have predators too, aside from us of course. A 1000 lb. 13 to 14 ft. hammerhead was charging through them next to the Lake Worth Inlet off Singer Island in Northern Palm Beach County. A guy actually caught it, not to hurt it but just to take its picture. Sigh. Killed the shark, NOW we'll need more hammerheads to step up to fill the vacancy. People. If you saw this guy underwater it would appear to be up to 18.5 ft. long, big goomer!
The story follows:
Palm Beach resident Fritz Van der Grift lands 14-foot hammerhead shark off Singer Island
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By JOSEPH LUCIANO
Daily News Staff Writer
Sunday, March 09, 2008
(enlarge photo)
From left, Greg Bogban, Minot Amory, Paul Van der Grift and Fritz Van der Grift show off the hammerhead shark Fritz caught Wednesday.
Palm Beacher Fritz Van der Grift had the fishing experience of his life Wednesday.
Van der Grift, friend Minot Amory and charter boat captain Greg Bogban were fishing off Bogban's boat for blacktip sharks in the shallow waters off Singer Island just north of the Palm Beach Inlet. The fish weren't biting, and the group realized they were being stalked, Van der Grift said. They spotted what turned out to be a 14-foot, 1,000-plus-pound hammerhead shark and attempted to catch it.
"It was just this huge shadow circling our boat," Van der Grift said. "It showed its dorsal fin to us. The thing came out of the water. It was like a movie."
Van der Grift, whose father, Paul, is president of the First Serve of the Palm Beaches, said he fought the shark for more than an hour before landing it.
The shark died soon after as a result of the struggle.
"I didn't know if I was going to make it," Van der Grift said. "My arm was numb 10 minutes into it. It was a game of tug-of-war. I would reel it in 20 or 30 yards and he would take off, and then I would reel it in another 20 yards and he would take off again. It was like a game."
Van der Grift, who said his biggest catch before this was a 350-pound bull shark, said when they tried to weigh the fish, the scale stopped working at 1,038 pounds.
The fish's organs have been donated to research laboratories, Van der Grift said.
From:
http://www.palmbeachdailynews.com/ne...story0309.html