Wild Video Shows Two Men Catching First Great White Shark Ever Off Shores of Orange Beach, Alabama
Experts are calling it a once-in-a-lifetime moment after two Pensacola fishing guides caught a great white shark off the coast of Orange Beach in Alabama.
When Dylan Wier and Blaine Kenny with Coastal Worldwide Outfitters set out to catch sharks with their clients they had no clue they would be making history. The two fishing guides are from Pensacola but were fishing off the shores of Orange Beach.
Normally, the Wier and Kenny run their bait about 600 yards off the sandy coasts via kayak where the sharks like to "cruise." They'd caught plenty of sharks before, and when they heard that familiar sound on their reel they figured they had another tiger shark on the line.
But it soon became apparent that they had hooked a huge one this time around as the guys had "all hands on deck" in place to reel in this large fish. As things began to come into focus, the guys realized this wasn't a tiger shark but instead, a great white shark could be seen peeking its familiar-looking head above the shallow water.
After 30 minutes of tussling, Wier and Kenny were handling a 10 to 11-foot great white shark near the beach—to their knowledge, the first time this has ever happened off the Alabama coast.
Once the guys realized what was happening they swiftly jumped into action to release the great white and help it back into the wild.
A leading shark expert told FOX 10 that it was not only rare for great whites to be found in that particular area, but it was far rarer for them to have caught it from the beach. One marine specialist called it a "once-in-a-lifetime moment."
The fellas were praised for how they handled the unprecedented situation, releasing the great white back into the water so quickly as you could hear the excitement in their voices.
As far as the beachgoers and spring breakers go, they were excited but a bit nervous to hear about the great white shark. For some, it was a little too close for comfort, while others said it wouldn't affect their decision to hop in the water after hearing about the large shark that was caught in the area.
Check out the entire video from Coastal Worldwide to see this once-in-a-lifetime catch for this part of the world.