Florida Fisherman Catches 11-Foot, 805-Pound Shark on Shores of Gulf

Florida fisherman Joey Polk told his son he was going to catch a big fish, but even he wasn't expecting what he reeled in off the Florida panhandle last Tuesday.

The 29-year-old Polk, with the help of his two cousins, Earnie Polk, 43, and Kenny Peterson, 21, caught an 11-foot, 805-pound mako shark at a secret location in Florida. 

Polk and his cousins battled the fish for an hour and told the Houston Chronicle the fish showed off its impressive speed: "She was pulling line out of my reel at easily 60 miles and (sic) hour. We call that 'smokin' the drag' round here."

According to Polk, the catch sets a new land-based fishing record, which was previously held by his cousin Earnie for a 674-pound shark caught back in 2009. 

Ny Daily News/ Joey Polk

While Polk normally tags and releases his catches, this shark was unable to swim away after the hour-long fight:

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This is one of only a few sharks Polk and his cousins have not just tagged and released. This one was cooked with a Polk family secret recipe and served for the community, feeding around 200-250 local people.

"We release about 98% of what we catch...we only bring in the ones too injured to swim away," said Polk, who concedes that not everyone agrees with fishing the animals just for sport.

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[YouTube, Houston Chronicle]