New Bedford Fisherman Drags Shark to Shore With His Bare Hands

New Bedford fishermen cast their lines into the ocean off Westport on Saturday night in search of striper fish, but they reeled in something a whole lot bigger. Michael Gil shared the story of his close encounter with a shark, and he caught it all on video.

Gil and his friend were fishing by Gooseberry Island on Saturday evening in search of striper fish. They waded in the water and cast their lines when shortly after, something monstrous tugged at the other end.

“When the first one took the line, a striper wouldn’t normally take a line that fast and that hard,” said Gil. He knew he was dealing with a shark.

“Sharks come around to feed on the stripers,” he explained.

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While some people may have grabbed their fishing poles and split, Gil and his friend were more excited than ever, and continued to cast out their lines, hoping to reel one in.

It wasn’t until the last cast of the night that they were able to pull one to shore.

“(For) the other ones, we didn’t have time to pick up the rod before (the shark) would snap the line,” he said. “There must have been some monsters out there.”

However, they hooked a smaller one and began reeling in.

“He was so heavy, it was almost impossible to drag him in,” Gil said.

The line snapped, and Gil’s friend grabbed the shark by the tail to pull him to shore.

“It was so cool,” Gil said. “When that shark came in, our body temperatures went up and we were determined to reel it in. We lost six or seven of them, so there was no way we were letting that guy go.”

Gil and his friend always practice the catch-and-release method, so once they got the hook out of the shark’s mouth, they released it back into the water.

Most of the sharks that night were swimming about 50 feet away from shore, and to be able to pull one onto the beach was a thrill for Gil and his friend.

So much so, that they have plans to return Tuesday night and attempt to catch and release an even bigger one.

Check out this heart-pumping moment caught on camera:

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