JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (WSVN)— A weekend fishing trip led to the massive catch of a 12-foot tiger shark near the Jacksonville Beach Pier about 400 yards out.
Owen Prior and his friends were shocked when he reeled in the catch of a lifetime.
“One of my friends heard the reel going and they were like ‘Yo Owen, you’re on,'” said Prior.
Taking nearly 20 minutes to bring in, the fisherman said he didn’t realize what it was at first, only noting that it was big and heavy.
“Every step closer I took she got bigger. You come across sharks like that, not often but they’re out there,” said Prior.
Prior said he doesn’t believe the shark was hurt by the way it was hooked and his catch was quickly released back into the ocean. He has caught sharks in the past and maintains that his latest catch wasn’t targeted.
“We weren’t targeting that shark. It just happened to eat the bait. It’s the same bait for every shark, you never know what it’s going to eat,” said the fisherman. “Technically you’re not allowed to take a photo with it. I don’t necessarily regret it, however, that experience and photo I’ll remember forever. That’s something I’ll tell my grandchildren one day, I definitely got caught up in the moment a little bit.”
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation classifies tiger sharks as prohibited species. The FWC said anglers may catch and release prohibited shark species in state waters, but they’re not allowed to target and land prohibited species.
Copyright 2025 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.