Fishermen reel in 11-foot hammerhead shark
Raw cell phone video shows the fishermen finally hauling the shark ashore after a half hour struggle. The group took time to measure and photograph the shark before releasing it back into the ocean.
A North Carolina man and his son hooked an impressive 11-foot hammerhead shark off the coast of Avon last week. It was reportedly the second hammerhead they caught that week.
Bryan Lester and his son were fishing on the beach when they felt something tug their line. Alisa Lapp, who was fishing nearby at the time, told WAVY she had spotted a dark shadow in the water and knew they had caught something substantial.
About 30 minutes later, as Lester and his son — with assistance from fellow beachgoers — managed to pull the large creature to the shore, Lapp's suspicions were confirmed: it was a massive hammerhead shark.
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Lester credited his son with the epic catch.
"Good job son...," he wrote on Facebook Saturday, as a video of a group pulling the hammerhead onto the beach began circulating.
The 30-second clip, which was taken by Lapp, has garnered nearly 100,000 views since it was posted Thursday afternoon. Dozens of people have since marveled at the shark's impressive size.
"Beautiful animal!" one Facebook user commented.
"Oh my goodness! Im only going in up to my ankles & thats it! Be safe you all," another added.
"And everyone went back in the water after release. Lol," one user observed.
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Together, the group removed the hook from the hammerhead and released it unharmed back into the water.
Last month, a fisherman in Texas boasted an even bigger catch.
Poco Cedillo reeled in a 14-foot hammerhead shark on the Padre Island National Seashore. He described the catch as one he "only dreamed about" and the "shark catch of multiple lifetimes."
He attempted to set it free, but soon realized the shark was in poor health. After the group with Cedillo decided the shark could not be saved, they worked to save the meat so it could eventually be donated.
Fox News' Travis Fedschun contributed to this report.