FERNANDINA BEACH, Fla. — A Yulee man reeled in "a fish of a lifetime" off the coast of Amelia Island Tuesday -- a 9-10 foot long great white shark.
Fisherman Alberto Vanegas said it started as a "normal Tuesday" fishing at his favorite spot on Amelia Island. He was casting about 400 feet out with black fin tuna head as bait when the line on his reel started taking off.
What he reeled in was a great white shark estimated to be 9-10 feet long.
"Yesterday was simply unforgettable," Vanegas said. "What started as a normal Tuesday, fishing at my favorite spot on Amelia Island, turned into a monumental catch for myself and for land-based shark fishermen."
Vanegas said he was fishing for bull sharks, but stumbled across the great white instead. He and his fellow fisherman released it after reeling it into shore. He said it took about 30 minutes to reel it in.
Vanegas posted the catch on his Facebook page, and received a lot of congratulations and positive feedback.
"Thank you for all of the love and support," he said. "I am so excited and will continue to honor land-based shark fishing and conservation of these magnificent animals."
OCEARCH is a non-profit organization that tracks sharks wandering the ocean. It has tagged 442 animals in the ocean for tracking and other scientific purposes. Its tracking page shows one great white shark pinged recently -- a 10 foot, 3 inch female named Penny off the coast of Fernandina Beach on Dec. 3. Vanegas said the shark he caught Tuesday was male.