The catch of a lifetime for a Melbourne fisherman during an oceanfront fishing day in south Melbourne Beach.
- Man hooks hammerhead shark on Melbourne Beach
- Wade Senti struggled for 30 minutes to bring shark to shore
- Senti cut fishing line and saved the shark
"I believe it was nine feet, we couldn't measure it," Wade Senti said. "I didn't realize how big it would be. But once I started fighting it I knew it was on. Once we got close enough, I saw the dorsal fin and I knew it was a hammerhead."
At the end of his fishing pole, 250 feet out in the water, he had hooked a hammerhead shark. And the large animal wasn't giving up without a fight.
Senti's sister-in-law caught parts of the 30-minute struggle on her phone.
But why didn't Senti just cut the line?
"Now it's got 200 yards of line dragging through the ocean. That's not good for any fish," he said.
Plus, he knew that hammerheads stress very easily when fighting like that. It was a must to cut the line close to the hook, and quickly get the shark back to the water.
Thankfully moments later the shark was set free.
Though this was an amazing experience for Wade, he wants it to help spread a message of conservation.
"It's important for people to understand that recreational fishing is not as harmful as commercial fishing offshore, and what it does to those sharks," Senti said.
Sharks come closer to the shoreline especially this time of year, to snack on bait fish that dot the shallow waters to feed.