ORLEANS, MASS. (WHDH) - A 6-year-old boy reeled in what he thought was a massive striped bass but it turned out to be a Great White shark.
The big catch happened well offshore in Orleans Sunday afternoon, near the Eastham and Orleans line. The shark was estimated to be 10 to 12-foot length Great White shark.
“I first thought it was a giant Yellowfin tuna,” said Blake White, the boy who caught it.
Blake’s family, who is from Houston, Texas, was on the Cape visiting his grandparents. The boy was holding the fishing rod on his grandfather’s 22-foot boat on Sunday, when he felt a huge tug.
“Well, I did pass the rod to my dad because it was too heavy,” he added.
The shark didn’t bite the bait, it was hooked on the boat’s trolling rig. The shark was caught for 90 minutes.
Blake’s dad thought they had grabbed something from the bottom of the ocean until they were able to see the shark.
“I calmly told the kids to sit in the middle of the boat, down low, and we took a few photos and as soon as we could get it in close enough we the line and sent him on his way,” said Lars White, Blake’s father.
White grew up on the Vineyard was there when the movie “Jaws” was shot in the 70s. He explained that the iconic movie came to his mind immediately.
“There were comments right away about needing a bigger boat and all,” said Lars White. “So, yeah we would’ve needed a bigger boat if we wanted to do anything with that.
When asked if he ever thought he would bring the shark in, Lars certainly said he wouldn’t. “No, absolutely not,” said Lars White.
The family sent pictures of the shark to experts in New Bedford. It was confirmed it was a Great White shark.
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