MOBILE BAY, Ala. — A recent fishing trip off the coast of Alabama turned into a remarkable encounter when Capt. David Stiller and his crew with Apex Shark Fishing Charters hauled in a massive 560-pound bull shark.
“We were fishing straight off Mobile Bay, right off Dixey Bar, about 3.5 miles out,” said Stiller, who operates the only federally permitted commercial shark fishing charter in the state. While catching sharks is routine for the crew, this trip quickly turned unusual.
“We had our long-line gear out and were hauling it in when we started pulling up just shark heads — piece after piece,” Stiller said. “That told us something bigger was in the water.”
Suspecting a much larger predator was responsible, the crew baited a hook and set out a buoy. Roughly an hour later, the equipment began to move.
“We looked at our plotter, and this thing was dragging around a 12-pound lead weight,” Stiller said. “It wasn’t moving like a tiger shark, but I knew it was something big.”
What followed was a 20-minute struggle to bring the shark aboard. Stiller, along with two crew members and the boat’s hydraulic system, managed to pull the giant through the hatch.
“Between the hydraulics and the three of us, we were finally able to squeeze it in, pull the fins in, and get it through the door,” he said.
The shark, while an impressive catch, will not be eligible for a state record — the current record stands at 494 pounds — because it was caught using commercial fishing gear. Still, the crew isn’t disappointed.
“It was really cool to see something that big,” Stiller said. “It’s not something we come across every day.”
The bull shark will be sent to the Mississippi Gulf Coast Research Lab, where scientists will study its age and growth patterns as part of ongoing research into the species.
