‘Pretty epic’: Texas fisherman catches 12.5-foot tiger shark

This is a fish story worth savoring.

>> Read more trending news

A Texas man set a personal best on Saturday, reeling in a 12 1/2-foot tiger shark at the Padre Island National Seashore, the Caller Times of Corpus Christi reported.

Christian Haltermann, 36, of Kyle, was on a weekend fishing trip with his 8-year-old son, the newspaper reported.

Haltermann kayaked about 1,000 yards offshore and dropped a 10-pound stingray into the water as bait, according to the Caller Times.

He got a bite at about 7 p.m. CDT.

“Saturday evening we got picked up at about 7 p.m. and I instantly knew it was a monster,” Haltermann told the newspaper. “We knew it was a big one for sure.”

It took Haltermann about two hours to reel in the female tiger shark and estimated it weighed more than 1,000 pounds, the San Antonio Express-News reported. He was unable to get an accurate weight because he volunteers with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and only tags and releases sharks, according to the newspaper.

“She absolutely beat me up and had a bunch of fight left in her,” Haltermann told the Express-News.

Haltermann said his son, Hub, helped by running down the shore to ask two other beachgoers for some assistance, the newspaper reported.

“Hub was blown away,” Haltermann told Field & Stream. “He said it looked like a tiger shark and megalodon had a baby. Those were his exact words.”

“It was pretty epic,” Haltermann told the Express-News about the catch. “We were over the moon. When we saw it come out of the water the first time, I mean, we kind of figured it was over 11 feet, but we weren’t expecting that. It was a pretty, pretty massive tiger.”

Haltermann takes measurements and collects data on the sharks he catches before tagging and releasing them back into the water, the Caller Times reported.

“I don’t ever want to remove them from the water because the priority is getting released,” Haltermann told the newspaper. “We got the hooks removed, took a couple quick pictures and sent her on her way, but she was super lively and she swam off real strong.”

©2022 Cox Media Group