South Carolina fisherman hooks 17-foot great white shark: It was a 'monster'

As a charter fisherman who assists shark experts with their research by hooking and tagging great whites, South Carolinian Chip Michalove has come across a number of impressively-sized sharks throughout the years.

But none were more impressive than the “monster” great white he hooked earlier this week. Michalove told Fox News on Thursday he estimated the massive fish weighed 3,500 pounds and was roughly 17 feet in length.

Michalove hooked the shark, a female, at roughly 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday off the coast of Hilton Head. He was accompanied by Jon Dodd of the Atlantic Shark Institute at the time.

Michalove, who also tags sharks on behalf of experts at the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, wrote on Facebook the shark “spit the hook after a 15 [minute] battle.”

“After she threw the hook and came partially out of the water twice, she turned and chased the bait back to the boat as we reeled it back in,” he continued. “We dropped the bait back to her, but she wised up. She wouldn’t give us another shot.”

More