After a one-and-a-half-hour fight, the fisherwoman was able to retrieve a 5-meter shark weighing 545 kg from the sea.
Charlene Dillon, 30, had to be strapped into a seatbelt to keep her from being dragged overboard by a giant sixgill shark.
A gigantic fish weighing half a centner (like a piano!) Was caught at a depth of 60 meters off the coast of County Clare (Ireland). The shark didn’t fit on the boat, so it was released after Charlene caught and measured it.
Charlene says she is the only woman to have caught a sixgill shark in Ireland. It is possible that this is generally the European record for the largest catch among women.
She says:
“I was very worried and mentally prayed for a bite. When the fish bit, my heart jumped in my chest, and when the reel squealed with speed, I began to shake with excitement.
I hit the line with all my might, and then I felt something pulling me, and the skipper said that a large fish had bitten.
I was strapped in with special harnesses so as not to fall overboard: with a fish of this size, this is a common thing.
As soon as she saw the surface, she again rushed to the bottom with all her might, but I was not going to give in to the fish! It took me another half hour to get this monster out.”
She continues:
“It was astounding to see a fish the size of half a boat come on the surface. I was really astounded by her size!
This is a very rare species of shark, and certainly the most unusual catch in my life. I felt like the most powerful woman in the world when I was able to outsmart and physically defeat this powerful animal – it’s such a feeling of pure joy and success, a real euphoria. It’s unlike anything else in life.”
Charlene, a nurse, usually catches pike in freshwater. It was her first expedition to the deep sea.
