NAVARRE — Fishermen with Team True Blue brought some excitement to Navarre Beach Fishing Pier as they caught a 10-foot mako shark Saturdayafternoon.
“It was a great weekend,” said Kenny Peterson. “Kind of like finding a $100 bill.”
The 500-pound fish was the 14th mako shark the team has caught. Last year, Peterson reeled in a 650-pound mako.
Peterson’s cousin, Earnie Polk, head-roped the shark while Peterson worked the fishing rod. It was an hour-long fight between the shark and Peterson and required the manpower of 15 other folks at the pier to help reel it in.
“That’s what I like about catching sharks … the camaraderie,” Polk said. “It’s a talent.”
Polk estimated the fishing team has caught about 73 sharks so far this year. Last year, the team caught hundreds that were more than 6 feet. The secret to catching sharks is just waiting, Peterson said.
“We’ll spend about 12 hours on the pier,” he said. “You have to treat it like a job.”
The next big fish Peterson wants to catch is a tiger shark, he said.
Most sharks they catch are tagged and released. Polk said he’s learned to quickly identify the sharks that are protected species and which are legal to eat.
Saturday evening, Polk and Peterson passed out shark meat to about 100 people. They kept enough for themselves to make a couple of meals.
“Folks staying at the condos like to come to the pier … we made sure they got a big fat chunk of it, too,” Polk said.
Mako shark is easy to cook, Polk insists, like a swordfish or tuna.
“Fry it or grill it, you can’t mess that up,” he said.
Of course, heading back to the pier after a big catch can be kind of boring.
“The feeling lasts for a few days before you start saying ‘OK, it’s time to catch more,’ ” Peterson said with a laugh.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Man catches big mako in Navarre