Boy, 8, reels in record-breaking 700-pound tiger shark while out fishing with his dad
An Australian boy may just have broken a 22-year-old world record after he caught a monster shark that weighed in at 314 kilograms (692 pounds).
Eight-year-old Jayden Millauro was out fishing with his dad Jonathan and boat captain Ibby Dardas off the coast of south Sydney last weekend when he managed to snag a tiger shark and reel it in, according to the Daily Telegraph.
When they spotted the beast, the trio threw out a line of bait and, amazingly, the shark fell for it and started tailing their 7.3-meter (24 feet) called 'The Undertaker.' Jayden then managed to hook it, and they won subsequent tussle that followed.
Speaking about their record-breaking catch, Jonathan recalled the minutes that led up it and said it was by no means straightforward. "It was rainy and the seas were rough," he said. "We were berleying up and at 11.15 we spotted the shark as it came up to the back of the boat."
"The adrenalin was pumping from the moment we all spotted the shark at the boat," he said. "So Jayden grabs the rod, we harnessed him up," he told 9News
Jayden, the youngest member of the Port Hacking Game Fishing Club, had been learning how to fish since he could walk but revealed that he was still quite "nervous" when the shark was dragged onto the boat.
"I was thinking that I hope the crew can (get) the shark (on the boat) because I don't want to lose it," he said. "I was really excited when they got it."
Despite weighing just 40 kilograms (88 pounds), it was the eight-year-old who pulled the tiger shark onto the boat using a 15 kilogram (33 pounds) fishing line. "I was trying to hold myself, by pushing off the wall in the boat," he explained.
When they arrived back at the Sylvania Marina, they realized to their glee that the shark they caught weighed two kilograms more than the one caught by, Ian Hissey, who had caught a 312 kilogram (688 pounds) tiger shark in April 1997 and had held the International Game Fish Association's 'small fry' record since.
While Jonathan refused to divulge the exact location where the beast was caught, it is believed to have been hooked at a location off the coast of Browns Mountain, off the continental shelf and 160km south of Sydney.
The catch is yet to be confirmed as an official record.