A great white shark that may have been 13 feet in length was caught at a Florida beach by a professional shark fisherman and his clientele.
John McLean, a charter boat captain who owns and operates Big John Shark Fishing Adventures, which is Pensacola’s only land-based shark fishing charter, led a 24-hour charter in February that resulted in a great white shark catch and release.
McLean told Fox News Digital that he and his clients reeled in the great white on Sunday, Feb. 12, at around 2 p.m. EST.
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The shark was caught at Pensacola Beach – the same beach where McLean caught a great white shark in 2021 with a group of seven anglers. Instead of using a boat, this time McLean and his clients cast their line from shore.
John McLean, charter boat captain and owner of Big John Shark Fishing Adventures, told Fox News Digital that he and a friend led four shark fishing clients in February 2023, which resulted in an approximate 13-foot great white shark catch offshore Pensacola Beach, Florida. (John McLean)
“This shark was caught 800 yards off the beach,” McLean wrote in an email to Fox News Digital.
A “massive yellowfin tuna head” was used as bait and McLean said he believes this bait choice helped them catch such a large shark.
“I had four clients switching off reeling in the shark and I also had my friend, Captain David Miller, helping me run the charter,” he wrote.
The shark was released within a minute and 20 seconds and was never removed from the water.
“David was my first friend who introduced me to shark fishing,” McLean continued. “He’s a full-time charter boat fishing captain based out of Pensacola, and he helps me with my shark charters during the offseason months.”
It took the team of six about an hour and seven minutes to reel in the great white shark, McLean recalled.
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“It was the second-longest fight I’ve had from the beach,” he noted.
McLean used a specialized shark fishing rod, shark rig and braided fishing line to catch the great white shark.
John McLean, charter boat captain and owner of Big John Shark Fishing Adventures, estimates the great white shark his clients caught in February 2023 at Pensacola Beach measured 13 feet. (John McLean)
“My fishing gear was pushed to the limits, but it was up to the task to effectively reel in this massive white shark,” McLean explained. “Since I used proper equipment, we were able to make a quick release. Shark fishing and conservation starts with using the right gear.”
McLean noted that February’s great white shark was released within a minute and 20 seconds and was never removed from the water. Photos and videos of the shark were captured on portable sports cameras.
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“I did not measure the shark,” McLean wrote. “[But,] based on the amount of 12-foot sharks my clients have landed, I knew this was something bigger than anything I had seen before.”
McLean told Fox News Digital that targeting and catching sharks from a boat tends to be easier, but the size of a large shark can make it harder to reel in when compared to land-based shark fishing.
“It was the second-longest fight I’ve had from the beach,” John McLean told Fox News Digital. (John McLean)
In open water, sharks are able to swim down, which makes catching and releasing a more challenging task, according to McLean.
“The great white shark my clients caught would have never been reeled in from the boat,” McLean wrote. “My clients reeled this white shark in with a fight time of just over an hour, but had they been attempting to reel in a shark of this size and weight from a boat it would have been a five-hour fight.”
It took the team of six about an hour and seven minutes to reel in the great white shark, McLean recalled.
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McLean noted that “it’s impossible” for anglers to “target a specific shark species.”
“I was not targeting great white sharks on this charter. I was attempting to catch my clients the largest shark possible,” he explained. “It is very rare to catch a great white in this area, especially from the Gulf Coast.”
Before McLean opened Big John Shark Fishing Adventures, he was a professional hockey player.
“I grew up in Minnesota and had no saltwater fishing experience until playing my last year of professional hockey in Florida in 2017,” McLean wrote. “I transitioned careers into shark fishing after connecting with some amazing friends, Henry Everett and David Miller, who introduced me to the sport.”
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McLean founded Big John Shark Fishing Adventures in 2021 and his business reportedly took off when a group of his clients made headlines for catching a 12-foot great white shark from Pensacola Beach.
“I think that all of my clients that have been on charters with me and also recreational shark fisherman are all drawn to sharks and the sport because of the 1975 Steven Spielberg film ‘Jaws,’ McLean told Fox News Digital. “I enjoy providing my clients the opportunity to reel in a catch of a lifetime.”
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McLean’s shark-fishing outings can be seen on YouTube, Instagram and Facebook on the Big John Shark Fishing Adventures account.
