Animals

A shark stole bait off New Jersey. The fishermen reacted with lots of profanity.

By The AP

Less than a minute to read

MANASQUAN, N.J. (AP) — Six sport fishermen had some competition as they tried to catch mako sharks for a tournament off the New Jersey shore.

Capt. Jeff Crilly tells the Asbury Park Press they were fishing about 30 miles (48 kilometers) off Manasquan Inlet when a great white shark surfaced and grabbed their bag of bait hanging off the back of their boat Monday. Crilly estimates the shark was 16- to 18-feet long (4- to 5-meters), or more than half the size of their boat.

All the crew could do was watch and videotape the encounter before the great white swam off with the bait.

Advertisement:

Crilly says they’ve fished for sharks a lot, but they’ve ‘‘never seen anything like that.’’