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08/18/2017 08:19 AMFour Clinton men got the surprise—and photo—of a lifetime last weekend when the fisherman reeled in a 336-pound thresher shark off the coast of Montauk, New York.
Dennis Ferone, Kelly Werbinski, Jim Policar, and Garret Gunther took off from Clinton aboard Ferone’s boat Sea Critter early on Aug. 10, just like any other week.
“I fish in the Long Island Sound every weekend,” said Ferone.
Using a mackerel as a bait, the fishermen felt a bite around 9:30 a.m. The men would spend the next five hours reeling in their catch.
“After two hours, we didn’t know what he got. Then when it popped out of the water, everybody’s jaw dropped!” Ferone said.
“It was my first time ever going shark fishing,” Ferone added.
It took all four men taking turns to reel the shark in.
The fisherman went to a marina in Montauk, which had to use a crane to hoist the shark onto the boat. They were able to identify the fish as a thresher shark by its characteristic long tailfin.
Upon returning to Clinton, a crane that removes boats from the water to store them for the winter was used to get the shark on land. The shark was then made into shark steaks.
“It was the first time I ever had shark steak, and it was very good,” Ferone said.
Lest anyone fear that the large sharks will ruin their next beach day, it should be noted that despite their large size thresher sharks are considered harmless to humans. Ferone was quick to note, too, that the shark was caught off the coast of Montauk in the Atlantic Ocean, as opposed to the Sound.
“I don’t need to scare everyone from going to the beach!” he said.