Massive shark caught off the Connecticut coast may break state record
Ed Lovely, from Hampton, Connecticut, told ABC News he takes any chance he gets to go out in the water and fish for sharks.
Lovely, a 46-year-old owner of a drywall company, said a typical shark fishing excursion starts off "nice and peaceful," where he places "balloons out acting like a bobber to hold your bait to the depth you need." But then, "all of a sudden -- bang -- a shark hits and chaos happens," he said.
His fishing trip last week began exactly the same, but here's the catch: he walked away with an estimated 700-pound shark that could potentially break the record for the largest one caught off Connecticut waters.
"I still can't believe we did this," Lovely told ABC News.
This gigantic catch -- which Lovely described as "a monster" -- occurred in the afternoon on July 30 off the coast of Stonington, Connecticut. Last year, Lovely caught 19 sharks, but he's "never seen" a Thresher shark -- mackerel sharks known for long tails that whip around -- this big in his life, he said.
When they were out on the water that day, Lovely said they had been drifting a while and decided to go a mile further. Then once he had strung out the line, he said, "Bang, I feel something," with the shark immediately pulling the line, he said.
"We started fighting from there," Lovely said.
Two hours into attempting to reel the fish in, the two could finally see the monumental size of this shark, with Lovely saying he was "in awe."
"Wow, holy mackerel, look at that shark, it is the biggest shark I've ever seen," Lovely said he was thinking at the time.
Lovely said he and his friend worked over six hours to reel the creature in, and once they did, they "laid on the deck and started laughing like kids, just laying there in the dark with headlamps on."
Since the 16.5-foot-long fish was not going to fit in his 16-foot-long boat, the two tied the shark to the side of the boat and drove to the dock, Lovely said. With the help of his son and a trailer, they were able to successfully transport the shark and leave the dock at approximately 1 a.m.
The whole time, Lovely said what kept him going was "mental strength."
"When we were fighting the fish before dark, I said to my buddy, 'It's getting dark, I don't have lights, maybe we should cut the line.' He turned around, looks at me and goes, 'We're not cutting the line, we're all in.' I got the headlamps out, and we kept fighting into the dark until we finally got him. It was insane, it was awesome," Lovely said.
Now, Lovely is in communication with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to see if his catch will actually break the record. A spokesperson for the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection also confirmed to ABC News that this feat is under review for the Marine Trophy Fish Award.
In the meantime, the shark's meat has been cut up, filleted and put in coolers to be shared with friends and family, his wife Cynthia told ABC News.
Lovely's advice for anyone aspiring to do the same? "Go out there and try it."
When asked if he would aspire to top this record, Lovely replied: "Absolutely not."
"If there's one that big on the line, I'm cutting the line," Lovely told ABC News.
