A rare catch! It's one that fishermen call "the fish of a lifetime." A man on vacation wanted to go shark fishing, but things took an interesting turn when he hooked a sawfish instead of the giant predator he was looking for.
If you've seen the fish, it really looks like it has a saw for a snout!
Ian Atherton from Fleetwood in the United Kingdom hopped aboard a private fishing tour with Captain John Cangianella Saturday morning and headed straight off the coast of Cocoa Beach, Florida.
The pair was about one mile out in 35 feet of water when they started letting the fishing lines loose. About 20 to 30 minutes later, they felt a catch.
Atherton fought the pole for about an hour until the fish let up, and to their surprise, they caught one of the endangered wildlife in the sea!
The sawfish hanging out of the water.Jamie Glasner | Fin And Fly Charters
This particular sawfish was about 13 feet long!
"We've been doing charters for 17 years," said Jamie Glasner with Fin And Fly Charters, "and in 17 years we've only caught two, and the last one we caught was literally just this past August."
Sawfish are federally protected species. Since taking them out of the water isn't allowed, Glasner said they used a dehooking device that took the hook out of the fish's mouth, and it stayed in the water.
The sawfish in the water.Jamie Glasner | Fin And Fly Charters
After Atherton let go of the animal, he was satisfied with a regular fishing day, even if he didn't catch a shark. The fisherman caught a kingfish instead.
Fin And Fly Charters do private trips that include deep-sea fishing, shark fishing, and in-shore fishing.