Thieving bull shark caught

It started out as a regular charter fishing trip for Captain Jamie Gaspard on the 41-foot "Pure Adren-A-Line" out of Moran Marina at the Fourchon. Little did Gaspard and the rest of the crew know that they would soon be fighting a monster bull shark.

Reaching their destination 35 miles offshore, Gaspard’s crew began catching tuna and amberjack around rigs in the Grand Isle area. Jamie Ducote, of Cottonport, was reeling in a mid-sized amberjack when a large bull shark hit the line.

Immediately, the 320-pound bull shark swallowed the amberjack.

"This shark surprised everyone on the boat. We consider the bull shark as the great white shark of the Gulf of Mexico," Gaspard said. "The shark was so strong that it broke an Unlimited rod half way through the fight."

Gaspard said he would pull the line by hand while Ducote reeled it in.

"This went on for forty minutes," Gaspard said. "When we got the shark to the boat, deckhands Keith Matherne and Joshua Gaspard were able to put two gaffs in and haul in the 11-foot bull shark. Before we could put the bull shark in the boat, we tied a rope around the tail and dragged the fish for about a half a mile to let the fish expire."

To insure the fish would stay fresh, Gaspard and his crew removed the liver and intestines and packed the cavity with ice bags. Gaspard said the crew had a great day of fishing on the smooth cobalt blue water of the Gulf of Mexico.