Five men reeled in one of the largest sharks ever caught off New Jersey on Saturday.

The quintet aboard the 31-foot Missfit spent the morning fishing for yellowfin tuna before deciding to try their luck with something larger in preparation for next month's South Jersey Shark Fishing Tournament.

About 70 minutes after hooking the 820-pound mako shark, Gary Blakla hauled the 11-footer onto the boat's deck, ShoreNewsToday.com reported.

The largest shark caught off New Jersey waters weighed 856 pounds. That came in 1994.

The Wildwood-based ship's captain, Rob Kurian of Perkiomenville, Pa. was joined by Fred Dirsh Sr., Fred Dirsh Jr. and Paul Tsoukalas in pulling aboard the monstrous mako. According to the South Jersey Marina, they caught the shark using 50-pound tackle in Wilmington Canyon, a deep sea fishing area approximately 75 miles off the Cape May coast.

It weighs more than twice as much as the 338 pound shark that won last year's tournament and netted a different group of fisherman a prize $196,494.52.

Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JGoldmanNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.