Kimberly Blair

pnj.com

After the north Santa Rosa County Polk cousins became international celebrities when a photo the News Journal posted online of an 850-pound mako they caught in April went viral, land-based shark angler Earnie Polk beached another whopper of a shark over the weekend.

This time, with the help of fishing buddies Brady White and Will Spud Smith, he spent four hours on his rod in an epic struggle to reel a 13-foot, 6-inch great hammerhead, estimated to be 1,450 pounds, to the shallows on a Santa Rosa Island beach.

Monster mako shark snagged from Gulf waters

Polk won't reveal his exact fishing holes, saying he doesn't want misguided shark anglers to exploit the sport, nor does he want to scare shark-timid tourists form the area.

As he does with most of his sharks, Polk tagged and released the hammerhead after snapping photos for his Facebook page. His tagged sharks are part of a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration research project to help manage and sustain shark populations.

Land-based shark fishing is family rite of passage

The shark would have measured more than 14 feet except part of its tail was "nubbed off," according to Polk's post on his Facebook.

The behemoth unofficially shatters the International Land Based Shark Fishing Association record of a 12-foot, 1-inch hammerhead caught off of Jensen Beach near Port St. Lucie in 2008.

Polk told his friends that in his haste to release the shark, he didn't properly photograph and videotape it to claim an official record.

He caught the shark by launching his baited line out in the Gulf of Mexico from a remote-controlled kayak he invented just for shark fishing.

While they continue enjoying the sport they learned from their fathers, the Polk cousins have signed a contract for a potential reality TV show.