A South Carolina-based sportfishing captain tagged and released a nearly 11-foot great white shark on Friday, but not without help from a brave passenger.
Capt. Chip Michalove, who’s permitted to tag white sharks for research, had just baited the shark when it turned and swam beneath his boat, causing the line to become snagged on a large barnacle.
Michalove jiggled the line with a gaff. He put the reel into free spool to help prevent the line from breaking. But he knew the only way to land the shark was for someone to jump overboard and free the line from the barnacle.
Moments later, Ben Friedman, angler and TikTok star, was in the water alongside the apex predator.
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“I told Ben that he’s going to have to jump in to free the line from the barnacle if he wants to land this girl, and before I finished my sentence he was taking his shoes off,” Michalove, who runs Outcast Sport Fishing, wrote on Facebook. “It’s February, it’s freezing, and this guy hops in and swims under the boat to free it. And then stays in and convinces his camera guy to jump in, too.”
Michalove told FTW Outdoors that the 10-foot, 8-inch shark was fitted with satellite tags once it had been reeled alongside the boat. Its weight was estimated at 750 pounds.
He conceded that Friedman had asked if he could swim alongside a hooked shark even before the charter began.
“He brought up getting in the water, and as crazy as it seems, it’s common to have this request,” Michalove said. “I usually try and talk them out of it.”
Michalove explained that, in this case, circumstances aligned. He added: “There really isn’t as much of a threat, as the shark is under control on the side of the boat. I actually think popping the hook [from aboard the boat] is more dangerous than swimming next to it after a fight.”
Michalove said Friedman signed a waiver before the trip. At the time of this post, Friedman had not responded to a request for a quote, and had not shared his footage publicly.
