Sharks caught at two Houston-area beaches
GALVESTON, TX
Experts say you are more likely to get hit by lightning than be bitten by a shark, but it's still the talk of a couple beaches this holiday weekend.
One was caught near Crystal Beach. The other was found near Matagorda Bay.
Sharks have been around a lot longer than tourists, so it may not be that they're coming closer to shore. Instead, people are wade-fishing in their territory and sometimes even catching them on a fishing line.
On a Matagorda Beach Saturday, it was an unexpected but very celebrated catch of the day -- a 4-foot bull shark caught by a female angler.
It's a fair sized shark, but take that and double its size. For that, we move farther east on the Texas Coast near Rollover Pass.
On Sunday, it was another fishing expedition. Three friends from Beaumont went to the Gulf for the day and wound up with a 300-pound bull shark on the end of the line.
It took 45 minutes to pull it in and it was said to have been a group effort.
"We just happen to be at the right place at the right time, right gear and hooked up with one of the biggest sharks we ever hooked up; brother-in-law standing next to me, I handed him the stick. Forty-five minutes later, we got an 8-foot 4-inch bull shark on the beach. Best friend Sparky here, my brother-in-law, my brother, everybody helping out; a good time, can't beat it," said Damian Diaz, who helped land the shark.
The shark was released after the pictures were taken, so he'll live to tell about the time he got away. The same fate was made for the smaller version off Matagorda. It was released as well, but with a tracker installed by state parks and wildlife workers.
