Texas angler Jimmy Limon, who was sad to see the giant die during their battle, managed to reel in this immense hammerhead shark after an hour’s fight.
On the Friday night of August 26, 2022, Limon and a crew of friends got a big bite on their rig set up a good 700 yards out from the Texas shore. There in the deep, a Gulf of Mexico behemoth had hooked, and Limon was in for the fight of his angling career against this 13+ foot behemoth.
“Dropped a couple baits overnight and landed this beast hammer, taped out at 13’3”. Last year I lost one of this magnitude and when this fish took off, it was definitely scary knowing that this is the one,” he posted of that night on Facebook.
Limon had “around 70+ pounds of drag right from the start,” but was unaware that he’d landed a foul hook in the hammerhead shark’s pectoral fin. “Most of you guys who shark fish know [this is] definitely a way tougher fight,” he added.
“After the initial run she practically dumped my 80T-Rex down to around 100-150 yards left on the reel,” Limon recalls. “I finally got her turned and the fight time was right at 1 hour from hook set.”
‘Unfortunately she didn’t survive the battle‘
Sadly, the giant payed for this fight with her life. “When sharks, especially hammers, get this big – most shark fisherman know they are prone to fighting till the death and unfortunately she didn’t survive the battle,” Limon notes.
“We swam with her for almost an hour with no luck bringing her back. Sad to say I have never killed any shark intentionally and this was unfortunate,” the angler laments.
Limon has “tagged and released 100’s of sharks,” but this one just didn’t make it, he says. Regardless, he sends a shoutout to his friends and crewmates who helped him land this “once in a lifetime fish.”
To make sure her sacrifice wasn’t in vain, Limon and his crew harvested what meat they could from their catch.
How Big Do Hammerhead Sharks Get?
As Sport Fishing Magazine cites, the IGFA all-tackle hammerhead shark world record is a 1,280-pounder. That behemoth was caught at Boca Grande, Florida by Buck Dennis in 2006. The majority of record-holders are under 14 feet and close in size to the one Limon hooked. But the largest species of hammer, the great hammerhead shark, grows far larger out in the open ocean.
Limon’s is also likely to be a great hammerhead. And as Oceana.org cites, the species averages a length of 13.1 feet (4 meters) and weight of 500 pounds (230 kg).
But the longest ever documented puts all angler trophies to shame. The longest great hammerhead shark ever recorded was a whopping 20 feet (6.1 meters) long.
In turn, the heaviest great hammerhead ever recorded was 991 pounds (450 kg).