Fishermen looking for sea bass off GA coast land huge great white shark, video shows

A group of fishermen dropped their line 75 feet into the ocean and something massive latched on.

The group from American Fishing Charters in Georgia set out to bottom fish for sea bass on Dec. 30 and hoped to hook something bigger than a red snapper.

They ended up catching a great white shark.

“Boy did we ever,” the group said on YouTube. “Once we realized it was a great white, we got it next to the boat ASAP and cut the leader as close as possible.”

The anglers reeled in the shark near Tybee Island, which is about 18 miles east of Savannah. They yanked and pulled the shark closer to the boat for nearly 15 minutes, video shows.

The shark finally came right next to the boat and the fishermen looked the creature in the eyes and reached out to touch it before letting it loose, video shows.

“I TOUCHED A GREAT WHITE SHARK,” the group said in a Dec. 31 Facebook post. “Yesterday was the most intense and memorable experience of my life.”

Great white sharks are the largest known predatory fish, according to the World Wildlife Fund. They have 300 teeth and rip prey to pieces.

The great white can weigh up to 7,000 pounds and be up to 20 feet long, the World Wildlife Fund reported.

Fishermen estimated this shark was about 8 feet in length and at least 500 pounds, according to Newsweek.

“I don’t think I’ll ever be the same after looking into that beautiful creature’s eyes,” the group said.

This story was originally published January 7, 2022 at 3:03 PM with the headline "Fishermen looking for sea bass off GA coast land huge great white shark, video shows."