Hooked one of the BIGGEST SHARKS of my entire life (w PICS)

Folks I can say with certainty that what I hooked tonight was over 1000 lbs maybe over 1100 lbs.I leaned back on my mighty 10 foot Gatorglass and was not hurting this fish in any way ,seldom have a seen line come off a reel like I seen tonight.I quickly harnessed up and dug my rod butt in the sand and with the shark taking line and me trying to stop the monster I could hardly lift the rod to bend it- the rod was almost pointing the horizon as I strained with all my might to bend the rod and slow this runaway freight train.Remember it's hard to bend one of these big rods but try bending it as a beast takes line in the opposite direction and with so much force that you are helpless to do anything but hang on.When I hooked this giant hammer I had a little more then half a spool of line but in a matter of a few fast minutes I was down to less then 1/4 spool with a very tight drag I was not slowing this fish a bit.NIGHTs LIKE THIS MAKE ME UNDERSTAND WHY I NEED A 16/0 OR IS IT A REMINDER THAT EVEN THE MIGHTY PENN 16'S ARE MADE TO FEEL SMALL AND POWERLESS AGAINST THE BADDEST MIGHTIEST SHARKS .When you hook your first monster that you can't stop you will remember this story. As the spool got smaller I told Shannon to get his 14/0 which was in ready to tie in cause this shark was not gonna be possible to stop.I could smell the new drag washers burning as water was poured to cool the reel.Everyone around me was calling this beast of a shark a monster ,a huge force that would take hours of battling to catch.The shark showed no sign of stopping or slowing as i struggled like I have not in years to lift my rod and turn the fish.I was on my way to getting spooled with a perfect condition 16/0 with new drag washers .The biggest of sharks require complete attention to detail ,no laziness ,only the best of everything because they will find your weakest link and on this night my weakest link was a splice that I had 400 yards from the leader and it gave way.My splice came apart and I lost the WORLD RECORD HAMMER TONIGHT.I was so upset and angry at myself for not having changed my old line for brand new 2000 yard spool i bought last week I wanted to cry and I screamed in agony as i realized I had lost a shark bigger then my 13 foot 8 inch Hammer in 1989 and bigger then my 13 foot Tiger in 2008.This shark was that much more powerful then those two .I LOST A TRUE MONSTER OF THE DEEP but he good thing is I will be ready ---me and Ray(clack,clack,clack)took off all the remaining line off the 16/0 and put it in the garbage can.Time to wind on the new line in the morning.Lesson learned "don't get lazy and procastinate in this sport or you will pay the price when King Kong comes along".

A fish like that is what keeps us motivated..good story Will..hopefully you'll have another shot at him in your lifetime.

What a monster!!! Thanks for a good show on my first east coast shark adventure...8 years of sharking on the west coast I never saw anything come even close

That's a nice story but theres a reason why you lost it now learn from it and be ready for the Big Hammer Challenge.You are going to do it then if my knee wasent so messed up you know i would be there with you just to help even if i was'nt fishing so good luck to you and every one else that fishes the tourney,,

Wow!!! Thanks for being the guy who shares the experience for the benefit of all rather than being sore about it. Sounds like an amazing experience Will. Also makes me try to remember every detail of the last splice I did!!!! We'll be looking forward to hearing about the re-match!!!!

Chris

good story man, i guess it can happen to the best of us. Better luck next time

Sorry you lost it cuz, I think you have one of the best chances to land a beast in the near future, your equipment is always top notch and you put more hours than anybody I know, You will have it shortly the beast you have been searching for many years better luck next time

You'll get another chance one of these days, maybe sooner than later

Just hit the store for some more line and keep runnin' them big baits..happy monster season Will

It shure sucks to loose a bigun like that. Stretch 1000yds of line out and a week spot is easy to find. Look on the bright side, atleast ya got to fight the fish. Alot better than most any catch, accept the one that got away. Get all the bad luck wore off so the BHC will be worn into the good luck.

WOW!!!! Yep Wow that is the kind of story thats keeps me fired up about LBSF. I am sorry you did not see this MONSTER, but it will be a story you tell for the rest of your life.

Will sounds like you had the once in a lifetime Hammer on the line........I hate the beast found the weak link. As others have stated it is still early in the year and sounds like your ready with a full spool of new line that will be ready for the task next time !

Great report & Pics!

WOW.. that looked to be a catch of a life time. At least you know where he's hanging around and waiting for his next dinner.

DANG