Skip to content
Notifications
Clear all

Comparing the Bateman 1300 lb Tiger & Maxwell's 1780 lb'er

william
(@william)
Member Admin

Just recieved some interesting questions that i like to share with you .The angler makes a comparison between two huge Tigers caught many years ago but both very worthy catches in our sport.Here are the questions and my response.

"william,how you doing,question,
the two tigers,batemans 1300 lbs,maxwells 1780 record,when i look at the two pictures it looks like bateman's is quite longer.while maxwell's looks a whole lot smaller maybe it is me or the angle's,but either way if they measuered correct maxwell's fish comes in at around 1500 lbs + or- 10%,(g-sq,x- lenth,Div by 800)where these fish actually weight,so if batemans is larger in lenth,witch in a tigers the girth is not far behiend, ithink bateman has a case to make,granted i was not there i am only judging from a 50 year old picture,maybe they where both weighted,i am goin to look at how the weight's where gathered.what's you're take.the 14' hammer that's impressive fish, just look at the hand compared to the head. "

My response
"Maxwell's shark was actually longer at 13 feet 10 and a half inches.Few Tiger sharks of that length have been caught anywhere .In a big shark like tigers those extra 10 inches can mean alot.I have also questioned the weight on Maxwell's shark because there were very few pictures taken of that tiger and it was in 1964 and the IGFA was not as big an organization as it is today.I live close to the IGFA world headquarters and have gone to there library to do shark catch research- next time i go i will research the Maxwell tiger,,,,,,,very interesting stuff.Of course i am not in a position to challenge the Maxwell shark,,,,,,,,I respect and am a member of the IGFA, It is a big world recognized organization that has long outstanding history with big recognition and powerful lawyers I'm sure."


Norman Bateman in 1970 with his 13 foot 2 inch Tiger


Notice the left handed 16/0,can't get those anymore.




AMAZING STORY ABOUT AN AMAZING SHARK HUNTER

I think the requirements for submitting a world record application have gotten more stringent since 1964 but regardless Walter Maxwell was a great pioneer in this sport who learned how to target the biggest Tiger sharks in the world at a time where there was no internet to help you learn quickly,,,,,,he relied on his observations and good instincts to tangle with the monsters at the right time of the year ,at the right place ,and more importantly using the right bait to make it happen.His accomplishment has not been equaled since 1964 but I predict it might happen within the next few years.

On a side note i was recently given the phone number of Maxwells widow, I spoke to her and am trying to go see her and get stories and pictures from her.Just time and money is what it takes.See Ya.

SOUTH FLORIDA SHARK CLUB -President SFSC-Founding Member est 1983 SFSC-Website Administrator BIG HAMMER SHARK TOURNAMENT -Founder Rene Memorial Sharkathon -Founder NMFS Shark Tagger

Quote
Topic starter Posted : 08/23/2009 10:56 am
(@norman-bateman)
Estimable Member

Hi William and club members:

I would be the 1st person to tell everyone straight out that Walter Maxwell's Tiger Shark was the official I.G.F.A All-tackle World Record. There is no doubt in my mind about that.

It is true that 50 year old pictures don't do either shark the justice they deserve. The photographers were not professionals and the cameras were cheap throw-aways. There were other circumstances that contributed to how a shark appears in a photo. My Tiger, for example, had been dead for about 26 hours before we hung her at the pier. She had lost a lot of weight during that 26 hours of decomposition. The trouble we had getting her into the truck for the trip back up the beach and the actual 55 mile trip up the rough beach all contributed to her weight loss.

All of that said though, I feel confident that Walter Maxwell's Tiger was the true champ. I don't think my Tiger would have came close to his.

Thank you for reading my feelings,

Norman Bateman
Cape Coral, Florida
ncbateman1@aol.com
http://www.ncbateman1.smugmug.com

ReplyQuote
Posted : 08/24/2009 8:09 am
(@e-polk)
Prominent Member

To look at those two fish we all think they dont get much bigger than that. Norman, that is a remarkable fish and i am so glad you caught it off the hill. Just so every one will hope to still catch something bigger, a 3360lb tiger that was 18' total caught in 1980 off mackay Queensland. another one just like it was caught in 1954 in newcastle NSW. The girth of a fish is hard to determin from a pic. Just a little bit in length is alot in girth and weight especialy after 13'. Just look at the noaa estimated weight charts on the shark tagger program.

Land Based World Record #5 short fin Mako 700lbs
Team
Land Based World Record #8 Tiger shark 928lbs
True
Land Based World Record #9 Tiger shark 949lbs
Blue
SFSC Panhandle Events Coordinator

ReplyQuote
Posted : 08/29/2009 7:55 pm