Watch a couple on honeymoon in Florida reel in an 800-pound tiger shark

Watch a couple on honeymoon in Florida reel in an 800-pound tiger shark

For many, a honeymoon is spent relaxing on the beach or traveling through wine country or getting a massage.

But for one Maryland couple, a honeymoon meant adventure.

Will and Ashton Weber left Maryland after exchanging vows and made their way south to Florida’s Panhandle to meet up with Dylan Wier and Blaine Kenny, shark fishing guides and owners of Coastal WorldWide.

The company, a shark fishing outfitter and fishing tour group, operates out of Pensacola, Florida, and has a large social media presence, posting vlogs of their tours to their YouTube channel.

On June 28, just before dark, the pair took the newlyweds out on Navarre Beach and set up their shark lines. The two lines were each baited, one further out into the gulf than the other.

Eventually, the first line hit – and there was something big on the other end.

In a video posted on the company’s YouTube channel, the rod is handed off to Will Weber, who starts to reel aggressively to bring in the fish.

As he keeps working, the second line gets a hit, and the rod is handed to Ashton. The couple each reel hard while the rod bows over with the force of the fish pulling away.

Little did they know, they were trying to reel in the same fish.

“I look to my right, I see the line slack, the bait that we had on that reel was absolutely massive it was like 20 pounds so I knew a big shark had to be picking that thing up,” Wier told WKRG. “She started swimming in with it, pretty typical (of) a normal shark, Blaine gets back to the beach and we had no idea what we were in for.”

Just offshore was a tiger shark – and it was absolutely massive.

“When that fish got close enough where I could drop the harness you know and drop the rod and really get in there with it, man, I was just blown away,” Will told WALA. “I was just completely … I was in shock at the size of this fish. It was unbelievable how big this fish really was.”

Wier ran into the water to try and find the tiger shark. When he finally came up on the fish, he said it was the largest fish the company had ever caught.

The guides estimate the shark to be around 800 pounds.

The Webers were able to get out into the water for a closer look at their catch and to take a few photos before it was gently pushed back out to sea.

“Those pictures can come out really good sometimes, but with a shark that big, it’s so chaotic and we’re just trying to keep that shark’s health in mind and we’re trying to get that thing out as quick as possible,” Kenny told WALA.

Tiger sharks are a protected species, and while they can still be hooked, they can’t be landed per Florida law, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Per Coastal WorldWide tradition, the Webers each got to keep the hook that brought in a shark larger than 10 feet. To celebrate their honeymoon, they are making the hooks into a heart.

This isn’t the first time the shark guides are making headlines.

In March, the daring duo helped other anglers land a 10-foot great white shark, McClatchy News previously reported.

Wier told McClatchy News at the time they are only fishing for what is already out there, and their technique and process doesn’t attract more sharks to the area with bait. Wier also said they always prioritize the health and safety of the shark, handling them for as little time as possible.

With more adventures planned for their honeymoon, the Webers took off for a deep-sea swordfishing trip as their next stop.

Navarre Beach is on the western edge of the Florida Gulf Coast, about 26 miles east of Pensacola.

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