Great white shark attacks fisherman's boat in Gulf
PENSACOLA, Fla. — Fishermen who have seen a Panama City Beach man's recent video on Facebook might be thinking, "I'm going to need a bigger boat."
Scott Fitzgerald of Madfish Charters was fishing for amberjack Monday morning about 8.5 miles out in the Gulf of Mexico when he felt a big bump in his boat.
A great white shark was attacking the trolling motor on his 22-foot Sea Hunt.
"He knocked the boat 2 feet to the side, then grabbed the trolling motor and started shaking it in his mouth," Fitzgerald said. "That's when I ran up front and pulled it out of his mouth."
Fitzgerald let the boat drift for a while and captured several cellphone videos of the shark circling the boat.
"Every time I put (the motor) back into the water he would go after it again," said Fitzgerald. "I've never seen anything like it."
When the shark attacked the motor a third time, Fitzgerald left the area.
According to Fitzgerald, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has confirmed that the shark in the video is a great white and the agency is investigating what might have caused the shark to attack the boat.