F My Life: It's Funny, It's True, Except When It Happens to You

Here is one fish tale that you'll never believe.

A fly fisherman who was fishing off La Jolla last week accidentally caught a great white shark that was about 6 feet long and weighted 150 pounds.

This is believed to be the first time that a great white shark has been caught near the California coast using only a fishing rod.

Jeff Patterson, who works for reel manufacturer Abel Automatics, was testing a few of his company's fishing rods approximately 5 miles offshore when he bagged the great white.

"The grab was instantaneous, and the shark cooperated with a quick left turn to allow the proper hook set," Patterson said.

The ensuing battle went on for about 25 minutes.  Patterson admits, he thought it was a mako shark until the beast got close enough that skipper Conway Bowman ID'd it as a great white.

Great white sharks have been protected in all California waters since January 1, 1994.

"Anglers cannot target great whites, and if caught accidentally while fishing for something else you have to immediately release them," Department of Fish and Game marine biologist Carrie Wilson said.

Patterson, therefore, let the shark go after taking the photo below.  Just when you thought it was safe...this is our third shark story in the past two months!...

great white shark Fly Fisherman Accidentally Reels in Great White Shark

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