TREASURE ISLAND (FOX 13) -
When a Canadian tourist
headed out in the Gulf to go fishing Friday, he never could have expected to
reel-in an 18-foot great white shark.
And every bit of Fab
Marchese's big "fish story" is true. That great white shark took him
on a wild ride and because he never let go he's got the greatest story to tell
for the rest of his life.
He came. He saw. He
caught!
"Just the vision
of seeing that head," said Marchese incredulously. "Like, it was
massive! That's what I'm going to remember the most."
Marchese had to
convince his friends back home in Ontario, Canada, this was all true.
"Just like the
movies, it was the fish from the movie," said Captain Joe Maisano with Go
Fast Fishing Charters in Treasure Island.
Maisano saw the great
white flash his great big teeth for just a few seconds.
"Only a couple
species of sharks get that big," said Maisano, who is a seasoned
fisherman. "Great hammerheads, tiger sharks, and the great whites are the
only three that will get up there that big."
They were 30 miles off
shore and scouting for all sorts of big fish.
"About four hours
into the fishing trip and then big mama showed-up and wanted to play,"
laughed Maisano, who likened it to seeing a small submarine. They put out some
bait and the great white bit on their large, steel hook and gave Marchese the
workout of his life.
He fought the 3,000
pound beast for nearly three and a half hours without a break and while holding
the rod against his abdomen.
"Just hold on,
yeah hold on and fight," said Marchese. "I wanted to see it right up
close."
He's been fishing since
he was 5 years old and wasn't about to let go.
"I'm hanging on to
this thing no matter what," said Marchese.
The great white was an
estimated 18 feet – more than half the size of their boat.
Once they got a good
look, they set it free. After all, great whites are a protected species. But
without the fish, even his kids Marisa and Nadia were skeptical.
"I didn't really
believe it, and when I came with him for the interview I believed him,"
8-year-old Marisa said.
"You think they'll
believe you? No," said 7-year-old daughter Nadia.
"Yeah, this is
like a dream come true basically," said Marchese. "You never think
something like this is going to happen. It's just like, how am I going to top
this now?"
The
family has until the weekend to top catching a great white shark. We asked his
daughters if they knew who "Winter" the dolphin is, and their eyes
lit up. They've seen the movie but didn't realize Winter lives right here in the
Bay area, so they may go check her out and add a real-life Dolphin Tale to this
real-life shark story.
