A group of fishermen got a pleasant New Year's Day surprise when a great white shark latched onto their bait off the coast of Fort Lauderdale.
Ten people on board a charter boat - ironically named "Out of the Blue" - had not caught anything for almost three hours until the 13-foot great white latched onto the bait they were using to catch fish.
It took an hour and 20 minutes for the group to wrangle the shark in - it was estimated to be about 1,000 pounds.
Bobby Diaz, the first mate of the charter boat, said everyone took turns trying to reel in the shark and that it "kicked everyone's butts."
"It's just like death looking at you," Diaz said. "It was very intense ... everyone was just excited, appreciating the species."
After they tagged the great white, it was released back into the ocean, two miles off the coast.
Diaz said that was the first time he's seen a shark as first mate of the charter. Later that day, he was out with a second group of fishermen when they spotted a 7-foot golden dusky shark.
