Angler lands record-sized mako shark weighing 809 pounds with a BOW AND ARROW Jeff Thomason spent 30 minutes coaxing the Mako shark to his boat Landed it in one shot, it weighed 809 pounds and scaled 11 feet in length He donated 400lbs of the meat to a Los Angeles homeless shelter nearby Mako sharks are the fasted sharks in the world, notoriously hard to catch A man has landed an 11-foot, 809-pound Mako shark - using a bow and arrow. Jeff Thomason, host of hunting show Predator Pursuit, only had one shot to strike the record-sized fish. He spent 30 minutes coaxing it towards his boat off the coast of Los Angeles, California, before opening fire. World record: Jeff Thomason proudly posed with the Mako shark and the bow he used to land it last month Finally, he took aim and struck the shark through the back. Five crew members were needed to haul the fish back to shore. And after weighing it, Thomason learned he had broken a bowfishing world record by 300 pounds. He then donated 400 pounds of the meat to a homeless shelter nearby. 'It was one of those days when everything went right,' the Texan angler told Lone Star Outdoor News of the event on August 27. Mako sharks are notoriously hard to catch as they are the fastest sharks in the world, with a top swimming speed of 60mph and an average of 35mph. Efforts: It took five crew members 30 minutes to coax the fish to the boat off the shore of Los Angeles They are known to viciously attack people and animals. Bowfishing is an ancient practice dating back to the Filipino Negritos, who shot freshwater fish with barbed arrows from canoes. Now, anglers used specialized archery equipment to catch their targets. The complex practise requires fishermen to be within feet of the selected fish, and many anglers spend years studying the best angle to shoot from - and where to aim. Excursions: The Texan angler has made several trips from his home to the California shore to fish 'They've got to be about three feet from the boat to get the arrow to stick, so we threw a fish on a line and teased him to the boat,' Thomason told Lone Star Outdoor News. 'I try and shoot for the top of the back. As soon as the arrow hit, all hell broke loose. 'We freaked out because I spined him and we thought he might sink.' The largest Mako shark ever caught weighed 1,221 pounds and was landed using a rod and reel off the coast of Massachusetts in 2001.

• published: 30 Sep 2014
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