A reel-y big fish story

On Sat., June 26, at 6 a.m. Ken Smith, pictured in the Jets T-shirt above, departed for his first fishing tournament from Jones Beach Inlet for an undisclosed fishing spot 50 miles off shore for The Woodcleft Shark Tournament.

The group immediately started attracting a large number of sharks, and Smith’s pole bent over and the reel began to scream, pulling 35 yards of line. “I set the hook and the fight began — back and fourth the fish and I pulled, each trying to gain the advantage,” said Smith. The fight took 20 minutes with Smith as the victor. “We got the fish to the back of the boat ... I couldnt believe the size. Everyone on the boat was screaming in jubilation — we were all amazed.”

When they returned to Woodcleft, the shark weighed in at 265 lbs and measured 7ft 4 inches. “This was an extremely exciting day and by far the biggest fish I have ever caught,” Smith said.

Although it was a whale of a shark, Smith came in 3rd place, with “Fighting Irish” of East Rockaway coming in second with a 280 pounder. “All in all it was a great day for the big game fisherman of East Rockaway. The ultimate tournament winner was a 430-pound thresher shark.