Why a nearly 600 pound bull shark caught in Gulf Shores didn’t set an Alabama record

A massive bull shark was caught in south Alabama last week weighing nearly 600 pounds and 10 feet in length.

The shark was captured in Gulf Shores off Fort Morgan in federal waters by Capt. David Stiller with Apex Shark Charter Fishing, a commercial fishing business.

Captain Lew Childre, founder of Apex Shark Charter Fishing, said the shark was not considered for the state record because it was caught on commercial gear.

But Childre stated he is positive it was bigger than the state record that they caught last year and explained why.

“The reason being, is one, it was a bigger shark,” Childre said. ”But two, it had pups. It actually had 11 pups, averaging eight pounds a piece. That’s like 88 pounds of pups.”

Last July, a record 494.5 pound bull shark was captured by Stiller as part of the Bon Secour team.

Childre said that they became aware of the presence of a large shark after a fishing line had a bunch of, “chewed up,” smaller sharks.

After utilizing better gear equipped to handle a big shark the team was able to locate a large female shark.

The shark was caught on a recreational long line leading Stiller to fight the animal for over 20 minutes, Childre said.

It took an additional 10 minutes just to get the animals aboard the ship.

Childre said Apex Shark Charter Fishing target smaller sharks but because it is mating season bigger female sharks are entering Mobile Bay.

Because of this yearly occurrence Childre said his business is used to encountering bigger sharks.

“We catch about half a dozen to a dozen of those size fish every year,” Childre said. “We land about 250 to 350,000 pounds of sharks a year. So, for us it’s just another day in the office.”