Florida's adventurous fisherman captures 12-foot shark in a wild video

A Florida fisherman displayed incredible courage by manually returning a 12-foot great hammerhead shark to the sea after unintentionally reeling it in. Video footage capturing this jaw-dropping encounter is gaining widespread attention online. I reeled it in as fast as I could, de-hooked it in the water and gave it a proper release back into the ocean by swimming it past the surf," shared 23-year-old Brandon Griffin with PEN News. 

The South Florida mechanic regularly posts his fishing adventures on his YouTube channel, known as @brandongriffin. In his most recent escapade, Griffin was engaged in shark fishing at a "remote beach" in the Panhandle when he accidentally hooked a giant.

"I accidentally caught this hammerhead shark, it ate my bait," he explained, estimating the creature's length at approximately 12 feet.

Knowing that great hammerheads rarely survive being hooked, not to mention being illegal to land or possess in Florida waters as per state law, the Floridian understood the urgency of releasing the creature as quickly as possible.

“Hammerheads are very fragile and anything over a 45 minute fight time is concerning to their health,” said Griffin.

“If I even have a thought that whatever ate my bait could be a hammerhead, I do whatever it takes to get it in as fast as I can to ensure the hammerhead is released and swims off safely,” he added.

Video captured by his friend and fellow fisherman, Gage Wheaton, depicts the Floridian skillfully bringing the shark into shallow water after an intense tug-of-war. The partners waded the shark into the surf zone, gripping each side of the behemoth like a kayak and guiding it back into deep water.

The video concludes with the hammerhead swimming away into the open ocean, accompanied by cheers and shouts from the two friends, celebrating the apparent success of the release.

In total, the entire struggle, from hooking the beast to releasing it, took approximately 22 minutes, according to Griffin.

Unsurprisingly, social media was astounded by their courageous efforts to rehabilitate the hammerhead shark.