Giant shark caught off nc coast

Great White Shark Landed from Shore on North Carolina’s Outer Banks

By NOEoutdoors 

It’s not every day you hook into a predator that could eat your catch—and maybe even your cooler. But that’s exactly what happened last week off Hatteras Island, North Carolina, when two veteran surf anglers brought a massive great white shark to shore.

Luke Beard and Jason Rosenfeld, no strangers to big fish or big fights, were targeting large sharks from the beach when they hooked into something different. “Right away, I knew it wasn’t the usual,” Beard said. “It was just heavy. Pure power.”

Over the next 35 minutes, the duo battled the fish from the sand, carefully working it in without the help of a boat or harness—just skill, grit, and a whole lot of drag. When the fish finally rolled in close, they knew they had something special: a great white shark measuring an estimated 12 to 13 feet long and weighing somewhere between 1,400 and 1,800 pounds.

Encounters with great whites aren’t unheard of in North Carolina waters, especially during the cooler months when the sharks migrate, but landing one from the beach? That’s rare air.

What really stands out in this story isn’t just the size of the fish, but the way it was handled. The anglers kept the shark in the water, avoided dragging it onto the sand, and made sure it swam away strong. “We do this because we love it,” Beard said. “But the fish always comes first. You land it, admire it, and let it go.”

The release was clean, the shark swam off, and the story made waves—literally and online. A video clip of the encounter is already picking up steam, showing just how wild and raw this kind of shore-based fishing can get.

For Beard and Rosenfeld, this is the kind of moment you never forget. A once-in-a-lifetime catch made even better by doing it right.