Massachusetts

14-Year-Old Hooks a Fish… and Nearly a Shark

The catch left a Yarmouth, Massachusetts family with the ultimate fish tale

What to Know

  • Fourteen-year-old Tim Boston was on his family’s fishing boat over Stone Horse Shoal around midday when he hooked a large striped bass.
  • As he attempted to reel it in, a great white shark jumped out of the water and took a bite of the fish, just inches from Tim.
  • The shark began circling the family's fishing boat, eventually forcing them to leave the area.

A close encounter with a great white shark just south of Chatham, Massachusetts on Sunday left a Yarmouth family with the ultimate fish tale.

Fourteen-year-old Tim Boston was on his family’s fishing boat over Stone Horse Shoal around midday when he hooked a large striped bass.

But he had no idea just how big the fish he was about to reel in would be.

“Holy (expletive)!”

Just look at it up close - the great white shark jumped out of the water and took a giant bite of striper - just inches away from Tim and his stepdad, as his mom captured the terrifying close call on her cell phone.

“I screamed and went back in the cabin. I thought it was going to come in the boat," Tim said.

Shaking with fear, they said they knew instantly that it was a great white.

“As soon as I saw his eyes, when he came out, it just, it cuts right through you!" said Tim's mom, Tabatha Eldridge.

“Right when I just saw the huge jaws come up,” added Tim.

But the shark didn’t stop there.

“It came back again, and that’s when I got even more scared," Tim said.

The shark began circling their fishing boat, The Dozer, as they radioed nearby vessels.

“With my back turned, the shark came up and smacked the side of the boat and sent some spray up and I screamed like a girl,” Eldridge said.

The Dozer sped away, avoiding another encounter with the powerful creature and leaving the incoming freshman at Trinity Christian Academy with half a striper and quite a fish tale to tell his friends.

"They probably won’t believe it at first until I show them," Tim said.

Despite the scare, the experience isn’t keeping them from going back out on the water. They went out fishing again Monday, and hoped to have a little bit less eventful day.

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