'It was my first time on a boat and I landed a shark'.Byline: By Gareth Rogers South Wales Echo The South Wales Echo is a daily newspaper distributed in south Wales. It was founded in 1884 and is based in Thomson House, Cardiff city centre. It is published daily, in a tabloid form, by Media Wales Ltd (formerly Western Mail & Echo Ltd), part of the Trinity Mirror group. A great-grandmother outdid out·did v. Past tense of outdo. her fishing champion husband - by hooking a massive shark on her family holiday. Mary Cook strained the muscles in her neck and had to have physio treatment after hooking the 100lb lemon shark in Florida. The 61-year-old, from Wenvoe, Vale of Glamorgan, is more at home quietly researching her family history while her husband Colin, 59, who is a world champion coarse fisherman, takes to the sea. But the grandmother of nine decided to join him and his friend Garry Evans, 60, who owns a fishing tackle shop in Whitchurch Road, Cardiff, on the fishing trip in the Florida Keys. And she was in for a shock with her first catch when the 9ft shark hooked itself on her line. 'It was fighting so hard but I was hanging on. It was like pulling a large child who was a very strong swimmer,' said Mary, who also works as an admin assistant at Garry's shop. 'It was my first time out on a boat and the boys are both experienced fishermen. 'I guess I beat them at their own game. Now I can't wait to go again.' The shark was so tough that Colin and Garry had to help her fight the giant fish. Mary, who is a mother of three and a great-grandmother of one, said: 'It was so tiring. I was exhausted but Colin and Garry were shouting encouragement and I knew I had to get it.' After a half-hour struggle, the trio pulled the sea predator on to the boat. 'When I looked at it I couldn't kill it. It was just such a lovely creature. I was on such a high, but I had to throw it back in,' said Mary, who has two sons, Andrew, 40, and Christopher, 35, and a daughter Suzanne, 38. 'A lot of people have asked me what it tasted like, but I could never have eaten it.' Colin, who is a manager at Garry's store, said: 'After she caught the fish, Mary was shaking but she was very pleased. Me and Garry agreed it was a tremendous effort. 'It was a real struggle, even for the three of us and Mary even damaged some of the muscles in her neck and had to have physio treatment when we got home. 'She normally loves genealogy and she hasn't really come fishing with me many times, but she must have learned a lot from me and the rest of the family. What is a lemon shark?: The lemon shark gets its name because of its pale yellow brown colouring. Its official name is Negaprion brevirostris. It is found mainly in seas around the USA and South America, mainly the Gulf of Mexico Noun 1. Gulf of Mexico - an arm of the Atlantic to the south of the United States and to the east of Mexico Golfo de Mexico Atlantic, Atlantic Ocean - the 2nd largest ocean; separates North and South America on the west from Europe and Africa on the east , where Mary caught hers. Lemon sharks are one of the larger species of sharks, commonly growing to between 2.5 metres and three metres. The largest recorded was 3.6 metres. Lemon sharks pose little threat to divers and swimmers which makes it popular for open water shark diving. Catfish, mullet, jacks, croakers, cowfish cowfish: see trunkfish. , guitarfish guitarfish: see ray. , stingrays, crabs and crayfish crayfish or crawfish, freshwater crustacean smaller than but structurally very similar to its marine relative the lobster, and found in ponds and streams in most parts of the world except Africa. Crayfish grow some 3 to 4 in. (7.6–10. , are common meals for the lemon shark. |
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