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Rowe, with the help of Chip Michalove, 32-year-old Hilton Head Island charter boat captain, reeled in a blacktip shark over the weekend tipping the scales at 163 pounds, 14-ounces. That trounces a 41-year-old record of 133 pounds.
Rowe and several friends chartered the 26-foot Outcast on Saturday from Michalove's Outcast Charters and had a fruitful day of fishing in Port Royal Sound, catching and releasing several fish.
A few hours after setting sail on the power catamaran, Rowe hooked the record shark. After 45 minutes of what he called "one of the biggest forearm workouts ever," they hauled it into the boat.
"The day before, I had caught a 14-foot tiger shark that weighed more than 1,000 pounds," Michalove said. "So, yeah, this shark was really big ... but no one really thought it was a record."
In fact, they had intended to carve the shark up into filets after they returned to land. That was until someone suggested getting the shark weighed by the S.C. Department of Natural Resources just in case, Rowe said.
DNR confirmed the record Wednesday.
"The most interesting thing was seeing that thing up close," Rowe said when reached by phone Wednesday in Gray, Tenn. "We fish all the time in streams and ponds around (Gray) but you never see anything near that big."
It wasn't just the size of the fish that was surprising, it was also Rowe's first time saltwater fishing. He's already working out his next fishing trip to the area with his buddies.
It was also the first record for Michalove in his 10 years of charter boat fishing.
"It's a really cool feeling to think that we caught this shark and the record will stand ..." Michalove said. "The last record was from more than 40 years ago, so I think this one will stand as long as I'm here."
The record is still pending and won't be official until Gov. Mark Sanford signs the certification in the coming weeks.
"Apparently, this is all a pretty big deal," Rowe joked. "Who knew?"
Another state record was broken last month off Hilton Head when islander Robby Maroudas pulled in a 92-pound cobia May 25. The previous cobia state record was 87 pounds, set in 2005.
