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Local couple catches 4ft bull shark in the Atchafalaya Basin

Posted at 6:20 PM, Jul 22, 2018
and last updated 2018-07-23 10:08:21-04

A New Iberia couple hooked quite the catch in the Atchafalaya Basin near the Charenton Boat Landing this weekend.

Friday morning, Ali Provost and her husband took to the freshwater of the Atchafalaya Basin. 

Provost said she and her husband love to fish in the basin waters. 

But around 11 a.m. they got a bite they didn’t expect.

At first, Provost said she didn’t know what they had caught. But about an hour later while trying to pull it in, she realized they had made a major catch.

“It was on a jug line (pool noodle, string, and hook). We finally just lifted the line and saw it was a shark. “It was a feeling of pure excitement.” Provost described in a Facebook message. 

Her catch was a male bull shark measuring 3 1/2 to 4 feet long.  After getting the big fish up from the waters and after a few pictures, Provost said they quickly released the shark after identifying it.

“I fish a lot and never had seen one so it was really cool to finally see for myself!”