Matt Sechrist doesn't have legs, but that didn't stop him from reeling in an 8-foot, 250-pound lemon shark on Tuesday.


The 19-year-old brought in the animal with the help of Florida Forest Service firefighter Ed Parrish[1] , The St. Augustine Record reported.


matt sechrist


Parrish dropped bait in the water off Florida's Vilano Beach, then set up rods with pin reels on the shore.


Once a lemon shark took the bait, Sechrist and his father both participated in the hour-long process of wearing the shark down. When the teen was reeling in the shark, he put the brakes on his wheelchair while family friends held onto it for support.


After taking photos, the group released the live shark back into the ocean.


“That’s a memory that I’ll be able to keep forever,” Sechrist told the Record.[2]


Lemon sharks typically grow to be between 8-10 feet[3] , according to the Florida Museum of Natural History.


This 250-pounder isn't the only Florida shark to get a lucky break in recent months. In April, a 13.5-foot great white shark was caught[4] and released off the coast of Fort Lauderdale.



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