Little Rock teen catches bull shark while on vacation

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – A teenage fisherman from central Arkansas may have made the catch of a lifetime while vacationing with his family earlier this month.

Nicholas Rupp of Little Rock pulled a 5-foot bull shark from the Gulf of Mexico.

During their deep-sea fishing trip, the family hoped to catch a red snapper, but Rupp felt something much bigger on the end of his line.

After 25 minutes of reeling in and pulling at what was at the bottom of the line, Rupp and his family saw the belly of what was resisting.

“All I knew was that it was insanely hard and I had to fight to keep the tip of the rod from bending in the water,” Rupp said.

Rupp described the shark as rough as sandpaper and the catch as pure adrenaline. He struggled to keep the tip of the rod above water, he said.

“I thought, ‘This fish is bigger than any fish I’ve ever seen in real life,’” Rupp said.

Rupp said that after he caught and released the shark, the first thing he did was send the videos and photos to his friends back home.

Nicholas’ mother Krysta Rupp says it’s these kinds of memories she treasures most during a vacation.