One that didn't get awayWorld-record 1,780-pound catch led to shark-fishing ban on S.C. piers By Tommy Braswell (Contact)
The Post and Courier
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Jim Michie/provided Walter Maxwell (center) is surrounded by a crowd of excited spectators after he landed this 1,780-pound tiger shark on June 14, 1964. Nothing draws a crowd quicker on a Lowcountry beach. Sun worshipers snap to attention if they see a triangular dorsal fin knifing through the waves. Tourists flock to see a surf fisherman unhook his catch, marveling at the sandpaper-like skin and the tiny but vicious-looking teeth. Visitors to South Carolina fishing piers may puzzle over signs saying shark fishing is not allowed. There's a good reason — chamber of commerce officials don't want bloody baits and big sharks mixed in with swimmers, even though the last fatal attack in this state was in 1883. Almost a decade before "Jaws" hit the big screen, shark fishing from piers was an accepted and popular practice in South Carolina. But that changed after Walter Maxwell landed a 1,780-pound tiger shark from the end of Cherry Grove Fishing Pier in North Myrtle Beach on June 14, 1964. Maxwell's catch shattered the world record by more than 350 pounds and still stands today in what has been called "Big Game Fishing's Greatest Catch." Maxwell's catch also became the catalyst for banning shark fishing from piers and populated bathing areas. Maxwell, a stonemason from Charlotte, was part of a hard-core group of fishermen who would gather in the summer and camp on the piers, sleeping fitfully as they listened for the telltale clicker on their big reels signaling the bite of a big shark. One of Maxwell's closest friends was Jim Michie of Columbia, who had learned to fish for big sharks on the beaches in Texas when he was stationed there in the Navy. When Maxwell decided to invest in his own reel, he purchased the biggest reel made by the Penn Fishing Tackle Co., a left-handed 16/0 Senator that could hold almost a mile of 130-pound-test line. Michie built Maxwell a matching custom rod. M.C. Meetze was another of that cadre of fishermen, and one of his contributions to the world record effort was a heavy leather fighting harness that would lessen the strain of holding the heavy rod and reel while battling a big shark for hours. One that got away Before there can be a great catch story there almost always has to be "one that got away," and that was the case on this June weekend. Michie, who would become an archaeology professor at Coastal Carolina, kept meticulous records. In his journal he wrote that on Saturday, June 13, baits were carried out more than 700 yards by boat. The group of shark fishermen had 17 runs and Maxwell hooked one that was brought to the pier. Michie told writer Don Millus in an article that appeared in Outdoor Life magazine that the tiger shark was about 18 feet long and "must have gone at least 2,500 pounds." "Michie had a pole vaulter's pole with a gaff attached, and there were huge swells and he just couldn't hold the fish," Millus said. "The shark swam away with the gaff still in it. As it went out to sea it looked like the periscope of a submarine." Disappointed but undaunted, the shark fishermen continued their quest the next day. Michie's journal said baits were carried out approximately 800 yards. Michie caught the first fish, a dusky shark that measured 10 1/2 feet and had a 69-inch girth. "Twenty-seven runs followed. Nick Laney hooked a possible 11-foot tiger, played for 3 hours and was lost around pilings. Walter Maxwell hooked and caught tiger shark." Spectator sport Then as today, whenever fishermen would hook a shark, beachgoers gathered to watch the battle. One of those spectators that day was a 14-year-old girl, Susan Hoffer (now McMillan) of Camden. Her parents owned a beach house adjacent to the Cherry Grove Fishing Pier. "There wasn't a lot to do on the weekends in Cherry Grove, so we were actually there when the fish took the line," McMillan recalled. "It was hours. I remember going home to eat lunch and I was there when they brought (the shark) in." Millus said the shark made some 30 runs. At times during the 2 1/2- to 3-hour fight, the line on the spool dwindled from the diameter of a bowling ball to that of a 50-cent coin. Maxwell finally brought the huge shark close enough for Michie to sink the gaff, which this time was attached to a heavy rope. Michie then went down to the beach, waded into the surf and attached ropes around the fish's head and tail so it could be dragged onto the beach. McMillan was part of the crowd standing behind Maxwell and the monstrous shark when Michie took a photograph. She can be seen over Maxwell's left shoulder, looking toward the massive rod and reel Maxwell used to catch the fish. A wrecker was called to hoist the huge shark onto a flatbed truck. The next day the shark was weighed at Ford's Fuel Service in Loris. Notary Jessie Ruth Graham attested to a weight of 1,780 pounds. The fish measured 13 feet, 10.5 inches and had a girth of 103 inches. What happened to the giant shark and its mouthful of razor-sharp teeth is fuzzy. Shirley Spence, who was married to Maxwell at the time, said they were busy filling out the paperwork for the world record application and the people who had hauled the shark to Loris were supposed to bury it. "They took it out and dumped it on somebody's property and we didn't know about it until later," she said. "I think a farmer smelled something and called the sheriff's department. They went out and found it. I think they had the chain gang come out and bury it then. You probably couldn't get away with that today." One of the teeth, however, was extracted and submitted with the world record application to the International Game Fish Association. Jason Schratwieser, IGFA's conservation director, said the tooth is not overly large, but it can still slice a piece of heavy monofilament like a razor. The fishermen received plenty of notoriety for their catch. Tom Higgins, a former outdoors writer for the Charlotte Observer, remembers it being one of the first big stories he was assigned as a young reporter. "I guess it came over the wire and said he was from Charlotte so I started tracking him down," Higgins said. "He was pretty shy but a pretty good talker. Being a country boy like him, I was able to get through to him. It was a hell of a story, how a man could fight a fish like that from the pier." Another record catch Maxwell fished all his life, both freshwater and saltwater, Spence said. So when they banned shark fishing from the Myrtle Beach piers, he shifted his attention to pier-fishing in North Carolina. In 1966, Maxwell landed a 1,150-pound tiger shark off Yaupon Beach Pier, also a state record. The drive to Yaupon Beach was longer, and eventually Maxwell backed off from his coastal fishing trips. "He had fished all his young life and continued to fish," said Spence, who still has the record-setting rod and reel. We had a little pond behind our house and he fished there until he died." Maxwell never made any money off his catch. Penn sent him a reel, and the line company, Ashaway, sent him some fishing line. The photo Michie took of Maxwell with his record catch became a best-selling postcard souvenir at Cherry Grove Fishing Pier until the pier was sold. And the pier still proudly displays a photo of Maxwell with his record catch in its tackle shop. Sue McMillan never thought anything more about the big shark she saw landed when she was 14 until years later, when she was married and had moved to Conway. "I volunteered on an archaeological dig with Jim Michie's crew," she recalled. "(Jim) was sitting around at lunch talking about this world record tiger shark at the Cherry Grove Pier, and I was like 'Oh my gosh, I was there.' Then he said let me show you the picture and I was 'Oh my gosh, I'm in the picture.' " McMillan went on to become a research assistant for Michie, a lifelong bachelor who was estranged from his family. Michie developed dementia, and McMillan oversaw his care during his waning years. During visits to the assisted living facility, she came across Michie's shark-fishing scrapbooks, filled with priceless photos, newspaper clippings and tickets from the fishing piers. The scrapbooks were falling apart and Michie had tossed many of them into the trash. McMillan retrieved the scrapbooks and during some of Michie's better moments she got him to identify the fishermen and the locations in the photos. "I knew that was his legacy," she said. Maxwell died Sept. 29, 1991, at the age of 61, and Michie died July 25, 2004 at the age of 63, but theirs is a story that endures. |
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Comments
This article has 44 comment(s)
Posted by Tammie on August 21, 2008 at 7:54 a.m. (Suggest removal)
CB, you are so wrong...lmao
Posted by olroofer on August 21, 2008 at 8:02 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I hope people eat the shark if they are going to catch them. My mom told me that you should always respect the ocean. The ocean always gives to us, but if you don't respect it, it will take from us. This sounds crazy, but it makes sense. Remember that when you catch an eel, or shark and you beat it to death just to save your hook. Have fun and don't be afraid of the water "wpc", the ocean is life, and the longer you share it, the healthier you become. Besides, the ocean and her belongings have been here way before us.
Posted by poor_paul on August 21, 2008 at 8:19 a.m. (Suggest removal)
nice!
Posted by jeff61 on August 21, 2008 at 8:26 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Looking at that shark reminds me of an accident on the highway - I don't WANT to look, but sometimes I look, and then I feel nauseous and hate myself for exposing myself to that.
Posted by ysillyme on August 21, 2008 at 8:48 a.m. (Suggest removal)
No predator will ever cause the damage when they sink their teeth into a Charleston area resident as when our beloved mayor sinks his teeth into the taxpayers hide and extracts his pound(s) of flesh.
Posted by luckylady on August 21, 2008 at 8:55 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Ever since Jaws I have had trouble going in the water. I know I have probably been close to sharks, but the thought of being bitten by one... That's what nightmares are made of.
CB - you are cold about your ex - you picked her - so you must have loved her at one point. Be nice.
WCP - I agree with you - stay out of the water. Also - just FYI - where has your humor gone.... No fish tales or anything today. Just me missing the humor.
Posted by katrenavantassle on August 21, 2008 at 9:02 a.m. (Suggest removal)
LOL at ColdBeer!!
I might be wrong, but I think that's my ex wife in that pick... the big one.. laying on the ground...
I was raised in Florida and had been shark fishing numerous times there from the pier. I have been shark fishing from the shore at Folly Beach and from my boat at C2 buoy many times. I love C2!! So beautiful out there. I love to rig my rod with the double rig and fish for Black Fish but occassionally only the top fish remains and the bottom one would be bitten in half...then shortly after that I would land into a Atlantic Blue Tip that would be fun to fight...but I let him go...I dont keep what I am not going to eat.
Posted by katrenavantassle on August 21, 2008 at 9:05 a.m. (Suggest removal)
By the way, My best friend was in the movie Jaws 2...as I lived in Ft.Walton Bch which is right next to Destin where they filmed Jaws 2. She was a double for the actress with the brown curly hair and she was paid $150.00 to sail all day so they could film her for the far away shots and the real actress didn't have to suffer and sail all day! I used to swim real far out to the buoys BEFORE JAWS CAME OUT...now I don't go into the water at all and I have a pool in my back yard!! Go figure! (I will never forget that scene of the HEAD popping out under the boat...EEWWWWW!)
Posted by katrenavantassle on August 21, 2008 at 9:06 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Yes, I still go to C2 but never get out the boat!!! LOL!
Posted by guidedbystewart on August 21, 2008 at 9:07 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Eel makes the best sushi....
Posted by MissPriss on August 21, 2008 at 9:13 a.m. (Suggest removal)
CB you are too funny! Into the corner for the ex wife comments! :)
Posted by Marianne0558 on August 21, 2008 at 9:21 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Jeff, do you HAVE to post that wreck statement on every, single story???
Posted by Marianne0558 on August 21, 2008 at 9:31 a.m. (Suggest removal)
"Posted by tripsa on August 21, 2008 at 7:38 a.m.
That is scary, passing an accident on the highway - I don't WANT to look, but sometimes I look, and then I feel nauseous and hate myself for exposing myself to that."
"Posted by jeff61 on August 21, 2008 at 8:26 a.m.
Looking at that shark reminds me of an accident on the highway - I don't WANT to look, but sometimes I look, and then I feel nauseous and hate myself for exposing myself to that."
*******jeff61=tripsa*********
Posted by BerkeleyCo_Mom_of_3 on August 21, 2008 at 9:32 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Sorry ColdBeer...that's my mother-outlaw, she pissed me off that day and I lambasted her fat ass.
Posted by Egap on August 21, 2008 at 9:40 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Huh!, ..and I thought it my ex's lawyer laying there in the sand.
Posted by Tammie on August 21, 2008 at 10:12 a.m. (Suggest removal)
"Sorry ColdBeer...that's my mother-outlaw, she pissed me off that day and I lambasted her fat ass."
Please take your spot in the corner next to CB and Marianne BCMo3..lmao
Posted by BerkeleyCo_Mom_of_3 on August 21, 2008 at 10:21 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Tammie? Does that mean I get a cookie or a spanking? A cookie and a spanking? Or just a headache from staring at the damn wall? I'm so confused.
Posted by jeff61 on August 21, 2008 at 10:23 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Posted by jeff61 on August 21, 2008 at 10:08 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Posted by Marianne0558 on August 21, 2008 at 9:29 a.m. (Suggest removal)
*******jeff61=tripsa*********
No, Tripsa and I was on the Baggy pants story battling Sofa_Fart_Cushion and a poster called mamatp wrote those elegant words and we have been using that phase since. Also you may see "Its above my pay grade"
I am no where near as hard core conservative as tripsa is,, and that is not a bad thing....I have always been who I claim to be and have never used any other screen name
Posted by YankeeLady on August 21, 2008 at 10:27 a.m. (Suggest removal)
The ocean and its creatures should be respected. I see no glory in killing the shark then dumping it to rot somewhere. A waste of life for what? As noted in an earlier post, think of what you're doing when you beat a creature to death for nothing.
Posted by Tammie on August 21, 2008 at 10:35 a.m. (Suggest removal)
BCM03, if you go in CB's corner, you get beer. And peanuts. Lol At least Marianne has cookies, juice, and a deck of Uno cards in her corner. Oops, better not say that, the fuzz might get her. Lol
Posted by BerkeleyCo_Mom_of_3 on August 21, 2008 at 10:41 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Damn, I was really hoping for cookies and spankings(from some hot guy). I choose CB's corner...the beer kinda sucked me in as I kinda like to suck it down on occasion. Of course, if you can find me cookies and a hot guy who gives spankings, I will take my own corner and some of CB's beer with me. ssshhhh!
Posted by wjhamilton3 on August 21, 2008 at 10:51 a.m. (Suggest removal)
It's interesting that noone seems to understand that the worldwide population of sharks has been plummeting for years. Considering that this is one of the oldest large life forms on the planet and the top preditor in it's ecosystem, we should pause to consider what we're doing. Do we know what will happen in the ocean if we destroy the shark population. Shouldn't we find out before we do so?
We could get rid of all the snakes, but we would be overrun with rats and vermin if we did so.
It's possible that without Sharks, we wouldn't have sufficient predation on larger fish. They might in turn exhaust the supply of smaller fish. A severe disruption in the food chain might reduce the supply of commercial fish.
Overfishing for Crabs has reduced predation on the snails which feed on the Marsh grass. They're now too many snails in parts of the marsh and this is believed by some, to result in an overstress on the Marsh Grass which produces the bare area we're seeing around SC.
We really can mess up this Planet if we're not careful.
Posted by Marianne0558 on August 21, 2008 at 10:51 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Dang Tammie, why you gotta snitch on my gambling ring?!?!
Posted by nikkiP on August 21, 2008 at 10:53 a.m. (Suggest removal)
awww, I've missed everyone! freaking... last first day of classes EVER! I'm growing up and I'd like to make it stop....
where's the beer?
Posted by Tammie on August 21, 2008 at 10:58 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Hey nikki!! How's school?
My bad Marianne...lol
Posted by BerkeleyCo_Mom_of_3 on August 21, 2008 at 10:59 a.m. (Suggest removal)
We really can mess up this Planet if we're not careful.
That phrase needs a re-write....We really can eff up this Planet MORE if we're not careful.
Interesting information wjh, but it doesn't appeal to most people...out of sight out of mind kinda thing. And I guess I am in the most people category sometimes, but I can say I have never killed a shark personally. ;)
Posted by ysillyme on August 21, 2008 at 11 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Berkley co. mother of 3~
Boy do I envy your children w/ the vulgar mouth you have. A gargle w/ draino might just help you lady.
Posted by MissPriss on August 21, 2008 at 11:02 a.m. (Suggest removal)
nikkiP I've been wondering if you would ever return.....I've got beer!
Posted by Marianne0558 on August 21, 2008 at 11:05 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Don't make me bust out the Ivory soap, Berk. :)
Posted by Marianne0558 on August 21, 2008 at 11:06 a.m. (Suggest removal)
And I seriously doubt she talks like that in front of her kids. "Do as I say, not as I do."
I tend to cuss like a sailor when my daughter isn't around.
Posted by BerkeleyCo_Mom_of_3 on August 21, 2008 at 11:15 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Sorry to offend thee silly...casualty of once being a sailor...and my children are all fine thanks, they learn much more foul and obtrusive stuff at school(except maybe when football is on...things can get dicey. My husband usually gives them headphones so they don't have to hear me if things aren't going the way I like them.). In this day and age, children who are sheltered are the ones who usually have social issues. Besides, my children aren't here and I tend to speak & write my mind...so if you don't like it, read past me. Won't hurt my feelings. I was raised in a very traditional baptist home with good parents who didn't drink, curse or commit any sin that I know of, but hell that would be a sin to me. I am rebelling, still...ain't freedom of choice grand??? Also, draino doesn't work..it's a myth. One more note...they are all teenagers right now, 2 in middle school taking numerous high school courses, and one in college...go figure...potty mouth and all and my kids are geniuses. whoa is me!!!!
Posted by BerkeleyCo_Mom_of_3 on August 21, 2008 at 12:03 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Easy question CB, just kinda complicated to answer. I was trained as an AT or in laymans' terms, an avionics tech. However, the military loves to screw things up, especially the Navy(I am not knocking them for this, I had a blast!). I ended up at NAS Miramar, before the jarheads took it over. I was supposed to work in I level maintenance, but ended up at Base Operations in a division called OMD. Operations Maintenance Division. We basically served as a gas station offering light maintenance, an air terminal for cargo & passenger flights and ego inflater of pilots from various military installations around the world, all branches of the US military, foreign military and the occasional contract aircraft used by the government. We also were in charge of all aircraft handling for the airshow, AWESOME time....plenty of BEER on hand the few weeks prior and following the airshows.
I was of course, not supposed to be at OMD, it was a short duty billet for old salty dogs who worked as boatswain mates on the aircraft carriers(so I was told, over and over again for several years by guys who slaved & kissed ass to get that billet). The only other female we had was only with us a few months on her way out of the Navy, she was an outspoken self-declared lesbian and in those days... it was really politically incorrect, pre-Clinton.
I had a blast working there, never stood a watch, if you know what those are, learned more than any girl wants to learn at 19...those guys I worked with started as my predators, became unsuccessful suitors, and I ended up with several 'fathers & brothers'/protectors.
Of course, I never did get to work on avionics equipment, but I learned a lot of general information on numerous aircraft, got to take some flights on re-fuelers and watch them fuel various fighters inflight, got to sit in many a jump-seat, and learned what a vibrator with clitoral stimulation was(way before I probably would have not being in the military) as well as seeing more than my share of porn. These guys molded me into the insane woman I am now. My parents are so proud!!! If they only knew. All and all, I did learn a lot, and pull my share of the work load, and I have a lot of crazy experience on all kinds of equipment not too mention the ability to properly configure pallets of cargo for aircraft.
Don't you hate that you asked?
It was fun while it lasted, but I fell in love with another sailor and decided to get out marry, finish college and be a wonderful, filthy-mouthed mother.
End of story...the abridged version anyway, if you survived it.
Posted by jeff61 on August 21, 2008 at 12:19 p.m. (Suggest removal)
potty mouth
Only Nixon had a potty mouth with all of his goddam's and Jeuss Christ's,,, Nixon can't be heard saying these things...
Do I know you BKMO3???
Damm lets be glad her short name does not read BKT
Posted by dogwoodroad on August 21, 2008 at 12:36 p.m. (Suggest removal)
you boys and girls have been bad today!!!
Posted by BerkeleyCo_Mom_of_3 on August 21, 2008 at 1:04 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Very good then, being on a sub...you might have had a more interesting time than me. I miss it, but am still married to it...of course I am far removed now. My husband is at Beaufort so I miss out on all the day to day drama. Did my time as an ombudsman too. Talk about a f'ing nightmare....I would have rather been on a sub! ;)
Posted by BerkeleyCo_Mom_of_3 on August 21, 2008 at 1:08 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Jeff...who knows?? Maybe you do and maybe you don't. If you figure it out, let me know.
Posted by jeff61 on August 21, 2008 at 1:24 p.m. (Suggest removal)
No based on what you stated I do not know you... but love your posts..honest and direct
Posted by eatmorecollards on August 21, 2008 at 1:33 p.m. (Suggest removal)
BCMO3, I did 5 years in the Navy, west coast. Women wern't in those types of jobs then, and none aboard ships. I got out a ABH2. My life was always haze gray and underway. I wouldn't trade it for the world either though.
Posted by nikkiP on August 21, 2008 at 1:46 p.m. (Suggest removal)
we just started our first day of classes. I'm not sure why I thought taking 19 hours would be a good idea. I immediately regret that decision.
:) I do typically wander to where the beer is. I figure I have one year left, might as well enjoy it. Drinking this much after college is usually called "alcoholism."
Um, so the thought of shark fishing off a pier freaks me out. because that means there are sharks being lured to the area. Where I swim.
Posted by BerkeleyCo_Mom_of_3 on August 21, 2008 at 1:50 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Ha, no I am not from Effingham, IL...sure it is a lovely place. I was born in Charleston & returned to the Lowcountry so my children(who I am a horrible mother to, so I hear, because of my potty mouth)could be closer to their grandparents and extended family. It just worked out that my husband was able to get orders in Beaufort so we could come here. It's the Navy in me that makes me use the 'f' word, among others a lot. That word just fits so well in so many situations. Amazing how a breeding term for animals could be such a diverse word. A bonus is that it drives my mother crazy, when she aggravates me I drop the f bomb just to ensure that she will pray for me on Sunday.
Jeff, too bad for you...I make awesome beer bread and share with my friends. ;) Nice posting with yah.
Posted by STREETLAW on August 21, 2008 at 1:52 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Gonna need a bigger boat.
Posted by jeff61 on August 21, 2008 at 2 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The highway quote went on to say about keep riding the bus and buring thier nose in a book. LOL...
Posted by STREETLAW on August 21, 2008 at 3:38 p.m. (Suggest removal)
So what do you call 500 lawyers at the bottom of the ocean?
A good start.
Posted by Acecool on August 22, 2008 at 2:54 a.m. (Suggest removal)
So they caught it, killed it and dumped it on someones property? I am all for fishing if you are going to EAT the damn thing or let it go... But fishing just to kill is not right...
They couldve fed the entire town with that thing!!!