Good luck bottle of lager lures 300lb Great White shark

A British angler used a lucky bottle of lager to tempt a rare great white shark off the coast of the United States.

Paul Raines poured a bottle of Heineken into the sea for good luck and 20 minutes later hooked into the 9ft predator – the first the ship’s captain had seen in that area in more than 25 years.

The 49-year-old was aboard ‘Mark the Shark’s Striker 1 boat, a mile out of Biscayne Bay in Miami on the hunt for sailfish, hammerheads and tiger sharks.

“Wherever I go sea fishing I pour a bottle of Heineken in the water for good luck,” said the Gloucestershire angler, “it never fails!”

The 300lb shark took a live mullet intended for sailfish and was brought alongside the boat twice on just 30lb mono before breaking free after about 45 minutes.

Keen coarse fisherman Paul, who has a caravan at White Acres in Cornwall, said: “It nearly pulled my arms off. It was like playing a big carp on 3lb line, he was in control.”

Paul, who began fishing at the age of eight and has a 25lb carp to his name, added: “It wasn’t on one of the shark rods so I was lucky to get it back to the boat. We were in 250ft of water and when he went deep there was nothing I could do.
“It is my best fishing moment ever, the absolute best.”