Mako shark is possible record-breaking catch

An 11-foot-long mako shark, weighing in at 1,323.5 pounds, is no tall tale. The shark, caught off the southern California coast, was reeled in by Jason Johnston of Mesquite, Texas, and its size might be a world record.

The angler made the giant catch—using chopped fish as bait—while on a charter fishing trip off Huntington Beach, Calif., on Monday. It didn’t come easy, reports CBS Los Angeles.

“He took out a quarter-mile of line ... and five times he came out of the water over 20 feet,” Johnston told the station. “It was amazing.”

He added, “It’s unreal. This thing is definitely a killing machine. Any wrong step, I could have gone out of the boat and down to the bottom of the ocean."

Johnston had plans to go out again Tuesday with the same charter boat to try his luck a second time.

According to the local CBS station, the shark's measurements have not been officially confirmed as a world record. But the ginormous shark, which will be donated to research, has already provided Johnston with the story of a lifetime.