18-year-old reels in nurse shark while visiting Vanderbilt Beach

Reporter: Taylor Smith Writer: Jack Lowenstein
Published: Updated:
Nurse shark caught and then released by Ryan Swanson on Vanderbilt Beach July, 2021. Credit: Ryan Swanson.

An 18-year-old on vacation in Southwest Florida had a memorable catch in our waters during his stay.

The excitement from Ryan Swanson can be heard when he reeled in an 8-foot nurse shark in Collier County recently.

Swanson says he and he family, who were visiting from Georgia, made the big catch July 1. No harm came to the shark, and it was a catch and release. See the video below, or click here to watch.

Swanson was on vacation with his family on Vanderbilt Beach when he used his drone to put out bait.

His line started to roar, and he said it took him roughly three hours to reel the nurse shark in.

“I’m not going to lie. I was pretty shocked. It was bigger than what I expected,” Swanson said. “It’s always been like a goal, if you would. When I came on vacation, I was like, I’m going to catch a big shark, so it was like a dream come true to do that and actually see it wash up on shore.”

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