Wyatt Spaans Reels in the Big One

by Jill Funke

With busy work schedules, family time and other responsibilities, people are often looking for ways to relax. Golfing, hunting and fishing are popular ways to unwind and escape the stress of day-to-day living. While many people find fishing to be a great way to kick back, one Larchwood resident recently found the activity to be incredibly exciting. Wyatt Spaans and a few of his friends decided to take a vacation to Fort Lauderdale, Florida and spend some time fishing. Growing up very close to Lake Pahoja, Wyatt was no stranger to tossing in a line in hopes of a bite. Later, when his brother entered the Marine Corps and was stationed in San Diego, Wyatt had the opportunity to visit him and go deep sea fishing. He was able to make a few trips to San Diego, and always enjoyed his deep sea fishing excursions. When the chance to do some monster fishing in Florida presented itself, Wyatt couldn’t resist.

The group of three friends set out for their monster fishing excursion in February with a guide, and were hoping to catch a dolphin or shark. The equipment they used came with the boat rental package. They began their trip at 8:00 a.m., and by 11:30 a.m. the men were getting anxious as no one had caught anything. Just as they were teasing their guide about the lack of action, Wyatt felt his line unreel. Not knowing what was on the end of the line, he pulled back with all of his might. A harness was placed around his back to give him more support, and Wyatt struggled to reel in his catch. As the battle continued, Wyatt’s friends poked fun of him and called him a wimp as he battled the unknown creature for quite a long time. When the being was pulled in a few feet, it would fight back and gain a few feet, making Wyatt wonder what it was and think to himself that the animal must be extremely strong or particularly angry. The rest of the group told him that it was his fish and he needed to be a man and bring it in himself. Finally, to his delight and relief, Wyatt had reeled the monster in over 500 feet, and the group discovered it was a Mako shark. Typically 1 to 2 feet long, Wyatt’s Mako was 7 3/4 feet long and weighed close to 400 pounds. When asked if he wanted to keep the shark or toss it back, Wyatt felt that this was a once in a lifetime experience and he wanted to keep the creature to remind him of the trip, as well as a form of proof for his friends, co-workers at Novartis Animal Health and others who may not believe his story. He is getting the animal stuffed in Florida and it will be shipped back to him in Iowa.