ARCHIVED NEWS RELEASE
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News release Aug. 7, 2018
OLYMPIA - Ten-year old Isabella Tolen of Lake Stevens has established the state record for the largest tope shark caught off the coast of Washington.
Tolen was bait fishing with a strip of salmon belly in Grays Harbor in late July. The 41-pound fish measured 68 inches.
“It was really hard to catch, because the shark was pulling around the boat, and my dad kept telling me to follow my fish,” said Tolen. “It seemed like it might pull me into the water, but I just kept following my fish,” she added.
Tolen has fished with her dad since she was little. “I like it because you can catch different types of fish, and you can see incredible things in the ocean,” said Tolen. “You just have to find out what you can catch.”
Tolen’s advice to new anglers is to just give it a try. “If you can hold a pole, you can fish,” she said.
This was the first tope shark submitted for a state record in Washington.