International Angler Vol. 63, NO. 6 Nov.- December, 2001
An 832 lb mako shark caught outside Catalina Isalnd drew media attention in the Mako Madness tournament at Dana Point, California. The huge fish was caught by Tom Brooks fishing on Goat II with his two sons, Toby, 16, and Tyler, 14. It appeared the big mako would win the tournament, but a protest lodged by the second-place team, Joan Boat III was upheld and the shark disqualified because of a hole near the gillplate 12 x 15 inches in diameter. Under IGFA rules, any mutilated fish must be disqualified.
Then, the second-place boat Joan Boat III was disqualified when it was discovered the boat had not been at the 6 a. m. starting line the first day when it reported a huge number of releases. All captains took polygraph tests, and the eventual winner turned out to be Russ Whitman's team on Line Dance. Whitman was invited to the Rolex/IGFA Championship.