Texas fisherman catches 809-pound tiger shark in the Gulf of Mexico

It was as big as his boat.

It took him more than seven hours, but on Sunday morning, Texas fisherman Ryan Spring finally reeled in the 809-pound tiger shark he caught the night before.

"It was like playing tug-of-war with a giant," Spring told KSAT.

Spring was fishing with his father and friends in the Gulf of Mexico about 5 miles off Port Aransas when he caught the "ginormous" 12-foot, 7-inch male shark. The shark hauled Spring's boat south for more than 15 miles before surfacing.

"When we finally saw him after five hours, we saw it was a tiger shark," Spring said.

It took another two hours before the shark was securely tied to the side of the boat.

"He’s pulling us and the water is just slapping against the back of boat," Springs recalled. "It was like a scene from the movie Jaws."

"It was like seven hours of pure pain and suffering," he told KZTV. "But, it was all well worth it though."

According to the Associated Press, it took "about a dozen men" to haul the shark onto the dock.

While huge, Spring's shark didn't break the tiger shark state record, which currently stands at 1,129 pounds.

Spring shared the shark meat with a coastal homeless shelter and family and friends.

Last month, a British fisherman caught a 208-pound common skate, likely the largest of its kind ever caught off British shores. Because it's a critically endangered species, it was released back into the ocean.

Earlier in July, a California fisherman caught a 482-pound halibut in Alaska. While his friends and family will be feasting on fish for quite some time, fisherman Jack McGuire will just have to trust his catch was a tasty one.

"I'm not a big fish eater," he admitted.