A year before Christopher Meng-Killeen was about to receive his computer science degree from Boston College, he veered off his original career path to explore a new avenue: shark fishing in Florida. The 22-year-old New Yorker was drawn to the videos on Instagram showcasing extreme fishermen capturing huge sharks and other amazing fish. He saw an opportunity for himself. Meng-Killeen told The Epoch Times that he always loved fishing with his father on Long Island as a child, and he had also dabbled in filmmaking.
So, why not become a video creator?
In the past, he had filmed videos of himself catching quite large fish. Meng-Killeen said, “I did a lot of fishing videos in New York City, in Central Park, in lake parks.” He added that he posted these videos online. Soon enough, he started to notice that people really enjoyed seeing him catch big fish in the heart of New York City and would ask him how big of a fish he could catch. So, he ventured out to the open sea.
In 2022, while fishing off Long Island, he unexpectedly caught his first shark, which sparked an idea in him: he would consciously seek out sharks, catch and release them to boost his moderate success on Instagram at the time. He said with around seventy thousand followers, he felt confident he could attract more people – as long as he kept creating videos.
“I wanted to take a semester off from school, really see if I could make it through video creation, if I fully devote myself to it,” he said. Between his junior and senior years, from the fall of 2023 to the fall of 2024, Meng-Killeen headed to the beaches of Southeast Florida. He fished on the Atlantic side, with no thoughts of the Gulf of Mexico. “People call the East Coast the ‘Beast Coast,'” he said, “the fish there are much bigger.”
Shark fishing is a whole different ball game from catching largemouth bass in Central Park. He had to use stronger fishing lines and rods specifically designed for it, with the rods securely anchored in the sand because sharks put up a fierce fight. Fishermen even wear harnesses that connect them to the rod to best utilize their body weight to control the shark.
Meng-Killeen wasn’t alone in Florida; he teamed up with another emerging video blogger, Juno Brandon, and a few friends joined them.
Thus began an epic adventure, with fishermen gathering on the beach not only for amusement and shark fishing but also to document and share content on their Instagram, Facebook pages, and YouTube channels to attract followers. Meng-Killeen quickly got involved in a shark tagging program, obtaining sponsorships for shark fishing gear and remote-controlled drones. These drones were used not only for filming but also to airdrop bait about 600 yards offshore. The bait, oily chunks of mackerel, unappealing to humans but irresistible to sharks.
Over months, they figured out key times to fish: an hour after sunrise and sunset, as well as an hour before and after high tide, Meng-Killeen said.
“I kept fishing, caught bigger and bigger fish,” he said. Sometimes, they would see a buoy go under, set the hook, and immediately feel it was a huge shark. From the way it turned and ate the bait, they could tell the fish was hefty.
“If you look at their tails, they’re built for speed, for wide-open oceans, they put up a strong fight,” Meng-Killeen said.
He caught thresher sharks, hammerheads, and tiger sharks. Once, they even caught a great white shark, Meng-Killeen noted, but since it’s a protected species, he cut the line as soon as he knew it was a white shark. However, they captured some dramatic footage: the rod bending, them reeling in with all their might, then lying on the huge fish’s back, trying to remove the hook and tag it from its gaping mouth. Finally, they waded and released the shark, ensuring it swam away.
Needless to say, that video went viral.
“I want to take what I’ve learned in Florida to the Northeast, try to catch some of these deep-sea cold-water species,” Meng-Killeen said.
Upon returning from his hiatus, Meng-Killeen completed his studies. As graduation approaches, he has been seeking software development jobs. However, his dream job of making videos through fishing has brought in income and he has no plans to quit anytime soon. He said he now has over 700,000 followers across all platforms.
Meng-Killeen returned to Florida last spring break, and this summer he plans to fish for sharks in Maryland, New Jersey, and possibly New York.
He stated the Mid-Atlantic region “is somewhat unexplored compared to Florida,” adding that with his newfound knowledge, he hopes to make an impact, “Cold water means more dissolved oxygen, which means they put up a stronger fight, recover faster after release.”
Meng-Killeen mentioned that he will continue to participate in tagging efforts. He collaborated with the NOAA Fisheries Division in a cooperative shark tagging program, where recreational fishermen help the division gather more information about shark lifecycles. “I’ve tagged dozens of sharks in total,” he said, “I’ve always been a bit of an environmentalist. Before my parents convinced me to study computer science, I almost went into marine biology.”