Florida teen recovers after shark bite

NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - A Volusia County teen is recovering after being bitten by a shark. Chase Elmore's father said his son in good spirits and even went fishing on Labor Day.  We talked to his brother, Blake, who saw it all go down.

"He went to go grab his surf board, and right where he went to grab it, a shark bit him on the hand," he explained.

Blake said Chase was in waist-deep water by the New Smyrna Beach jetty, when he was bitten.

"He punched the shark three times when it grabbed him by the hand. It grabbed him and started bringing his hand over there and he started punching it and stuff. Then it let go and he bellied a wave in and put his hand in a towel."

Blake estimated the shark to be about six to seven feet in length.

"It was pretty big!" he said. "You could tell by the teeth mark it was like a black tip shark or a spinner shark, one of them."

Blake said his 17-year-old brother was injured on his right hand, so he'll have to start using his left one for school and studies. 

"He had like 25 stitches all across his hand," Blake said. "He's feeling alright. He's feeling fine."

Ironically, the boys father catches sharks for living. The boy's father explained that he is limited to the number of sharks he can catch and wishes that number was lifted to help make it safer in the water.

"He was not surprised at all, because there's a lot out there," Blake said. 

When asked if he and his brother would still brave the waters with all those sharks out there, Blake replied, "Yeah. If the waves are good!  Yeah!"

The boys father saidSeptember and October tend to have more sharks in the water, because there's more bait fish this time of year.