Frank Mundus
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Frank Mundus (born 1925) is a sport fisherman at Montauk, New York who is said to be the inspiration for the character Quint in the movie and book Jaws. In fact to this day, he charters out his boat "Cricket2" for those seeking the thrill of big game fishing. In many respects, "Cricket2" resembles the Orca as depicted in Jaws the film.
Frank Mundus is now active in shark conservation as seen in his book "White Shark Sam Meets The Monster Man."
Despite Peter Benchley denying Mundus was the inspiration and the fact that Mundus never actively helped the production of the movie, the claim is widely reported in profiles.
Mundus was born in Long Branch, New Jersey and moved to Brooklyn when he was young. He came to Montauk in 1951 saying he wanted to start charters for bluefish. However he soon discovered that bluefish were not plentiful but the sharks were in the Montauk waters[1]
Mundus started what he called "Monster Fishing" with boats leaving the port at Lake Montauk. Mundus with his colorful character became immediately popular. He further helped his reputation by catching a 4,500 pound white shark by harpoon (the figure of 4,500 pounds was estimated without the shark having been weighed). In 1986 he and Donnie Braddick caught a 3,427 pound great white off Montauk which still holds the record for the largest shark ever caught by rod and reel.
In comparisons to his character in Jaws his web sites quotes him:[2]
What did you think about the movie Jaws?
- It was the funniest and the stupidest movie I've ever seen because too many stupid things happened in it. For instance, no shark can pull a boat backwards at a fast speed with a light line and stern cleats that are only held in there by two bolts. And I've never boiled shark jaws. If you do, you'll only end up with a bunch of teeth at the bottom of your bucket because the jaw cartilage melts.
Is it true that the shark hunter "Quint" in Jaws is based on you? In what ways does he resemble you?
- Yes, he was. He knew how to handle the people the same way I did. He also used similar shark fishing techniques based on my methods. The only difference was that I used hand held harpoons after field-testing harpoon guns and discovering that they didn't work: the dart would pull out after hitting the fish.
Mundus chronicled his tales in:
- Fifty Years a Hooker - ISBN 141348428X - 2005
- White Shark Sam Meets the Monster Man - ISBN 1599260999 - 2005 (coloring book)
- Sportfishing for Sharks - ISBN 0025879502 - 1971
