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Omaha mother Janine Manderson was stunned when she saw a broadbill swordfish lolling in the shallows while she was taking 6-month-old daughter Olivia and her dog Hazel for a beach walk.
But she didn't take long to decide that it would be a shame to waste it.
"I got quite a fright. I knew it was a marlin or a swordfish. It was a beautiful fish and it was very sad to think it would die. But I knew it wasn't going to survive so I thought, `Why not take it home for dinner?'."
She rang a friend for advice and was told not to go near the spear.
With nothing but the dog lead on hand, she tied a lasso and slipped it over the fish's tail then hauled it on to the beach.
"There was no one around. I couldn't carry it so a friend drove down and picked it up."
The broadbill was 2.13m in length, estimated weight 50kg, just a baby.
They grow to 450kg-plus but are normally caught in very deep water, mainly at night.
"We shared it around with family and friends. It's absolutely beautiful to eat," said Ms Manderson, a paramedic, who is on maternity leave.
