Fishermen are amazed at what great white sharks do when they appear on their boat
Port Stephens (Australia) - 700 anglers tried their luck in Port Stephens, Australia, at the weekend. The largest sport fishing tournament took place there. Hunting great white sharks was strictly forbidden, but the reverse was not true. And so Captain John Smith and his crew were visited by three of the predatory fish. What one of the animals then did amazed the men.
The experienced anglers in their forties and fifties, who represented the Lake Macquarie Game Fish Club in the competition, had to watch as the great white shark feasted on their Burley bag filled with fishing bait.
The monster was more than unimpressed by the net, chewing on it until the fish landed in its mouth. But its appetite was not yet satisfied.
"He came up and actually chewed on the corner of the boat so that it was pulled down. The guys were patting him on the head," explained Troy Radford, president of the Newcastle & Port Stephens Game Fish Club and host of the national tournament, in an interview with Yahoo News Australia this week.
However, the men did not feel seriously threatened, although the shark was about five meters long - and therefore only about half a meter smaller than the boat. One of the other sharks is said to have been even bigger.
John Smith described the animal visitors with surprising words.
Fishermen don't win a prize, but still feel like winners
The great white sharks played like "Labrador puppies" and were not aggressive at all, said the experienced fisherman in an interview with ABC. The men were more than satisfied after this experience.
"They said they hadn't won a prize. But they feel like the real winners, because to experience something like this (...), that's something special. It's an experience of a lifetime," explained club president Troy.