Persistent fisher reels in tiger shark with hand line
A hand line and plenty of persistence were all Albany fisherman Brendon Hilder needed to haul in an estimated 4m tiger shark at Shelley Beach today.
The "mad keen" fisherman, who arrived at the beach in pursuit of salmon, quickly changed his intended catch after the presence of the shark had scared off the salmon, which were biting off the beach at 11am.
Mr Hilder said within seconds of baiting four ganged hooks with a salmon, the shark latched on, starting a two-hour battle for supremacy.
He thought he could have bitten off more than he could chew until the assistance of a stranger helped him secure the catch on the 200 pound hand line.
"It would have taken me a hell of a lot longer," he said.
"A 4m shark has a fair bit of pull on it.
"I was absolutely knackered."
Mr Hilder said the catch was the highlight of his time fishing.
"I had at least 200m of line out," he said.
"It burnt me out.
"I couldn't even hold my handle, I was that buggered."
After posing for photos with the catch, Mr Hilder and onlookers made sure the shark was properly released back into the water.
Watch Brendon Hilder's final moments pulling in the big shark on his hand line here:
https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGx7FBXrFhg
https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=BS37cocSae0
https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajwzKltPJ8k
